Blue Bloods is a police drama that revolves around a family whose members all serve or have served in law enforcement in some capacity. New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan is the main character. His dad Henry Reagan also happens to be a retired commissioner. Frank’s oldest son Danny is a competent detective, his other son Jamie is a police officer with the NYPD, while his daughter Erin is the Assistant District Attorney. Their blood is basically blue (get it?).
Despite not having a lot of social media buzz, Blue Bloods has had crazy ratings throughout its ten season run. For example, during the 2015-16 season, it was ranked the 10th most viewed show on American television. It was also the fourth highest-rated drama series on TV. In January 2013, Blue Bloods also set a record as the first scripted Friday night TV show to average at least 13 million viewers in ten years. There are a couple of behind-the-scenes facts that fans of Blue Bloods might not be aware of. Here are some of them!
A Former NYPD Detective Normally Edits The Scripts
Blue Bloods has a former NYPD detective on the payroll. His name is James Nuciforo and he normally reviews the scripts before they are used in filming. Since he is an experienced lawman, his job is to make sure the fictional stories in the show are as close to real-life police experiences as possible.
In an interview with Country Living Magazine, Nuciforo said: “Let’s say they get a 56-page script, I’ll give them anywhere between five to 10 pages of notes on the script, just plugging in dialogue with more jargon.” As a result, plenty of police officers are said to be fans of the show.
Commissioner Reagan’s House Is a Common Location In New York
One thing that never misses in almost every Blue Bloods episode is Commissioner Frank Reagan’s dinner with his family. During these gatherings, the family discusses various moral and career issues. These dinner scenes are usually filmed in a modified CBS studio but the house’s exterior is captured from a real home in Brooklyn, New York.
In real life, Commissioner Reagan’s house is owned by Maronites (Middle Eastern Catholics). It is located in 8070 Harbor View Terrace in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. And even though it is not open to visitors, passers-by can easily catch a glimpse of it.
Star Tom Selleck Was The Original Thomas Magnum
There’s currently a Magnum P.I reboot airing on CBS starring Jay Hernandez. The show follows Thomas Magnum, a former marine who has taken up a job as a private investigator in Hawaii. Magnum P.I is also in the same universe as Hawaii Five-O.
Tom Selleck who stars as Captain Reagan in Blue Bloods played Thomas Magnum too in a long-running 80s show of the same name. The original show ran for eight seasons and its where Tom Selleck made his mark as an actor. Given that Blue Bloods is currently in its tenth season, its safe to conclude that Selleck is a lucky TV actor who always manages to get good long term roles.
Danny Reagan’s Sons Are Brothers In Real Life
In Blue Bloods Detective Danny Reagan, the eldest son of Commissioner Frank Reagan has two sons named Sean and Jack. The two are actually real-life brothers. Jack is played by Tony Terraciano while the younger Sean is played by Andrew Terraciano.
Their age difference in real life is also the same in the show. The two brothers started out as child models before moving into acting. They landed the roles of Danny’s sons when they were eight and six years old respectively, they landed the role of Danny’s sons in Blue Bloods. Although they have no other siblings on the show. In real life, Andrew also happens to have a twin – a sister called Molly.
Danny Is Played By A Former Popular Band Member
The New Kids On The Block might or might not be familiar to you depending on when you were born. The American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts thrilled teenagers and young adults in the 80s and 90s. It was basically the One Direction of the era. The band sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
Donnie Wahlberg—who was part of the band together with Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, and Danny Wood—stars as Danny Reagan in Blue Bloods. After leaving the band, Wahlberg has gone on to have a great career in film, appearing in films such as Zookeeper, The Sixth Sense, and the Saw franchise
The Creators Worked On The Sopranos (And One Of Them Was A Receptionist For Stan Lee Too)
Blue Bloods was created by the married couple Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green. Their job history is quite interesting. The two wrote episodes for the TV shows Almost Grown, Northern Exposure and Party of Five. They then met with The Sopranos creator David Chase, who they’d worked with previously.
He hired them to write for the popular mob TV show but disagreements soon ensued. Chase implied that they didn’t understand the characters so he fired them. They still ended up being successful. And as a teenager in the 1960s, Robin Greene is said to have worked as a receptionist for Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee.
Tom Selleck Almost Ditched The Mustache
As Thomas Magnum, Tom Selleck was known for his dark mustache. This gave him a macho appearance, However, during the production phase of the first season of Blue Bloods, producers wanted Tom to shave off the mustache because they figured he was a little too old for it.
However, CBS executives had other ideas. They felt the mustache looked really good on him so they let him keep it. Seems like it was a good move after all. Commissioner Reagan without a mustache wouldn’t look as intimidating as he does now.
Filming Was Almost Moved To Toronto
A good number of TV shows aren’t actually filmed in the city or town where the story is based. This was almost the case for Blue Bloods. Even though the show is about New York City, it was almost filmed in Toronto.
Due to the massive city and state taxes of New York, the show’s producers feared that the budget would be too high. They thus considered moving up north where the rates were a bit favorable. Luckily, the production company managed to negotiate a deal with the state governments. As a result, Blue Bloods was allowed to film in New York.
Some Of The Actors Eat The Food At The Dinner Table
A lot of food is usually used in the iconic dinner table scenes. But what happens to it after filming is done? Well, some actors like Donnie Wahlberg know how to not waste food so they eat it. When asked about it by Access Hollywood, he said, “It’s dinner, right? I gotta eat.”
Selleck doesn’t appear to like the dinner scenes as much as Donnie. In an interview with People Magazine, he said: “It’s nice to spend time with the entire cast once an episode, but filming an eating scene is miserable. Well, the eating part is. You have to eat the same foods over and over again to get all the shots. We’ll probably spend eight hours shooting this scene.”
A Cast Member Was Controversially Fired
In the early seasons, there was a character known as Detective Jackie Curatola who was played by Jennifer Esposito. She was a recurring member but unfortunately, during the filming of the third season, she collapsed on the set. Esposito’s doctor recommended sick leave which she took but CBS executives felt she was deliberately staying away from work.
After she asked for lighter duties, CBS fired her. The network then issued a statement that read “Jennifer has 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.” She wasn’t too happy about it. Taking to Twitter, she said: “CBS got rid of the only minority cast member so they can have an all-white cast like CSI.” It’s quite sad that things ended like this.
