It’s a dark day for ABC’s 9-1-1 after crew member Rico Priem was was killed. Priem, who was working to produce season eight of the popular procedural, was killed in a car crash on Saturday as he made his way home from a 14-hour overnight shift. 20th Television has confirmed his death in a statement along with IATSE Local 80, which Priem was a member of. IATSE has also pledged their support to Priem’s loved ones, and has vowed to assist in any investigations that may crop up after his death.
IATSE Negotiates Better Conditions For Overworked Crew as ABC Crew Member Dies
For those unfamiliar with the show, 9-1-1 on ABC follows the lives of LA’s first responders – police, firefighters, paramedics, and dispatchers – as they save lives and struggle with personal drama of their own. The show ran for six seasons on Fox before being canceled, only to be picked up for a seventh season on ABC. Season 7 premiered back in March and will air until the end of May; the show was renewed for an eighth season in April. Season 8 is currently filming in LA under 20th Century Television, and the death of crew member Rico Priem has revealed that things are running as smoothly as they seem.
At the time of his death, Rico Priem was serving as a grip – a technician responsible for operating the rigging for the camera and the lights – on the crew of 9-1-1. Some of his other work includes Star Trek (2009), TNT’s Major Crimes from 2012-2018, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, (2021), and CBS’s S.W.A.T. (2022). His death was the result of a car crash that occured early Saturday morning as he was driving home following a 14-hour shift on the set of 9-1-1. Priem was also a member of IATSE Local 80, and the union has spoken out about the circumstances of his death, giving Deadline the following statement.
“We are fully committed to the safety and the well-being of all our members and express our heartfelt condolences to the member’s family. Workers have a reasonable expectation that they can get to work and come home safely. No one should be put in unsafe circumstances while trying to earn a living.”
IATSE
IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb followed up with his own statement, saying that everyone in IA is “shocked and deeply saddened” by Rico Priem’s death, that safety was their “highest priority”, and that IATSE would be happy to assist in any investigations following Priem’s death. At the moment, there aren’t any ongoing investigations into the matter, but it’s likely that one will happen, especially since lengthy shifts are something that the union has been looking into for some time.
Overworked Car Crashes Aren’t a New Problem for IATSE
Priem isn’t the first crew member or actor to have suffered a car accident after driving home while overworked and overtired; he’s not even the first to have died. One of the most notable cases of this caught the world’s attention back in 2017 when KJ Apa suffered a car crash after spending 14 hours on set of the hit series Riverdale, where he played leading star Archie Andrews. The presence of actors and crew members suffering car accidents became common enough for IATSE to bring up the issue during 2021 contract negotiations, and they’re currently pushing for more rest periods between shoot days.
Hopefully, Rico Priem’s death will bring more attention to the matter, allowing IATSE to campaign for safer working hours and prevent more accidents that lead to deaths like this one. In the meantime, it appears that production of 9-1-1 on ABC will proceed as planned.
