The Reagans are hanging up their badges.
Blue Bloods airs its finale tonight on CBS, and to celebrate 14 seasons, the cast of the police procedural — including Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, and Donnie Wahlberg — are taking a trip down memory lane.
Entertainment Weekly asked the Blue Bloods cast to share their favorite memories from working on the show, as well as what they’ll miss the most about the series. Read all the actors’ responses below.
Tom Selleck (Frank Reagan): My favorite Blue Bloods memory: I think it was just really the continuity. I mean, there’s a million moments, but it was that constant kind of cumulative effect the show had on all of us. That is my fondest memory. I know that doesn’t fit in a little box, but it wasn’t like a light bulb went off one day and I said, oh, this is the best moment. There were so many. I think that I looked forward to working with Frank Reagan’s universe and Abigail, Greg, and Robert. That had its own ritual. And we had our family dinners, and anytime I had a scene with Len, too. Donnie always said, “Guaranteed, the audience will be entertained if you’d put two members of the Reagan family together in any scene,” and those were two in particular, regardless of whatever plot we were doing and we were working in.
What I’ll miss the most: On an ensemble like this, you could go three, four weeks and never see some of your fellow actors. It’s just work on different days and all on Blue Bloods every eight days, which is how long it took to do an episode, you were all going to get together at that family dinner table. And that’s what I think I’ll miss most. I knew we all could kind of do our work in the family dinner scenes, but also kind of catch up with each other and it really cemented the relationship and was, I think, the key to the show and the show’s success.
Donny Wahlberg (Danny Reagan): My favorite Blue Bloods memory: Directing an episode was really incredible for me. I think that experience, while I was prepared to direct it, also really let me into the other side of television. I got to sit in with the writers and to sit in with all the different departments and see the show from a different perspective than what an actor typically views it from, and that was very eye-opening. It taught me a lot and it gave an even greater appreciation for a lot of what the other departments do on the show.
That first dinner scene is always something that’s going to stand out for me, too. It really was a test for all of us because it was the first scene we ever did together. So we’re supposed to be this family that’s been together all of our lives and most of us didn’t know each other. Fortunately, I knew Bridget was really good, and my biggest conflict as Danny Reagan in the scene was with her, so we were prepared to do that. But no one’s prepared to sit there and yell across the table at some other person while Tom Selleck is sitting at the head of the table scowling at you. We had to all jump right into the deep end and just let go and not hold anything back in that first dinner scene. We had to be as if we had always been a family, and in committing so hard right out of the gate, I think it sets the tone for us. In hindsight, had that dinner scene not been first, I don’t know where the show goes. I don’t know that it has the same result or journey.
What I’ll miss the most: Being on set with our crew. It was so fun to go to work. We had long days, oftentimes in horrible weather, and we just really supported each other and laughed and had as much fun as we could within the restrictions of the set or the restrictions of the city. New York was an amazing place to shoot —super challenging for the crew — and they always rose to the occasion no matter what the situation, and I will miss them a lot.
The camera could be rolling on a scene. They say “Cut.” I started speaking to a camera operator and learned that his mother is in the hospital and struggling, or the sound guy’s son is leaving for college and it’s going to be the first time he’s alone in his house and he’s heartbroken. He’s not going to see his son for a few years. There’s so many things that we experience off-camera with the crew and with the cast as well, but for me, I think the crew is really the part that’s going to be the hardest for me. Those relationships and those bonds, they’re eternal, but the proximity and the going to work together every day is not, and I’m going to miss it. I already do.
Bridget Moynahan (Erin Reagan): What I’ll miss the most: I will miss all the bonds and memories created with coworkers and cast members on Blue Bloods. I will always be grateful for the time we spent together on our creative journey and the opportunity it provided for me personally and professionally (directing). I think Blue Bloods will be deeply missed on set and on air.
