Why Amy Carlson Left *Blue Bloods* and Shockingly Killed Off Linda Off-Screen

There was a reason that Amy Carlson, known on-screen as Linda Reagan, left Blue Bloods ahead of season 8. During the first seven seasons of the popular cop and family drama, Linda was a big part of the show. She was often the only one Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) would listen to when he wanted to do something that would make everything worse. She was also a constant presence at the Reagan family dinner table in Blue Bloods, in addition to being a mother to the two boys she and Danny were raising.

Carlson’s exit from Blue Bloods wasn’t due to any behind-the-scenes drama. The actress chose not to renew her contract after seven years with the procedural. It is not surprising that she made this decision, as she had been working on the same show for over half a decade. It is common in the television industry for actors to decide not to renew contracts so that they can explore other projects, especially if they have been playing the same role for several years.

Although Carlson’s reasons for leaving Blue Bloods are not surprising, her exit stands out because so few actors made the same choice over the series’ 14-year run. Blue Bloods had very little cast turnover for a show that lasted over a decade. Carlson was one of the only actors to leave Blue Bloods and the only one playing a member of the Reagan family to depart, making her exit especially noteworthy.

Linda’s off-screen death was not popular because of how it was handled. The character did not get a death scene in Blue Bloods; instead, the season 8 premiere opened several months after her death, with Danny struggling to process his grief. This story led to so much anger that there was a fan-led movement to bring Linda back, and Carlson agreed with the audience’s anger (via Deadline): “I never wanted it to end that way, so I feel sad for the fans because everyone wants closure, and I hear that a lot from the fans.”

Blue Bloods had to kill Linda because there was no other way to explain her absence, and Carlson understood that. However, she would have been willing to return to film a death scene. Although Linda was not as major a character as Danny, Jamie, or Erin, she was a part of the Reagan family and Carlson believed that she should have been written out properly.

Carlson also didn’t agree that her decision not to renew her contract was so sudden that the Blue Bloods writers could not arrange for Linda’s death to be on-screen. She commented on this in her Deadline interview, stating: “[I]t’s standard to have conversations with actors whose contracts are up prior to the season ending. It’s not that you start to shoot and don’t know.”

How Blue Bloods Fans Reacted To Linda Reagan’s Death

The Off-Screen Death Triggered Their Anger

Blue Bloods had a passionate fanbase that was not shy about expressing its opinion when things did not go as expected. Millions of people started a fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods when the series was canceled, and there was a similar outcry when Linda was killed off-screen. Fans were still angry six weeks after Linda’s death in Blue Bloods. They expressed their outrage by commenting on articles online, sharing their thoughts on social media, and reaching out to Carlson herself to beg her to come back.

Blue Bloods prided itself on realistic stories, so the only way Linda could ever return would be in flashbacks of her death. Sadly, while Carlson would have been willing to film such scenes, Blue Bloods never approached her about this idea. The desire for closure never fully subsided. As Blue Bloods‘ series finale approached, a soap opera-like twist in which it was revealed Linda was still alive was on the top of fan-made lists of what they wanted to happen.

Linda’s death itself might not have been handled in the best possible manner, but the aftermath fit Blue Bloods’ emphasis on family values. An early season 8 episode had Blue Bloods’ Reagan family rally around Danny, who was lost in shock and grief. The family helped Danny rent a new house for himself and the boys and had their Sunday dinner there instead of at Frank and Henry’s. While Danny’s grief subsided, his need for family support did not, and Frank (Tom Selleck), Henry (Len Cariou), and the others were there for him throughout the rest of Blue Bloods.