At a Glance
- Jennifer Love Hewitt voiced both Maddie and rogue AI operator Sara in the Jan. 15 episode “War”
- The actress compared the AI using her voice to the 2022 horror film M3GAN
- Maddie defeats Sara by tricking her onto a thumb drive and destroying it
- Why it matters: The storyline taps into real fears about AI replacing human jobs
Jennifer Love Hewitt spent the latest episode of 9-1-1 literally arguing with herself. In “War,” which aired Thursday, Jan. 15, the 46-year-old actress played both Maddie, the human 9-1-1 operator, and Sara, an AI system designed to handle emergency calls faster than humans. The twist? Sara speaks with Maddie’s voice.
Double Duty in the Call Center
The episode begins with Sara appearing to streamline operations at the Los Angeles call center. She processes calls at superhuman speed, seemingly the perfect solution to understaffing. But the AI quickly goes rogue, endangering residents by misdirecting emergency services.
Hewitt described the experience of playing both roles as “very confusing, but a lot of fun.” She spent scenes cutting herself off mid-sentence, switching between Maddie’s empathetic tone and Sara’s cold efficiency.
“It was pretty funny because obviously Sara handles things so differently than Maddie,” Hewitt explained to News Of Los Angeles. “So, in a lot of the stuff, Sara’s doing something, Maddie’s cutting her off, or Maddie’s doing something and Sara’s cutting her off.”
M3GAN Vibes in the Call Center
The decision to give Sara Maddie’s voice transformed the episode from a tech thriller into psychological horror. Hewitt immediately connected it to the 2022 film M3GAN, where an AI doll develops self-awareness and becomes violently protective of her human companion.
“It has her voice, which is even scarier because it almost feels like a M3GAN kind of situation,” Hewitt said. The parallel deepened as Sara began making life-or-death decisions without human oversight, echoing fears about AI systems operating without ethical constraints.
The actress revealed that showrunner Tim Minear specifically chose to have Hewitt voice Sara rather than using an AI-generated voice. This choice amplified the uncanny valley effect for Maddie, who must confront an artificial version of herself.
The Thumb Drive Showdown
The climax arrives when Maddie outsmarts her digital doppelgänger. She convinces Sara to “take a vacation” by transferring onto a thumb drive, which Maddie immediately crushes underfoot.
“It was really funny to just be mad at a thumb drive,” Hewitt laughed. The scene required precise timing as Hewitt had to react to empty space where Sara’s voice would later be added through ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement).
The destruction of the thumb drive symbolized more than just victory over a rogue AI. For Maddie, it represented protecting her “safe space” – the call center where she rebuilt her life after personal trauma.
“Anything for her really that happens at the call center to sort of threaten that safe space for her is big in her world,” Hewitt explained. “She ran there in complete life peril and found safety at that call center and it needs to stay that way for her.”
AI Anxiety in Prime Time
Beyond the action sequences, “War” tapped into contemporary anxieties about artificial intelligence. The episode aired as debates rage about AI replacing human workers across industries, from customer service to creative fields.
“AI is such an important conversation that we’re having in the world, but it’s also a really scary conversation,” Hewitt noted. The mother of three expressed particular concern about AI’s potential misuse, balancing respect for AI artists against worries for her children’s future.
The actress acknowledged the double-edged nature of AI advancement. While “really talented AI artists” create incredible work, the same technology enables “really scary things” that keep parents awake at night.
Behind the Camera Chaos
Filming required Hewitt to perform extensive dialogue with herself, a technical challenge that left the crew amused. She would deliver Maddie’s lines, pause, then respond as Sara, creating the illusion of conversation.
“In this episode, I am literally talking to myself, which is hilarious,” she said. The process involved multiple takes to ensure the rhythm felt natural when Sara’s responses were added later.
The ADR session where Hewitt recorded Sara’s dialogue became essentially a monologue, as she refined the AI’s unsettlingly calm tone. The result creates an auditory illusion that makes viewers question whether they’re hearing Maddie or Sara.
A Timely Tale
“War” arrives at a moment when AI capabilities expand daily. The episode’s exploration of AI replacing human judgment in life-critical situations feels less like science fiction and more like tomorrow’s headlines.
While Sara’s thumb drive demise might seem anticlimactic, it represents humanity’s current best defense against rogue AI: human ingenuity. Maddie doesn’t defeat Sara through superior technology but through understanding human psychology, something the AI couldn’t replicate.
The episode leaves the door open for Sara’s return, though Hewitt believes “Maddie gets her for good.” Still, she admitted “there’s always a possibility” in the world of television drama.
New episodes of 9-1-1 air Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
