Jessica Capshaw is trading in her doctor’s scrubs at Seattle Grace Hospital for suburban casual in Nashville.

After memorable stints on Grey’s Anatomy, The Practice and Tell Me Lies, the actress returns to television as Blythe Hart in ABC’s new drama 9-1-1: Nashville.

The latest entry in Ryan Murphy’s long-running 9-1-1 franchise — from executive producers and cocreators Murphy, Tim Minear, Brad Falchuk and Rashad Raisani — centers on a heroic group of first responders struggling to save lives in ways that put theirs at risk. Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles) headlines the spinoff as veteran firefighter (and, because 9-1-1, former rodeo rider) Captain Don Hart. Capshaw portrays Don’s wife and, ahead of the show’s October 9 premiere, the actress describes her first time collaborating with Murphy while also discussing what fans can expect from more of the franchise’s unique brand of high-stakes emergencies.

Television Academy: It’s a big commitment to sign on to any TV series, but when the show is shot in another city, that’s an even bigger commitment. What drew you to 9-1-1: Nashville?

Jessica Capshaw: I’d never been to Nashville, and I have quite a few friends that have either moved to the city or live there now. So, I knew from them what a great city it is, and I was very excited to see what it was all about. I thought [9-1-1] was a wonderful family to join and grow into, and I’ve found that to be very true.

What can you say about your character, Blythe Hart?

Rashad said that the show endeavors to take what works about [the original] 9-1-1 and add in other aspects that hopefully viewers will love. In this, you have a little bit more of the family aspect — the 113 Fire Department is captained by Chris O’Donnell’s character, Don. He works with his son, Ryan [Michael Provost], and they head up the 113. And then at home is mom — Don’s wife, Blythe.

She has this very warm heart, but she also has a wide-spanning reach into the city of Nashville through her family. Her family is very accomplished and is very resourceful in the ways of the whiskey distilleries, philanthropy and in horse racing. She’s grown up in this family where there was a lot of abundance, and she’s chosen to work in it alongside her father (Tim Matheson). She has this very important job and, at the same time, she’s married to someone who also has a very important job. Her nerves must be 100% steel because I don’t know how you’d watch the people you love run into all these incredibly dire circumstances every day of your life.

And this is your first time working with Ryan Murphy, right?

Yes. I auditioned for Popular [1999-2001] back in the day, on The WB, which was one of his earliest shows. The role ended up going to Leslie Bibb.

How do viewers meet your character?

Let’s put it this way: in the most fun and stylish and delicious Ryan Murphy way. Blythe definitely benefits from all of her resources to have a very stylish reveal.

What are your favorite things, so far, about shooting in Nashville?

There’s such a warmth to this city. People talk about Southern hospitality, and it’s not a cliché — it’s true. On a whole, the energy has been very welcoming. And we are definitely shooting in practical locations. For a very long time, I did a show that was primarily shot on stages — I just thought that’s what we did. And honestly, the other show I’d done for a couple years was the same situation — we were in courtrooms on The Practice, so we were always on stages. This is the first show I’ve done where you really are going to all these different locations. You really are getting a taste of what Nashville is like and the people that live in it.

Tomorrow, I have a 4:00 A.M. call time. I told my kids, and they were like, “What time do you set your alarm for?” I was like, “3:00 A.M.” We’re going out to a place called Joelton, so [our shooting locations] are kind of all over the place. But it’s given us a nice sampler of the different spaces Nashville has to offer.

She’s a spicy show, and I’m excited about her.