Why Amy Carlson Left Blue Bloods & Linda Died Off-Screen

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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.

Linda and Danny’s relationship in Blue Bloods was sometimes rocky. They didn’t see eye-to-eye on how to raise their sons, especially on big issues. Additionally, Danny was too protective of Linda at times, while Linda felt that Danny made his job a higher priority than his family. Despite these big problems, the two stayed together until Linda’s off-screen death in Blue Bloods season 8. Her absence left a hole in Danny’s life that he was not able to entirely fill by the series’ end in 2024.

Amy Carlson Left Blue Bloods When Her Contract Ended

The Actress Was Ready To Move On To Other Projects

Linda and Erin talk in the kitchen while making Sunday dinner

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.

Amy Carlson Was Disappointed With Linda’s Off-Screen Death

Carlson Felt The Way It Was Done Did A Disservice To Fans

Blue Bloods Danny and Linda in the hospital

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.”

She [Carlson] would have been willing to return to film a death scene.

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 Linda realizes she's been shot

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.

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.

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.

How Linda Reagan’s Death Impacted Blue Bloods

Her Absence Was Hardest On Danny But Was Felt By Everybody

Blue Bloods Danny admits his loneliness to Henry

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.

Danny never stopped missing Linda. He sometimes visited her grave, and as time went on he resisted Frank and Henry’s efforts to convince him to start dating again. Additionally, Linda’s absence meant that Danny had to parent the boys on his own, without her input. He also changed his personality somewhat — the later seasons of Blue Bloods offered a softer, more mellow version of Danny that was very different from his original character.

Did Danny Have Another Romance After Linda’s Death?

The Series Ended On A Hopeful Note For Him

Donnie Wahlberg as Danny and Marisa Ramirez as Baez on the street in Blue Bloods

Danny originally planned to remain a widower for the rest of his life. Neither Frank nor Henry had moved on after their wives’ deaths, and Danny didn’t see a reason to depart from that tradition. His father and grandfather discouraged this idea, as Danny was far younger than they were when their wives died, but Danny didn’t want to listen. However, toward the end of Blue Bloods, Danny began to be more open to the idea of a second romance.

Their [Danny and Baez’s] potential romance did not play out on-screen, but the invitation implied they were exploring a relationship.

Most of Danny’s dates were off-screen. Meanwhile, the fanbase was divided about whether Blue Bloods should allow Danny to have a romance with Baez (Marisa Ramirez), his work partner. Additionally, Danny had chemistry with a psychic played by Callie Thorne, but nothing ever came of this. In the Blue Bloods series finale, Danny realized with Henry’s help that he was lonely, and in one of the final scenes he asked Baez out for pizza. Their potential romance did not play out on-screen, but the invitation implied they were exploring a relationship.

What Amy Carlson Has Done Since Blood Bloods

One Recent Role Is Similar To Linda

Law & Order SVU Amy Carlson And Terry Serpico standing together

Carlson has been in several projects since leaving Blue Bloods. She is a frequent guest star on network television, particularly Dick Wolf Entertainment shows. Carlson has appeared twice on FBI: Most Wanted as Jackie Ward, a bounty hunter who the late Jess LaCroix (Julian McMahon) was familiar with.

Ironically, Carlson’s recent guest appearance in Law & Order: SVU was again as the wife of a hotheaded cop. Like Blue Bloods‘ Linda, her character in SVU was the voice of reason and the only one who could calm down her husband when he wanted to do something stupid. Carlson’s appearance on this procedural was in 2024. Carlson will soon appear in a short called Emma’s Dilemmas about a woman who may need her meddling mother’s help to find true love.

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