Blue Bloods (TV series)

Blue Bloods
Genre	Police procedural Drama
Created by	Robin Green Mitchell Burgess
Starring	Tom Selleck Donnie Wahlberg Bridget Moynahan Will Estes Len Cariou
Opening theme	"Reagan's Theme" by Rob Simonsen
Composer(s)	Rob Simonsen (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) Mark Snow
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	67 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Leonard Goldberg Michael Cuesta Mitchell Burgess Robin Green
Producer(s)	Fred Keller Jane Raab
Editor(s)	Charles McClelland
Location(s)	New York City Manhattan Brooklyn Staten Island Queens The Bronx
Cinematography	Craig Dibona, ASC
Camera setup	multiple
Running time	45 minutes
Production company(s)	Panda Productions Paw In Your Face Productions CBS Productions (season 1–2) CBS Television Studios (season 3)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Picture format	1080i 16:9 (HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Digital 5.1
Original run	September 24, 2010 (2010-09-24) – present
External links
Website

Blue Bloods is an American police procedural/drama series on CBS, filmed on location in New York City. The show premiered on September 24, 2010, with episodes airing on Fridays at 10:00 pm Eastern and Pacific time and 9:00 pm Central and Mountain time.

On March 14, 2012, CBS renewed Blue Bloods for a third season, which premiered on September 28, 2012.

On March 27, 2013, CBS renewed Blue Bloods for a fourth season.

Overview

Main article: List of Blue Bloods episodes

The series follows the Irish-American Reagan family of police officers with the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Francis "Frank" Reagan (Tom Selleck) is the Police Commissioner. He was a U.S. Marine and a Vietnam veteran before he joined the NYPD. He is a widower whose son Joe died in the line of duty, leaving him three remaining adult children—Danny, Erin, and Jamie.

Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is a top NYPD detective, holding the rank of Detective First Grade, but is sometimes hard-nosed and does not always go by the book. Danny is also a Marine veteran, having served in the Iraq War. Danny's partner at the beginning of the series is Detective First Grade Jackie Curatola (Jennifer Esposito); however, in the beginning of season 3 Kate Lansing (Megan Ketch) became an interim partner. By Episode 13 of the show's 3rd season, Danny Reagan obtains his 3rd new partner, Candice McElroy (Megan Boone).

Erin (Bridget Moynahan) is an assistant district attorney in Manhattan who prosecutes many of the criminals Danny arrests. Jamie (Will Estes), Frank's youngest child, is a recent graduate of Harvard Law School and is a rookie officer on the police force after graduating from the police academy.

Henry (Len Cariou) is Frank's father and the former NYPD police commissioner, now retired. Henry served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Henry often provides advice to his son and grandchildren. The family is close-knit; each episode includes a scene wherein they all have dinner together with their spouses and children and discuss their current cases.

Frank's middle son, Joseph, was an NYPD police detective who died in the line of duty. Joe was involved with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigating a group of dirty cops, who were operating within a fraternal organization called the "Blue Templar". Joe was murdered by these dirty cops when his covert investigation into their corruption was getting too close.

A running thread through the first season is Jamie's picking up Joe's investigation. The FBI tried to recruit Jamie, but he instead conducted his own covert investigation into Joe's death. Joe's murderers try to kill Jamie by tampering with the brakes on his car, but fail. Jamie then informs his father Frank, his brother Danny, and his grandfather Henry about his suspicions after the attempt on his life.

Along with Erin, they join together and complete Joe's investigation of the Blue Templar. After gathering sufficient evidence to obtain arrest warrants, Frank leads a team of police officers, including Danny and Jamie, and they arrest all the corrupt cops at a covert meeting while the dirty cops are dividing up stolen drug money. A detective named Sonny Malevsky (Michael T. Weiss), who was leading the gang of dirty cops, admits to killing Joe, but Malevsky commits suicide with his own service pistol after confessing to the murder.

Jamie was engaged to Sydney (Dylan Moore), a fellow Harvard graduate who broke off their engagement after he became obsessed with investigating Joe's murder. Erin is divorced and has one teenage daughter, Nicki (Sami Gayle). Jamie's field training officer is Sergeant Anthony Renzulli (Nicholas Turturro), who is tough but fair with Jamie and thinks Jamie has what it takes to be a great cop.

Cast

Character	Portrayed by	Occupation	Seasons
			1	2	3
Frank Reagan	Tom Selleck	Police Commissioner	Main
Danny Reagan	Donnie Wahlberg	Detective First Grade	Main
Erin Reagan-Boyle (Reagan as of S03E03)	Bridget Moynahan	Assistant District Attorney	Main
Jamie Reagan	Will Estes	Police Officer	Main
Henry Reagan	Len Cariou	Police Commissioner (ret)	Main
Jackie Curatola	Jennifer Esposito	Detective First Grade	Also Starring
Linda Reagan	Amy Carlson	Housewife/ER nurse	Recurring	Also Starring
Nicole "Nicki" Reagan-Boyle	Sami Gayle	Student	Recurring	Also Starring

Main cast

• Tom Selleck as Francis "Frank" Reagan, the Police Commissioner of New York City and widowed father of Danny, Erin, and Jamie. His second son, Joe, was killed in the line of duty May 15, 2009 (15 months before the beginning of the series). Frank was a Marine during the Vietnam War and often serves as the moral center of the family. He has an indifferent attitude towards politics, often taking on the mayor and numerous reporters who misinterpret his actions. He tries hard not to judge people, and tends to purse his lips together when hearing bad news or the horrific details of an ongoing case. His wife Mary died September 14, 2005. The death of his wife, son, mother and the thousands who perished on 9/11 weigh heavily on him, and the person who is best at lifting his spirits is his father, who often talks to him late at night when he cannot sleep. Frank is a devout Catholic and has good relationships with his local church and his city's archdiocese, to whom he talks about personal and police matters. Frank lives in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn along with his father.
• Donnie Wahlberg as Det. Daniel "Danny" Reagan. Danny was a Marine in Gulf War II. He is happily married with two sons and lives with his family in Staten Island. He is old-school; his hotheadedness and harsh methods of detective work sometimes gets him in trouble, which his father worries about. Although he violates police procedure from time to time, he is hard on other policemen when he feels they are unprofessional or not doing their duty to its utmost.
• Bridget Moynahan as Erin Reagan-Boyle, Assistant District Attorney and single mother. Erin is almost raped and killed at the end of season 1, episode 9 ("Re-Do"), though Frank saves her life by shooting her attacker dead. She is mostly by-the-book in matters of criminal justice, often to the annoyance of Danny and her grandfather. As of season 2, episode 9 ("Moonlighting"), she is 36 years old, but in season 3, episode 17 ("Protest Too Much"), it is mentioned that she recently celebrated her 40th birthday. In "Ends and Means" (season 3, episode 20) Erin is promoted from senior counsel to deputy Trial Bureau chief.
• Will Estes as Jamison "Jamie" Reagan, rookie police officer and recent Harvard Law graduate. Like his father, he is mostly silent on his political beliefs. He was the one who continued Joe Reagan's investigation into the Blue Templar in Season 1. In Season 2, he takes advantage of a chance opportunity to go undercover in the Sanfino crime family. He is stationed at the 12th Precinct.
• Len Cariou as Henry Reagan, retired Police Commissioner, father of Frank (grandfather of Danny, Erin, and Jamie; great-grandfather of Nikki, Sean, and Jack). His childhood during the 1920s and 1930s was hard due to his father's alcoholism and inability to hold a job. Henry was a Marine in World War II and Korea, and joined the NYPD in 1952. Like his grandson Danny, Henry is socially conservative and hates the political correctness of modern law and order. His wife Betty died December 2, 2001. Cariou, separated in age from Selleck by only six years, wears make-up and a dental prosthetic for the part of Henry.

Also starring

• Jennifer Esposito as Detective Jackie Curatola (episodes 4 through 51), Danny's partner. She is divorced and regularly gets hit on by policemen and perps alike, much to her annoyance.
• Amy Carlson as Linda Reagan, wife of Danny and mother of their two sons. She loves her husband and the Reagan family, but at times Danny's obsessive attitude toward collaring criminals makes her wonder whether he views his job as a higher priority than his family. In seasons 1 and 2, she was a stay-at-home mom, but she returns to her nursing job in season 3.
• Sami Gayle as Nicole "Nicki" Reagan-Boyle, Erin's daughter and an aspiring cop. As of season 3, episode 3 ("Old Wounds") she is 16 years old. She is a very curious young girl and is not afraid to question her uncle Danny and great-grandfather about police matters, as well as challenging their old school conservatism. In the pilot episode, Nicki is portrayed by actress Marlene Lawston.
• Nicholas Turturro as Sgt. Anthony Renzulli, Jamie's partner/Training Officer. Renzulli knows the beat of his precinct very well and offers Jamie a lot of good advice. He believes Jamie will make a great cop and often pokes fun at him for abandoning a lucrative law career.

Recurring cast

• Bruce Altman as Mayor Frank Russo (Season 1)
• Abigail Hawk as Detective Abigail Baker, Frank's primary aide
• Gregory Jbara as NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Garrett Moore, who becomes Frank's de facto chief of staff
• Dylan Moore as Sydney Davenport, brief fiancée of Jamie (Season 1)
• David Ramsey as Mayor Carter Poole, Mayor Russo's successor (Season 2–present)
• Andrea Roth as Kelly Davidson, a reporter who dated Frank (Season 1)
• Andrew Terraciano as Sean Reagan, Danny and Linda's son
• Tony Terraciano as Jack Reagan, Danny and Linda's son
• Noelle Beck as Sue Connors, Frank's Deputy Press Secretary
• Robert Clohessy as Sgt. Gormley, the immediate supervisor of Danny and the other detectives at the precinct
• Peter Hermann as Jack Boyle, a lawyer and Erin's ex-husband (Season 3–present)
• Sebastian Sozzi as Officer Vinny Cruz, Jamie's partner (Season 3). He was murdered in a planned ambush by a street gang in "The Bitter End" (season 3, episode 22).
• Megan Ketch as Danny's partner, Detective Kate Lansing (episodes 7-12, "Nightmares" through "Framed"). She has moved back to IAB and it is unclear when or if she will reappear.
• Megan Boone as Detective Candice McElroy. She appeared in February 2013 (Episodes 13-16, "Inside Jobs" through "Quid Pro Quo") as Danny's new partner. She was considered Danny's interim partner, and it is unclear when or if she will reappear.
• Marisa Ramirez as Detective Maria Baez. She appeared in the final seven episodes of season three (Episodes 17-23, "Protest Too Much" through "This Way Out") as Danny's latest new partner.

Production

Selleck said that he was drawn to the project because of the strong pilot script and that he was concerned about becoming involved in an ongoing series because he did not want to compromise his commitment to the Jesse Stone television movies. Beginning January 19, 2011, Blue Bloods was moved to Wednesdays at 10 pm for a four-week tryout. In February 2011, the series returned to its Friday night time slot due to the series premiere of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. In the UK, the show premiered on Tuesday, February 1, 2011, at 10:30 pm on Sky Atlantic, the same night the network launched.

On October 20, 2012, CBS announced that Jennifer Esposito was being dropped from the series, with her character, Detective Curatola, being placed on indefinite leave of absence. Esposito and CBS had been at odds over her limited availability for work after the actress was diagnosed with Coeliac disease. She had missed a week after collapsing on set earlier in the season. According to Esposito, CBS challenged her request for a reduced work schedule, and further, kept her from finding work elsewhere. In a press release from CBS, the network said that Esposito had "informed us that she is only available to work on a very limited part-time schedule. As a result, she's unable to perform the demands of her role and we regretfully had to put her character on a leave of absence." Curatola's last appearance was in the third season episode "Nightmares".

According to TV by the Numbers, by committing to a third season of Blue Bloods, CBS is all but guaranteed to commit to a fourth season. This is because as a CBS Television Studios production, CBS has a financial incentive to produce at least the minimum number of episodes needed for stripped syndication. On March 27, 2013, CBS made it official by renewing Blue Bloods for a fourth season to begin in the fall of 2013.

Reception

Reviewers have praised the series' on-location shooting. The New York Daily News praised Selleck's performance as Frank Reagan. They also highlighted the family dinner scene as a positive and praised the introduction of discussion of morally complex issues.

The Daily News drew comparisons between Selleck's characters Jesse Stone and Frank Reagan, saying that both Reagan and Stone are moral, principled men of few words. In Entertainment Weekly's annual Fall TV Preview, Ken Tucker named Blue Bloods as one of the "5 Best New Shows" of 2010.

Ratings

The pilot episode garnered 15.246 million viewers because of the Live + 7 days after with viewings from DVRs. Without the DVR adding to the live viewing the show's debut episode garnered a total of 13.02 million viewers.

Overall, the ratings have been steady for the series, after the pilot episode. The lowest viewer total of 9.77 million occurred in the second episode of the third season, and is to date the only episode that had fewer than 10 million viewers. The highest (non-pilot) numbers of 12.73 million occurred in the sixth episode of the second season. The second season finale on May 11, 2012 was watched by 10.73 million viewers and received a 1.2/4 ratings/share among adults ages 18–49.

In January 2013, CBS announced via press release that Blue Bloods was the first scripted series airing on Fridays to average at least 13 million viewers, gaining eight percent more viewers than the previous year. The second season of CSI in 2001 had 14.78 million viewers, while the fourth season of Law & Order: SVU in 2003 had 14.92 million.

Season	Timeslot (ET)	# Ep.	Premiered		Ended		TV Season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)
1	Friday 10:00 pm	22	September 24, 2010	13.01	May 13, 2011	11.79	2010–2011	No. 19	12.58
2		22	September 23, 2011	12.06	May 11, 2012	10.73	2011–2012	No. 22	12.16
3		23	September 28, 2012	11.22	May 10, 2013	TBA	2012–2013	TBA	TBA

External links

• Official website
• Blue Bloods at the Internet Movie Database
• Blue Bloods at TV.com