Warning: SPOILERS for 9-1-1 season 8, episode 9.9-1-1 has introduced plenty of detectives over the years, but Amber Braeburn’s actor, Abigail Spencer, is a familiar face to many. Spencer joins the 9-1-1 season 8 cast for its dramatic two-part midseason premiere event, acting alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Han and Angela Bassett as Athena Grant-Nash. While 9-1-1 season 8, episode 9 heavily examined Evan “Buck” Buckley’s (Oliver Stark) complicated feelings about his best friend, Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) moving to Texas, Amber Braeburn was a critical character to the main plot.

9-1-1 often has intense disasters that threaten the public on a massive scale, ranging from natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis to city-wide blackouts that cause disastrous domino effects. However, the long-running Ryan Murphy series also understands the importance of understated threats, and the procedural explores how humans can be more deadly than any force of nature. With such a recognizable actor in a 9-1-1 guest role, it seems obvious in hindsight that Amber Braeburn was more than she let on.

Abigail Spencer Plays Amber Braeburn In 9-1-1 Season 8

The Corrupt Detective Kidnaps Maddie

Abigail Spencer’s character, Detective Amber Braeburn, first appears in 9-1-1 after Maddie receives a disturbing phone call at work from an anonymous kidnapper. The caller, whose voice is obscured by a modulating filter, says they feel like a “monster” because of their crimes, but they can’t stop taking victims. Maddie quickly discovers records that show a history of the “weepy-voiced” caller going back a decade, with a trail of bodies to accompany the calls. Arguably the main character of 9-1-1, Athena, introduces Maddie to Detective Braeburn, who is enthusiastically receptive to her findings.

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However, 9-1-1 season 8, episode 9 ends with a twist: the weepy-voiced killer was Detective Braeburn all along, and she orchestrated events to close the case, including framing another criminal and posing his death as a suicide. Although Maddie was placated and ready to stop her sleuthing, Amber kidnaps her anyway to hold hostage like her previous victims. Unfortunately for Amber, she underestimates how many near-death experiences 9-1-1 has thrust Maddie into over the years.

Spencer’s TV Shows & Movies Explained

Many Well-Renowed Roles

Prior to her guest role on 9-1-1 season 8, Abigail Spencer acted in many movies and TV shows. Spencer began her acting career in 1999 with the ABC soap opera All My Children, playing Becca Tyree until 2001. Abigail Spencer gradually transitioned into guest and recurring roles on many network staples, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Becky Lester, 2005), Gilmore Girls (Megan, 2006), and Bones (Phillipa Fitz, 2008). Spencer even worked with Jennifer Love Hewitt in 2007 on Ghost Whisperer, when Spencer portrayed Cindy Brown.

Abigail Spencer’s most recognizable role came in 2011, joining Suits as the indomitable Dana “Scottie” Scott. Although Spencer only appeared in 15 episodes, her character’s impact on the overall series can’t be overstated. In 2017, Spencer joined Grey’s Anatomy as Megan Hunt, cementing another iconic recurring role whose legacy remains long after Spencer herself left the series. Regardless of how many scenes she has, Abigail Spencer steals the show every time she appears on-screen, and her twist villain in 9-1-1 is just another example of her extraordinary talent.

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9-1-1 continues Thursday on ABC.

TV Show

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9-1-1

8/10

Release Date

January 3, 2018

Showrunner

Tim Minear

Directors

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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  Angela Bassett

  Athena Grant

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  Peter Krause

  Robert ‘Bobby’ Nash