Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods is a television police drama with a family twist. The story lines center around the Reagans, a family with deep roots in the New York City Police Department. Frank Reagan, played by Tom Selleck, is the current Police Commissioner. A widower, he lives with his father Henry, played by Len Cariou, who is a former Police Commissioner.

While these two generations already represent the present and the past of the Department, the Reagan legacy will clearly extend into the future. Though the Reagan family has lost one son to the job, the two remaining sons of Frank Reagan are also police officers. The older, Danny, played by Donnie Wahlberg, is a New York City detective and is happily married. The younger, Jamie, played by Will Estes, is a Harvard trained lawyer who has recently joined the force.

The Reagan daughter, Erin, played by Bridget Moynahan, is not a member of the force. She is an Assistant District Attorney who works with the police on a daily basis, often with her brothers. She is also a divorced single mother of a teenager.

Other family members include Linda, Danny's wife, played by Amy Carlson; Nicky, Erin's daughter, played by Sami Gayle; and Jack and Sean, Linda and Danny's young sons, played by Tony Terraciano and Andrew Terraciano.

Although there are other regular and recurring characters, the Reagan family is at the heart of this show. In nearly every episode, there is a dinner scene, presided over by Frank and Henry, that brings the family together to discuss the case at hand and how each member sees the issues, moral and otherwise, that it presents, or to just engage in mundane family banter. The affection and bonds the family shares shine through the occasional disagreements.

These family scenes balance this police drama whose other scenes can sometimes be violent. Danny Reagan, in particular, likes to push the envelope of accepted police procedure. The stories are drawn from recent headlines and have included terrorism in New York City, crime mobs and the human aftermath of September 11.