9-1-1 Season 9 Trailer’s Whale Swallowing Story Is Based On Real Events
One might roll their eyes after watching a whale swallow a kayaker in the new 9-1-1 trailer, but the incident isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. ABC’s procedural drama has received backlash recently due to what some perceive as unrealistic plotlines. From the 9-1-1 season 8 premiere’s bee-nado to the cruise ship disaster, the series has had many viewers scratching their heads.
Nine seasons in, there are only so many different emergencies that 9-1-1 can cover before becoming repetitive. It makes sense why the writers would stretch the truth and dramatize specific stories. However, some have complained about the absurdity of 9-1-1‘s disasters, and the whale swallowing accident might’ve been grouped in with them if it hadn’t been based on a true story.
9-1-1 Season 9 Kicks Off With A Whale Swallowing Mark Consuelos
Consuelos Plays A Tech Billionaire
Mark Consuelos in 9-1-1 season 9, episode 1
The official 9-1-1 season 9 trailer previews the premiere’s first emergency, which features a whale gobbling up a tech billionaire, played by Mark Consuelos, while he’s kayaking in the ocean. Consuelos’ character, Tripp Houser, is calm, cool, and collected on the water in the teaser video. So, he doesn’t notice the humpback whale creeping up behind him until it’s too late.
Out of nowhere, the whale opens its gigantic mouth and easily swallows Tripp and his kayak whole. It’s unclear how Consuelos’ 9-1-1 character escapes the jaws of death (literally), but in the next clip, Eddie Diaz is jumping into the ocean to save him. The firefighter grabs Tripp, who is unconscious and floating in the water, and swims him to safety.
On land, Henrietta “Hen” Wilson gives CPR to Tripp and saves his life. He is eternally grateful to Hen and is desperate to thank her for her help. Cosequently, he offers her a chance to go to space, as any tech billionaire would. However, we will get more into that later. Let’s first focus on the business concerning the whale swallowing a kayaker.
The Whale Incident Is Based On A True Story
9-1-1 Took Inspiration From Real Life
Mark Consuelos getting swallowed by a whale in 9-1-1 season 9, episode 1
Some might watch the new 9-1-1 season 9 trailer and think that the premiere’s emergency is ridiculous. I mean, it’s a humpback whale taking a person and their kayak into its mouth off the coast of Los Angeles, after all. The kayaker also manages to survive somehow. In reality, though, something like this actually happened, and the victim lived to tell the tale.
According to a report from CNN, a humpback whale temporarily swallowed a 24-year-old in a kayak in early February 2025. The man, Adrian Simancas, was kayaking with his father, Dell, in the Strait of Magellan in southern Chile when the horrific accident happened. Dell was even taking a video at the time, and he got the entire shocking moment on camera.
Thankfully, the whale promptly spat Simancas and his raft back out into the water. It swam away, and the young man surfaced from the water to grab onto his overturned kayak and swim toward his father. Simancas was ultimately alright, but his accident garnered national attention. Many news outlets reported the humpback whale swallowing incident, and it evidently intrigued the 9-1-1 writers.
It’s still unknown what happens in the time between the whale gulping up Tripp in 9-1-1 season 9 to Eddie and Hen saving him. If it’s anything like Simancas’ run-in, though, the animal likely released Tripp as soon as it took him in its mouth. And while this might all seem ridiculous, the fact that it’s based on a true story proves that it’s not.
Even the location of the incident is realistic. Humpback whales can be found off the coast of California, meaning a spotting of the mammal in the waters bordering Los Angeles is wholly possible. As a result, the 9-1-1 season 9 premiere’s whale swallowing storyline might be one of the ABC procedural drama TV show’s most rational disasters.
The 9-1-1 Season 9 Trailer Connects The Whale Emergency To Athena & Hen’s Controversial Space Trip
Consuelos’ Character Offers Hen A Trip To Space
Angela Bassett as Athena and Aisha Hinds as Hen in 9-1-1 season 9, episode 1
After Hen saves Consuelos’ character in 9-1-1 season 9, episode 1, he thanks her by extending an invitation to go to space. Hen initially wants to bring her wife, Karen, with her. But, despite Karen’s dream of becoming an astronaut in 9-1-1, she declines the offer. She doesn’t respect Tripp because he’s not a serious scientist. So, Hen convinces Athena to tag along.
A previous trailer revealed that Hen and Athena would embark on a trip to space, which resulted in many fans complaining about how silly the series had become. But after watching the new video, it’s clear that’s not the case. Tripp plans a space excursion for five “everyday heroes,” which includes Hen and Athena, and that is a very feasible scenario.
As some may recall, Katy Perry, Gayle King, and a handful of other notable women took a special, symbolic space flight in April 2025. It only lasted about 10 minutes and was not executed for the sake of science. As such, Hen and Athena’s space journey is also rather realistic, despite some 9-1-1 viewers thinking otherwise.
The premiere of 9-1-1 season 9, “Eat the Rich,” airs on Thursday, October 9, at 8 pm ET on NBC, followed by the pilot of its spinoff, 9-1-1: Nashville, at 9 pm ET.
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Bradley Buecker, David Grossman, Brenna Malloy, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jann Turner, Jennifer Lynch, Marita Grabiak, Sarah Boyd, John J. Gray, Barbara Brown, Robert M. Williams Jr., Kristen Reidel, Marcus Stokes, Tasha Smith, Millicent Shelton, Juan Carlos Coto, John Gray, Greg Sirota, Alonso Alvarez, James Wong, Kevin Hooks, Varda Bar-Kar, Shauna Duggins, Sharat Raju
Writers
Tim Minear, Andrew Meyers, Brad Falchuk, David Fury, Ryan Murphy, Christopher Monfette, Nadia Abass-Madden, Nicole Barraza Keim, Erica L. Anderson, Matthew Hodgson, Stacey R. Rose, Taylor Wong, Tonya Kong, Adam Penn
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