Two very familiar faces will resurface in the Blue Bloods season finale — and TVLine has all the details and first-look photos.
TVLine can exclusively report that original cast member Jennifer Esposito will return in the Season 13 finale, airing Friday, May 19, as Jackie Curatola, Danny’s old partner.
Esposito was a mainstay on the family drama/procedural for its first two seasons, then exited early in Season 3 (last appearing in the Nov 9, 2012 episode). Since then, Esposito has had roles on Mistresses, NCIS, The Boys, SVU and Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.
Sami Gayle will also put in an appearance in the season finale, as Erin’s daughter, Nicky Reagan-Boyle. Gayle was a steady presence during the show’s first 10 seasons, but has only recurred since then, last appearing Dec. 8, 2020.
Read on for details on the season finale, and first looks at Jackie and Nicky’s returns….
Jennifer Esposito as Detective Jackie Curatola
What brings back Jackie after so long an absence?
TVLine hears that after another person is murdered with all the earmarks of serial killer Dr. Leonard Walker (who was played in a February episode by Mather Zickel), Danny and Baez find themselves teaming up with Jackie — now a Chief of Police, an eagle-eyed TVLine reader notes! — to find out who is behind the slayings.
Elsewhere in the hour, Eddie and Jamie’s investigation into a repeat offender leads them to learn that Erin recently prosecuted him for a harassment charge, and Frank once again goes up against Mayor Chase (returning guest star Dylan Walsh) after he announces that he’s empowering the NYPD to take EDP and homeless people off the street, with help from Archbishop Kearns (Stacy Keach).
As for Sami….
Sami Gayle as Nicky Reagan-Boyle
Sami Gayle, meanwhile, can be seen in this family dinner scene with Tony Terraciano (who was last seen as Danny’s eldest son Jack in the Season 12 premiere), Will Estes, Vanessa Ray, Bridget Moynahan, Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Andrew Terraciano.
When TVLine’s Inside Line column last asked showrunner Kevin Wade about Sami’s whereabouts, he said that a plan to bring her back last season fell through. Looking ahead, “Hopefully she’ll swing by,” Wade said, though he noted that “sometimes characters age out, in the sense that Nicky went off to college and then moved to San Francisco, and I realized, ‘We don’t have the real estate to tell Nicky stories.’ But once it had become long enough, it was almost like, ‘Well, we should bring her back at least for a family dinner.’”
