Photo:Amy Sussman/Getty
Amy Sussman/Getty
Angela Bassettmay havea new Oscarin her living room, but that didn’t spare her from a sinking ship.
“It was horrible!” the actress tells PEOPLE with a laugh about the waterlogged reality of shooting the season 7 premiere of ABC’s9-1-1,which kicks off with an epic cruise ship disaster on Thursday night.
“In that scenario, and as you can imagine, it is anything but relaxing,” says Bassett, 65.
Disney/Chris Willard
Filming the upcoming three-episode disaster — with dire scenes paying homage toThe Poseidon Adventure— required Bassett to trade dry land for a major water tank.
It wasn’tallbad. “They make sure the temperature is a nice, warm 91 degrees, I heard. And that part’s good,” she says. But still, “you wind up being in it for 12, 13, 14 hours. And you have to trust your cast and crew because you know what people do in water,” she laughs.
There is good news for at least one couple on the show. With a wedding on the horizon for the long-troubled Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi), this season9-1-1plans to show them a little mercy.
Justin Stephens/Disney
Bassett, who is also an executive producer on9-1-1,along with its spinoff9-1-1: Lone Star,recently opened up to PEOPLEabout the demands of shooting 18 episodes a year for the high-octane network drama.
“I love the work that I do here. It’s very satisfying,” she says, while noting the schedule often finds her leaving home before the sun rises and returning to husbandCourtney B. Vanceand their18-year-old twins Bronwyn and Slaterafter dark. There is some guilt that comes with that, she allows.
“But also I hope that what will come out of that is that [my children] see a mama, a woman, a Black woman achieving her dreams, having success,” says the star. “They’ll see that hard work pays off. And they’ll be about that life for themselves.”
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Season 7 of9-1-1premieres Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
