It’s time to face the sad truth: Blue Bloods will end in December 2024.
I’ll miss the Reagans terribly, almost as much as if my real family was moving away.
Still, there are eight episodes to go before we say our final goodbyes, and this Blue Bloods character and cast guide honors every member of this wonderful fictional family.
Family Is The Backbone of This Show
Blue Bloods stands out among the ridiculous number of police procedurals on air because of its unique emphasis on family.
That’s what makes this series so popular, and millions of people are devastated that CBS won’t renew it despite the huge backlash against its cancellation.
Every episode includes a scene at the Sunday dinner table full of laughter and conversation, sometimes beginning with the family saying Grace before the meal, and the Reagans often turn to each other throughout the episode for support.
Related: Losing Blue Bloods Leaves a Huge Hole For People Who Love Family Dramas
Like all families, they are imperfect and relatable.
Sometimes, they fight over policy and procedure, but they always have each other’s six (cop lingo for having one another’s back).
Please scroll down to learn about each member of the Reagan family and the actors that play them.
Henry Reagan (Len Cariou)
Frank lives with his father, who is well aware he is elderly but doesn’t appreciate being treated like he is.
More often than not, during the first part of Season 14, Henry only appeared at the Sunday dinner table, where he dispensed equal parts hilarity and wisdom.
One of my favorite moments was when Sean said he had a date, and Henry eagerly asked if he would call and tell him all about it afterward as if he were still a teenager.
Still, Henry should not be relegated to minor character status.
When he does have a story, it’s always compelling (my favorite is when Eddie discovers he is acting as a vigilante and subduing robbers before the police arrive).
He often clashes with Jamie, who tends to treat him like a doddering old man who is one step away from a home for those with dementia, even though Henry’s faculties are as sharp as they ever were.
How’s this for a fun fact?
Len Cariou, who plays Henry, is only six years older than Tom Selleck, even though he’s supposed to be Frank’s father on air.
Now 84 years old, Cariou has had a long and distinguished career, having begun as a Broadway actor who won a Tony in 1979 for his role in the original cast of Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street.
He is a veteran of both stage and screen, having had a recurring role in Murder She Wrote back in the late 1980s, which reunited him with Sweeney Todd costar Angela Lansbury, and roles in many prominent movies, including 2015’s Spotlight.
Related: Blue Bloods Review: A Moving Tribute to Treat Williams
Cariou is originally from Canada and began his acting career there before coming Stateside to star on Broadway.
Among his many other accolades, he is the first person to play Walt Disney in a movie and has appeared in all sorts of series, including an episode of Star Trek: Voyager in 1997.
Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck)
Frank heads the NYPD and his family. He often has to perform a tricky balancing act in which he must treat his cop sons and grandson like any other cop without making it appear that he doesn’t care about them.
He is that rare creature who never compromises his values, which makes him seem intractable at times (and apparently intimidating, according to a recent episode).
More than one person thinks he comes off as a grumpy curmudgeon.
The mayor certainly does, but that’s because Frank will not tolerate ridiculous policy ideas that make it harder for police officers to do their jobs, nor will he prioritize the mayor’s feelings over doing what he thinks is right.
He’s an apolitical guy in a political job, trying to live by his values instead of trying to make himself look good, and it’s worked well for him.
His integrity and leadership make him so popular that five consecutive mayors have been forced to keep him on no matter how much they’d love to kick him to the curb.
He is also the son of a former commissioner and the father of three cops (one deceased — his son Joe died in the line of duty before the series began) and a district attorney, as well as a grandfather four times over, one of whom is also a cop.
Tom Selleck has been a household name since the original Magnum PI in the early 1980s.
Back then, he was a heartthrob on whom most of the girls in my elementary school had a crush, and their parents probably did, too.
Now 79 years old, he’s been fortunate enough to have a second hugely popular role as Frank Reagan.
Related: 2024 Cancelations: What’s Next For the Stars of Station 19, Blue Bloods, Young Sheldon?
He is also well-known for his role as Jesse Stone in nine CBS TV movies.
Jesse Stone is quite a different kind of police leader than Frank Reagan, as he is an alcoholic who was asked to resign from his post because of his drunken behavior and gets a new job because of a corrupt board that mistakenly thinks he is easy to control.
Selleck recently wrote a memoir about his accidental career as an actor (he didn’t plan to become one originally), his marriage, and his life on his California ranch.
He has also done some book-related events, so keep your eyes peeled to see if he may be visiting your area!
Deputy Commissioner Garrett Moore (Gregory Jbara)
As Deputy Commissioner, Garrett’s job is mainly to handle public relations for the NYPD.
This often puts him at odds with Frank because Frank doesn’t care about how things look, and Garrett usually cares too much.
He’s constantly pushing Frank to smooth things over with the mayor or make policy decisions based on optics, which Frank has no use for.
He has been there so long that he is an honorary member of the Reagan family, though he sometimes doesn’t feel like it. He’s a civilian, not a cop, and sometimes feels his perspective is less welcome as a result.
He also felt dismissed and taken unseriously when he turned to Frank for help after becoming a victim of a swatting attack on Blue Bloods Season 8 Episode 4.
Garett was married then, though it’s unclear what happened to his wife as he seemed to be interested in a neighbor he pulled strings for to get her an audience with Frank when her car was impounded.
Like Len Cariou, Jbara is a Broadway actor. He was in the original cast for several musicals, including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Victor/Victoria, and has appeared in many others.
Jbara is also a voiceover artist who has contributed to several animated features, most notably Disney’s Tangled.
Related: Who Should Replace Blue Bloods’ Frank Reagan as Commissioner If He Steps Down?
Finally, he was the narrator for TBS’ Ripley’s Believe it or Not.
His voice is featured on the DVD of that series.
Lieutenant Sid Gormley (Robert Clohessy)
Gormley is a former boss of Danny’s who is currently the special assistant to the commissioner.
That makes him Frank’s right-hand man. He is supposed to offer advice based on his perspective about police procedures and protocols, but more often than not, Gormley reacts instinctively, taking the side of any cop Frank is considering disciplining.
Related: Blue Bloods Review: Is The Series Already Wrapping Some Things Up?
When Gormley was Danny’s boss, the two never got along, probably because they were too damn alike.
They’re both hotheads fiercely loyal to the NYPD, sometimes at the expense of fairness.
Frank transferred Gormley to his office during Blue Bloods Season 5, partially because his old right-hand man had quit and Danny and Gormley didn’t get along.
Robert Clohessy is no stranger to police dramas. He starred on Hill Stree Blues as Patrick Flaherty and has also played a prison warden on Boardwalk Empire and a correctional officer on Oz.
His character on Oz was named Sean Murphy. Fortunately, the name was spelled differently than Freddie Highmore’s character on The Good Doctor, which should help reduce confusion between the two characters.
Perhaps his penchant for playing law enforcement members comes from his dad being a police officer in real life.
Clohessy has also had roles in many other shows, including Boy Meets World, All My Children, and Guiding Light.
He also had a supporting role in the Beatles-inspired movie Across the Universe, playing Jude’s father.
Detective Abigail Baker (Abigail Hawk)
Abigail often acts as Frank’s receptionist, announcing visitors when they arrive at his office and keeping track of his schedule.
However, she is a police detective and occasionally goes out in the field.
In recent seasons, Abigail has graduated from a minor character to a full-fledged member of the Dream Team.
She often confronts Frank when she disagrees with how he is handling things.
Related: Blue Bloods Review: Pressure From All Sides
Abigail is currently separated from her husband, Brian, a police officer.
She is a tough woman who can more than handle herself and fought off someone who assaulted her a few years ago.
Like the actor who plays her co-worker, Sid Gormley, Abigail Hawk had a small role in Across the Universe.
She appeared on an episode of Law & Order: SVU near the beginning of her career.
She was also on the series a second time, participating in Raul Esperaza’s final episode as a series regular.
Blue Bloods has been her breakout series, although Hawk has never been listed as a main cast member.
She has been in over 200 episodes.
She also played Samantha Bonner on the 1995 series Reality Check.
Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg)
Frank’s eldest surviving son has mellowed in recent years, but he used to be known for his hotheaded ways.
He would lose his temper with suspects sometimes and use questionable interrogation methods, and even today, the bad guys can push his buttons easily by disrespecting his late wife.
That’s why it’s too bad Blue Bloods is not an NBC show; it would be an inspired and surprising crossover if Danny worked with Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Elliot Stabler or Chicago PD’s Hank Voight.
Danny’s hotheaded, impulsive ways come from his passion for justice. He’s not above breaking the rules for what he sees as a good cause and is fighting the good fight for a better world.
He especially drives his sister Erin up the wall, as she is an assistant district attorney, and he is forever in her office pressuring her to get him a warrant or prosecute a case without sufficient evidence.
Donnie Wahlberg was also once a teen heartthrob.
He was one of the original members of the 90s boy band New Kids on the Block, which started when he was 15 years old.
Although the band broke up in 1994, they reunited in 2008 and continue to tour today, so if you’re a fan, keep your eyes on ticket sales.
Wahlberg doesn’t sing much on Blue Bloods, though he did get to do karaoke on one episode.
However, his Instagram demonstrates that he has a positive attitude and has lots of fun on set.
Related: Marisa Ramirez Teases Blue Bloods Season 4, Gushes Over Donnie Wahlberg’s Boy Band Moves
He is reportedly the only actor who eats the food during the dinner scenes, which take hours to film.
Wahlberg is one of eight children; his brother Mark is also a well-known actor.
He has been married to Jenny McCarthy since 2014 and has talked recently about how they make a long-distance relationship work at times when he’s in New York filming Blue Bloods, and she’s in Los Angeles filming The Masked Singer.
Sean Reagan (Andrew Terraciano)
Sean is the younger of Danny’s two sons and the only one still living at home.
Long-time viewers have enjoyed watching Sean and his brother Jack, played by real-life brothers Andrew and Tony Terraciano, grow up on screen.
Sean was a kindergartener when the series began and is now a college student, demonstrating how long Blue Bloods has been on and reinforcing its commitment to family values.
Sean has always been a bit of a wise guy and practical joker and occasionally has shocked everyone at the family dinner table into silence, such as when, as a little boy, he announced he wanted to be a fireman when he grew up instead of a policeman.
(Yes, Blue Bloods embraces the tired TV trope of cops and firefighters hating one another.)
Andrew Terraciano was just seven years old when he began working on Blue Bloods, so unsurprisingly, he hasn’t had many other roles.
Not many child actors, or adults for that matter, are lucky enough to have the same role for 14 years, and it could have gone on for longer if CBS hadn’t decided they couldn’t afford Blue Bloods anymore.
Related: Blue Bloods’ Cancellation Is a Stark Reminder of the Constrained Economics of Broadcast TV
Not only did he grow up on the set, work with his real-life brother, and have a steady job throughout his formative years, but Terraciano was fortunate enough to work with Tom Selleck, who is undoubtedly one of the giants in the TV industry at this point.
Although his only other role so far was in a short in 2014, Terraciano has a promising future ahead of him as an actor.
Detective Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez)
Maria Baez has been Danny’s partner since Season 4.
She replaced his previous partner, Jackie Curatola, who had to be written out because Jennifer Esposito’s celiac disease made it impossible for her to continue on the series.
Baez had a troubled brother, Javier, whom she had cut out of her life because of his drug addiction. Javier ended up being killed in one of TV’s saddest deaths; after sobering up and reconciling with Maria, he sacrificed his life to stop her from getting shot during a drug raid.
Tragedies like that and the sudden death of Danny’s wife, Linda, before the start of Season 8 have brought Baez and Danny closer together, leading to an endless fan debate between Baez/Danny shippers and those who think they should never cross that line.
Baez adopted an abandoned baby at the end of Season 12.
Marisa Ramirez has played a cop on three separate occasions. In addition to playing Baez, she played Officer Riley Dunn on Body of Proof and Detective Lina Flores on Lifetime’s Against the Wall.
Additionally, Ramirez has guest starred on other police procedurals such as CSI: NY, CIS: Miami, and Without a Trace.
Related: Blue Bloods: Is Inconsistent Quality Marring the Final Season?
She is also well known on the soap opera circuit, having guest starred on Days of Our Lives and Bold and the Beautiful before landing her first significant role on General Hospital in 2000.
Ramirez joined Young and the Restless as Carmen Mensta, who was subsequently killed off. She then returned to the serial as her character’s cousin.
Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan)
Erin is Frank’s only daughter. She is an assistant district attorney in Manhattan who once had ambitions of running for District Attorney but decided it was not for her.
Erin and Frank are equally stubborn and insistent on doing what they think is right despite the optics — or its effect on their loved ones.
They often butt heads when Frank believes the DA’s office is implementing policies that hurt the NYPD or vice versa.
If the potential Blue Bloods spinoff becomes a reality, one possibility is a story set in the DA’s office, giving the audience access to Erin’s point of view.
Doing so might make her a more sympathetic character.
She’s often annoyed when her brothers, especially Danny, barge into her office demanding favors, which I can’t blame her for.
It must be annoying that they keep using their family connection like that, especially considering that they want something impossible half the time.
Bridget Monyhan has a long list of credits, including Natasha on Sex in the City, Susan Calvin on I, Robot, and Dorothy Quimby on Ramona and Beezus.
Related: Blue Bloods Spring Report Card: Strong Stories Among The Heartbreaking Cancelation News
In addition to playing Erin Reagan for 14 years, she has directed several episodes of Blue Bloods.
Moynahan used to be involved with football star Tom Brady, and they share a son.
Anthony Abetemarco (Steven Schirripa)
Anthony is Erin’s investigator—a cop who works for the DA’s office and helps her investigate whether defendants’ stories have any merit, gather evidence to help close cases, and perform other investigative tasks related to prosecuting alleged criminals.
He and Erin are close friends, though they fight a lot, and he sometimes feels hurt when she “goes all Reagan” on him.
Some fans hope that Blue Blood’s cancellation means the writers will romantically unite Anthony and Erin at the end of the series, but that’s not likely.
The Blue Bloods writers aren’t fans of soap opera-like stories and have made it clear that they don’t think everyone needs a happily ever after or to marry their partner.
Besides, Erin might get back together with her ex, Jack Boyle (Peter Hermann), if the writers decide they need to end the series with Erin finding love.
Anthony sometimes gets thrown into cases with Danny, and the two snipe endlessly at each other, much like Stabler and his brothers on Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Anthony is fiercely proud of his Italian heritage but once got annoyed that people assumed he was in the Mafia because of his size, nationality, and thick New York accent.
Related: Blue Bloods Review: Is Erin a Glutton for Punishment?
That might have been an inside joke because Steve Schirripa was also a regular on The Sopranos.
His many TV credits also include The Secret Life of An American Teenager.
Still, many Blue Bloods fans know him best as the human dad to Willy, his dog who often eats part of Schirripa’s dinner when Schirripa broadcasts live videos on social media.
Sergeant Jamie Reagan (Will Estes)
Frank’s youngest son is sensitive and soft-spoken, but that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover.
Jamie originally had planned to become an attorney but changed his mind and went to the Police Academy, which cost him his relationship with his fiancee at the time.
During Blue Bloods’ early years, he was shown to be an unusually empathetic patrol officer who could build rapport with people with mental health issues.
He remained a patrol officer for over half of Blue Bloods’ long run despite Frank’s belief that Jamie should take the Sergeant’s exam.
He and Frank had a falling out over Frank’s strong opinion, but after they made up, Jamie did take the exam and aced it.
At the end of Season 9, he married his former patrol partner, Eddie Janko, and currently works for the Field Intelligence Office, which involves a lot of undercover work.
Will Estes has been acting since childhood. Before Blue Bloods, he was best known as JJ on American Dreams, though he also had guest roles on iconic shows such as Highway to Heaven.
He also starred on Fox’s Reunion, an example of a show that was canceled without wrapping things up sufficiently.
Related: These Cancelations Still Haunt Us
Reunion was a mystery in which someone ended up dead at a 20th high school reunion, and fans will never know who the killer is because the series disappeared without warning.
Estes has also appeared in several music videos, including the video for Jon Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life,” in which he performed his own stunts.
Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray)
Eddie was Jamie’s partner on the streets when they were patrol officers, starting on Season 4. After Season 9, she became his life partner when they married.
She and Jamie often butted heads when working together because she didn’t agree with his assessment of a case or how he was handling it.
That hasn’t changed much over the years; Jamie is now a commanding officer, and she still disagrees with how he does things.
Their wedding was one of many memorable Janko moments over the years, though some fans were disappointed that the entire episode wasn’t dedicated to the ceremony’s preparation.
That’s not how Blue Bloods rolls, but it would be a fitting ending to the series if Jamie and Eddie are expecting their first child as the credits roll for the last time.
This would show that not only their marriage but also the Reagan family will continue for generations to come.
Eddie is passionate about justice and often gets in trouble trying to do the right thing.
She was ostracized and bullied when she investigated a report that a popular cop raped a suspect and has also stood up against racial discrimination and other injustices.
She often clashes with her new boss, Sergeant McNichols, who is firm in her beliefs about how the precinct should be run and rarely listens to Eddie’s ideas.
Related: These Shows Are Successfully Commenting on Social Justice Issues
Like many Blue Bloods actors, Vanessa Ray has participated extensively in musical theatre.
She is also well known as Ce Ce Drake on Pretty Little Liars.
Ray disclosed in 2020 that she has bipolar disorder.
Who Else Might Appear on Blue Bloods’ Final Eight Episodes?
Several recurring characters will likely appear, including Will Hochman as Joe Hill, Stephanie Kurtzuba as Sergeant McNichols, Peter Hermann as Jack Boyle, and Stacey Keach as Archibishop Kevin Keanes.
Sami Gayle (Nicky) and Tony Terraciano (Jack Reagan) left Blue Bloods after Season 10, but hopefully, they will be back for the series finale to have one last family dinner.
Your turn, Blue Bloods fanatics.
Who is your favorite character, and what do you hope they get up to during Blue Bloods’ final episodes?
Hit the comments and let us know!
Blue Bloods’ final eight episodes will air on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c from October through December 2024 and stream on Paramount+ on Saturdays.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
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