9-1-1 First Look: Lou Ferrigno Jr. Returns To Save Bobby And Athena — What's Next For Tommy Kinard? (Exclusive)

Another familiar face is returning to 9-1-1 this season, and not a moment too soon. Tommy Kinard, a former member of the 118 played by Lou Ferrigno Jr., will be back to help save Bobby and Athena in Thursday's conclusion of the show's three-part premiere.

This is the first time we'll see Tommy in the present day; he previously appeared in three "Begins" episodes throughout 9-1-1's second season.

"Originally, when the 118 needed a pilot to get them to that overturned cruise ship, Lucy was my first thought," showrunner Tim Minear tells TVLine of Arielle Kebbel's character, now a member of the LAFD's air support team. "But she couldn't be my pilot... because she got a pilot," he adds, referring to Kebbel's casting in the Fox lifeguard drama Rescue: Hi Surf.

Minear still needed a pilot, and he "didn't just want it to be some generic pilot guy that they enlist." He wanted it to be somebody "who had a connection to the lore of the show." That's when Tommy popped into Minear's mind.

Tommy has actually come to the 118's aid more times than you may realize — he just hasn't always been seen. In the Season 2 episode "Broken," Chimney called for water to be dropped over a burning neighborhood, and it was Tommy to the rescue. "We established that Tommy had moved to some air service unit in the fire department, so you never actually saw [Lou Ferrigno Jr.] in that episode, but it's Tommy that he calls."

And this isn't just a one-off visit from Tommy. "He's going to be around for a little bit," Minear says. "He's not going to be a member of the 118 again, but he is going to be involved in some stories."

Check out more exclusive first-look photos from Tommy's return below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on 9-1-1 Season 7 thus far.