Rescue 911 might be coming back, with William Shatner returning as the host

By Sam Barsanti | November 1, 2018 | 12:57am

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22 years after the end of hit CBS series Rescue 911, a new reboot is in the works from CSI creator Anthony Zuiker and CBS Television Studios (though no network is attached just yet). The original series was based around dramatic reenactments of real-life 911 calls, but the plan for the new reboot is to make it a two-hour, live broadcast with real first responders responding to real 911 calls. That means it’ll be like Cops but with fire fighters, police officers, and EMTs responding to medical emergencies, pulling cats out of trees, and helping with some of those roadside baby deliveries. Like the original show, Variety says that the plan is to have William Shatner on board to host this new version.

Also, some of us here were born in the late-’80s and therefore don’t remember Rescue 911 at all, but the show’s Wikipedia page says there was an episode about the Oklahoma City Bombing and that a handful of the show’s stories involved people who actually died. It’s one thing for that to happen in a reenactment, but what if somebody dies on the new live show? Also, if you’re having a real medical emergency, wouldn’t you rather get help from someone who isn’t being followed around by a camera crew, just so you know that you have their full attention? Was TV in general a wildly dangerous mistake?