Why Jennifer Love Hewitt Was Ready to Return to Hollywood on Her Terms

Don’t call it a comeback, she’s been here before.

After a three-year break from acting, Jennifer Love Hewitt made her return to Hollywood in 2018, when she joined the cast of the hit Fox procedural 9-1-1.

Hewitt was brought in by Ryan Murphy to replace the void (and hair goals position) left by Connie Britton‘s exit after season one of the hit medical drama, with the mega-producer teasing the TV vet’s big return in a major way.

“We will be bringing in some new faces, including one you all know and love but haven’t seen in a while, the incredible Jennifer Love Hewitt,” Murphy told advertisers at the May 2018 Fox Upfront presentation, promoting Hewitt’s first regular acting gig since Criminal Minds in 2015.

And the move to cast Hewitt paid off: 9-1-1‘s season two opener saw series-high ratings, bringing in 8.47 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demo (a.k.a. advertiser catnip). And while some viewers were predicting a one-season-and-done appearance from Hewitt after her short-lived stint on Criminal Minds, the 44-year-old is still fielding emergency calls as Maddie Buckley.