First look at 9-1-1 season 8 premiere shows a 'bee-nado' attacking Los Angeles (exclusive)

They've dealt with earthquakes, a tsunami, cruise ship catastrophes, and even escaped zoo animals. But in the season 8 premiere, the firefighters of 9-1-1 will face something they've never seen before: 22 million killer bees released upon Los Angeles.

"We just wanted to generate some buzz," 9-1-1 co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear jokes to Entertainment Weekly of the decision for the season-opening disaster on his ABC first responder drama.

In a first-look preview clip exclusive to EW (above), boxes carrying the bees are seen tipping over in a truck accident and 911 call center dispatcher Josh (Bryan Safi) tells Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) that there are enough of the insects on the loose to kill 44 thousand people. (A previously released season 8 teaser stated that "the average person cannot survive 500 bee stings.")

In the clip, set to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," a newly mustached Eddie (Ryan Guzman) asks his fellow 118 firehouse firefighters Buck (Oliver Stark), Chimney (Kenneth Choi), and Hen (Aisha Hinds) if they think the bees will "just fly away." "Not Likely," Hen replies.

"It's a bee-nado," Buck surmises as the swarm swirls and attacks.

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As EW previously reported, 9-1-1 returns on Sept. 26 with every member of the 118 firehouse facing a crisis: Bobby (Peter Krause) is forced to follow through with his retirement and takes a job as a technical advisor on an action TV show called Hotshots (how meta!); he and Athena (Angela Bassett) are looking for a new home after theirs burned down by arson at the end of season 7; Buck is reeling from Gerrard (Brian Thompson) being named the 118's new captain; Maddie and Chimney are doing what they can to keep Hen and Karen (Tracie Thoms) in their foster daughter Mara's life despite the best efforts of Councilwoman Ortiz (Verónica Falcón), who is now running for mayor; and is mourning his son's move to Texas.

And then there's, of course, the bees.