“9-1-1”'s Aisha Hinds Teases How Season 9 Moves on Without Peter Krause (Exclusive)

9-1-1 returned to ABC for its ninth season on Oct. 9
In the trailer for the upcoming season, Aisha Hinds’ character will be sent into space alongside Athena, played by Angela Bassett
Hinds tells PEOPLE that season 9 is a “wild ride” and shares how the shoe will move forward following Peter Krause’s character’s shocking death

The new season of 9-1-1 is ready for takeoff.

ABC’s soapy firefighter drama returned to the network for its ninth season and it's poised to take fans on a journey unlike any other. While chatting with PEOPLE at a recent private dinner in Los Angeles, actress Aisha Hinds teases the show’s newest heights: outer space.

“I am going to space,” says Hinds, 49, with a laugh.

In the trailer for season 9, Mark Consuelos plays billionaire Tripp Houser, who’s looking to reward Hen (Hinds) for saving his life after being swallowed by a whale. Tripp offers to send Hen into space and once her wife Karen (Tracie Thoms) turns her down, it’s Athena (Angela Bassett) that will accompany Hen beyond the stratosphere.

On the heels of its buzzy trailer, Hinds wants fans to expect the unexpected this season.

“I mean, no surprises, right? Because if you have been a diehard follower and fan of

9-1-1, you know that every year is a level up,” Hinds explains. “These cases go from the rooter to the tooter. It's a wild ride. So we have to go where no one has gone before, so here we are off to space!”

The new season of 9-1-1 will also see how the crew moves forward without Capt. Bobby Nash, whose shocking death in the previous season meant Peter Krause’s exit from the show.

Michael Becker/ Fox/courtesy Everett Collection
Oliver Stark, Peter Krause, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Season 1 Episode 9 of '9-1-1'

In May, Angela Bassett, who played opposite Krause since the first season, told PEOPLE that she was still “in mourning” following Krause’s character’s death. During the

I Know What You Did Last Summer premiere in July, Jennifer Love Hewitt, who joined the cast in the second season, told Entertainment Weekly that “nothing was the same” without Krause. However, Hinds assures fans that Krause's “spirit will not be forgotten."

“Peter offered us such rich performances in the first eight seasons of this show,” says Hinds. “He will always be felt in the canon of work that we know as

9-1-1. As we go into more seasons, though his physical presence may not be with us, his spirit remains always and I think that the team that he kind of led, [Station] 118, we carry a part of him in every emergency that we go to.”

Leon Bennett/Getty
Aisha Hinds and producer, author and host Steve Jones on Sept. 30

PEOPLE spoke with Hinds exclusively at Hollywood Confidential's dinner celebrating iconic girlfriends in TV, film and media at Redbird on Sept. 30 in Los Angeles. The dinner was a prelude to Hollywood Confidential's

Forever Our Girlfriend event on Oct. 1 honoring Mara Brock Akil, whose popular sitcom Girlfriends celebrated its 25th anniversary on Sept. 11.

While speaking about her own circle of girlfriends and fellow actors, Hinds offers a sobering moment of reflection.

“It is not lost on me that we are in a time right now where the industry has gone through quite a number of changes,” she begins. “I have a number of peers who have been without work for quite some time. So I'm hyper aware of the blessing that it is to still be telling the stories, to still be playing Hen. I'm praying fervently that we can kind of stabilize ourselves and be able to have more stories being told and [have] my friends back to work soon.”

9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

RHONJ’s Teresa Giudice Reaches Out to Joe and Melissa Gorga: ‘Try To Make It Work’

Could there finally be peace and harmony on

The Real Housewives of New Jersey? For years, Teresa Giudice feuded with her brother, Joe Gorga. And when he and his wife, Melissa Gorga, joined RHONJ in Season 3, that feud went nuclear.

Finally, during Season 13, Teresa cut ties with her brother and sister-in-law. And Melissa and Joe didn’t attend Teresa’s wedding to Luis Ruelas. However, now Teresa wants to make peace. And Melissa feels the timing is suspect.

After Teresa claimed that “the door is closed,” Melissa noted that “the fact that the door is now open seems like strange timing to me.” Still, that hasn’t stopped Tre from reaching out…

Teresa Giudice has to “practice what I preach” with brother and sister-in-law Joe and Melissa Gorga

Teresa cracked the door to reconciliation open last month, noting that she would “never say never” to mending fences with her family. Of course, RHONJ has been on pause since Season 14 wrapped. Plus, there were rumors that Melissa, Dolores Catania, and Margaret Josephs were test-filming for Season 15. However, Teresa has refused to accept this silly notion.

Recently, Teresa was a guest on the I Do, Part 2 podcast and shared a jaw-dropping update. Not only does the Jersey “OG” plan to “speak” and “meet” with Joe and Melissa, but she has already reached out to them. “Time does heal all wounds,” Teresa explained. “And when time goes by, you forget things.”

She continued, “Gia [Giudice] and I were on Special Forces: [World’s Toughest Test]. We spent a lot of time together before we went on Special Forces, and we talked a lot about a lot of things. So I want to be a good example for my children.”

Teresa and her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, have four daughters, and she wants her children to “always be there for each other.” She added, “If someone doesn’t get along, be the bigger person. Try to make it work. I’ve got to practice what I preach.”

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