[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from season eight, episode fifteen of 911, “Lab Rats.”]

The departed actor says the character “was built for this,” as Tim Minear and Angela Bassett speak to The Hollywood Reporter about the immense loss on the ABC drama.

911 co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear is afraid the rumors are true: Robert “Bobby” Nash (Peter Krause), the beloved fire captain of the LAFD’s Station 118, has just answered his last call.

“Bobby’s dead,” Minear confirms to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview about the biggest creative swing he has ever taken in his three-decade career. Some viewers will want to believe that Bobby’s death is a fakeout — after all, this is a show known for pulling its main characters back from death’s door time and again — but the steward of the 911 franchise insists that he just killed off his male lead: “The body bag didn’t convince you?”

“I’ve heard that many fans are upset by this loss and they have a right to be. It is a loss,” Krause said in a statement about his departure from the series. “That said, it was more than a bold creative choice on a bold show. Bobby Nash was written in sacrifice and he was built for this. First responders risk their lives on the job so that others can see another day. His story arc honors them. We at 911 salute all the incredible men and women who do these dangerous jobs and strive to keep us safe. …

In his statement, Krause said of Bassett, “I will miss my partner, Angela Bassett. Her strength and her sweetness, and us holding hands. We parted ways too soon. Much love.”

Bassett and Minear, who both serve as executive producers of 911, spoke with THR on Wednesday in separate conversations. Their chats have been edited into the conversation below.

Angela, what was your reaction when you got that unexpected phone call? How did you react to the news that you would be losing your other half on the show?
Tim did pull Peter first and let him know. Then he pulled me and he gave me a call and was like, “OK, Angela, this is a big change in the season. We gotta do something really dramatic — and someone’s going to die.” And then there’s a pause, of course. And I said, “Is it … Athena? Is it me?!” He was like, “No.” And then I started going through the list: “Is it Hen? Is it Chimney?” And I think finally, after about three or four names, I was like, “What?!” — because it was inconceivable to me that it was Bobby. It was incredulous to me that it was Bobby, so it was just very surprising. Sometimes, you’re just struck dumb — and that’s one of those moments because their bond has been so wonderful and so strong these past four or five years. I didn’t see that coming. None of us saw that coming.

So I think [I got the call] maybe about a week before I actually saw Peter on set. He was doing a scene and I was doing a different scene, but we were on the same location, same set. And I just remember coming to set and asking everyone, “Where’s Bobby? Where’s Bobby?” “He’s upstairs.” “OK. I’ll get to this later, but let me find my man.” [Laughs.] And we just looked at each other. You know when your eyes just lock and you don’t know what to say? And you just bear hug each other and then you just shake your head. And bless his heart — he had to comfort all of us. [Laughs] He truly had to comfort all of us while he’s going through his own processing in the moment. But fortunately, everything’s [shot] so out of order that you can shoot what will be the finality [of that character], but you still have more time together. So that’s some measure of grace — a small measure.

Angela, given all the time that you and Peter have spent playing these characters and building this relationship, what do you remember from the painful experience of having to shoot Bobby’s death scene? Did you feel as helpless shooting that sequence in the moment as the audience will feel watching it?
I think so. I just didn’t know how emotional I would be. You’re not trying to plan it and plot it. I think I remember saying, “OK, I’m not crying. I’m going to be stoic. I’m going to be strong. Athena’s strong.” But being separated from him by that partition of glass and the hazmat suits, we’re not only separated by glass, but we have these big bubble helmets on our head, so it makes it even more impossible to touch. So I really had to look and search for his eyes. You really have to just attempt to touch each other in whatever way you can, and that is gazing in the eyes and really looking into the eyes and the soul and the spirit of another human being and seeing their humanity.

So I’m looking as a character, but I’m looking as Angela; I’m looking as a human being. It was a very rich moment, and all the emotion that needed to be there was there on both our parts take after take after take. However many takes [it took], you’re like, it is still fresh and real. So as hard as it was, [there] was also something very cleansing about it, because we’re human and we connected as characters and we connected as colleagues. It was just a bigger-than-life moment and experience.

What else stands out to both of you in Athena and Bobby’s final moments together? Angela, how specifically did you want to play Athena’s last moments with the love of her life?
As strong as Athena has been, I think she wanted to express her love to him. Maybe she could express that in that moment — all that he has been and meant to her life, her family’s life, her children’s life. You want to be the pillar, a bit of strength for them, in that moment, and express your love, but it’s so incredibly painful. But you’re going to be there until the final breath, the final moment.

Angela, you recently said that you couldn’t imagine what 911 would look like without Athena and Bobby together, but now we’re about to find out. We see Athena, Buck, Hen, Chimney, Ravi and Hen’s wife Karen’s (Tracie Thoms) immediate reactions to Bobby’s death. How much are we going to see Athena and the rest of the 118’s grief play out in these final three episodes of the season? And now that we have finally reached this point, going forward, what will this show look like without Bobby and Peter?
She’s going to try to be on her own. I don’t know how it’s going to play out at the beginning of next season, but initially, I think she has things [to lean on] — she has her kids, but they’re pretty grown. She still has the home that they were building and is attempting to complete, so that’s not complete. And there’s still cases [of the week], so I think her [coping] mechanism is trying to dive back into work to distract herself. But we’ll see how that plays out for her, and if that’s going to work or not. Maybe she needs to go to therapy or something. [Laughs]

This is the third love of her life that she’s lost in some form or fashion. [Writer’s note: Athena lost her fiancé, Emmett, in the line of duty decades ago, and her ex-husband, Michael, came out as gay in the pilot.] I am very curious to see how this plays out, and I know the audience will be as well. I know some of them are going to be so shocked, mortified, pissed off — all the things! But no doubt, it’s going to give us something interesting to play when we lose someone so beloved in our lives.

Angela, you and Peter share the distinction of being the longest scene partners of each other’s careers. What stands out to you about the evolution of Athena and Bobby’s relationship in these eight seasons, and what will you miss most about working with Peter?
It was surprising to me when they got together at the end of that [first] season. I was like, “What?! OK.” [Laughs.] And even more surprising that now they’re parting, but hopefully there will still be fond memories and they’ll still get together. We’ll see how he revisits her, or if he does, or for how long. When we lose someone, we dream of them sometimes, or we can be doing the most mundane thing and something in our spirit hears them or feels them or senses them, so I can’t wait to see what Tim comes up with. Tim usually mirrors life in a very beautiful and poignant way. A lot of times when I read some of the scripts, I’ve said, “Is he eavesdropping on my life or a portion of my life? Whether it’s about the kids, or the ex-husband, or friendships, or relationships.”

[Peter’s] gentle. He’s easy. He’s warm. He’s welcoming. He knows everyone’s name. He is just a wonderful actor and a quintessential good guy, so I’ll miss that. He’s the best, and it’s been great getting to know him and working with him is always an upside and a positive with him. He’s honest — and he’s good for a laugh. He doesn’t mind being the point of a joke because the 118, they are all a bunch of characters and funny men and clowns. They love to laugh all day with each other, so I think we’re all going to miss that. But he’s a beautiful soul.