The series marks Krause’s return to NBC, where he spent six seasons on “Parenthood,” a period he has called some of the happiest years of his career. In “Line of Fire,” he leads a cast that includes Hope Davis as Mike’s estranged wife, Jane, along with Kat Cunning, Tommy O’Brien and Taylor Bloom as their children, and Charlie Barnett.
Created by Joshua Safran, whose credits include “Smash,” “Quantico” and both “Gossip Girl” series, the show mixes family drama with a central mystery and a criminal case of the week. Safran told TheWrap he was surprised to land actors of Krause’s and Davis’s stature for the roles, noting the particular demands of broadcast television.
Krause said it was Safran’s inventive script that convinced him to take the part. He liked that the show immediately places viewers in the middle of the Hollingsworth family’s strained relationships, secrets and dysfunctional dynamics, all while the characters bear the responsibility of protecting the country. “Everybody’s lives are already happening, and you just have to jump on board,” Krause said. “There’s a lot of emotional energy between Mike and Jane, I look forward to that extended storyline.”
The role follows Krause’s eight-season run on ABC’s “9-1-1,” where he played Fire Capt. Bobby Nash. His character was killed off in Season 8 with a heroic sacrifice during a rare virus emergency in 2025, a death that reshaped the show’s identity and left fans reeling. “It was hard. I loved Bobby Nash and the audience did too,” Krause said. “It was a great eight years. We did things that had never been done before on TV.”
Krause had known about the exit well in advance. Co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear called him early, and Krause kept the secret from the rest of the cast until they filmed the scene. He described the fan response to Bobby’s death as incredible, calling the character impactful, but added he is happy to move on to “Line of Fire,” which he called a very different show.
Over his career, Krause has built a diverse repertoire with leading roles in ABC’s “Sports Night” in the 1990s, HBO’s “Six Feet Under” in the 2000s, NBC’s “Parenthood” in the 2010s and most recently “9-1-1.” He has often described the Ryan Murphy-produced first-responder drama as a TV version of a comic book, where characters faced impossible emergencies and seemed invincible—surviving plane crashes, tsunamis and cruise shipwrecks before the virus emergency took Bobby’s life.
“Line of Fire” is currently filming Episode 7 of 13, though Krause said a certain executive mentioned they should be prepared for more episodes this season. He remains a believer in broadcast TV, seeing value in compelling programming available to audiences who are not subscribed to every streaming service. “Network television has provided people a great deal of comfort, knowing that they can return week after week and spend time with these characters that they love,” Krause said. “There’s still room for great storytelling on network TV, and that’s what Josh Safran and company are trying to do on ‘Line of Fire.’”
The series premieres Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.