Tom Selleck used his star power to make a major change to a familiar character on CBS’ long-running NYPD show, Blue Bloods.
Actress Abigail Hawk, 42, spoke to HELLO! in an exclusive interview and revealed to us that Tom, 79, wasn’t happy with her character’s name during the first season of the show and soon made his feelings known.
During the first few episodes of the debut season, Abigail played Detective Melissa Baker but was typically referred to as ‘Detective’.
However, by season two, Detective Melissa Baker was no more, and Abigail’s on-screen character became Detective Abigail Baker.
“Once Tom got his way and we started building this much more personal version of a police commissioner, he sat down with the showrunners, which I believe at the time were Mitch and Robin Burgess,” she told HELLO!
“He said, ‘We’re going to keep Abigail here as this special assistant and primary aid to the Commissioner. But I don’t like Melissa, it’s just such an ordinary name. We can do better than that.”
Tom’s insistence that Abigail’s character share her real name had a huge personal impact on the actress.
She explained: “Then legal cleared Baker quickly as a last name and the more Tom sat with Melissa he was like, ‘I don’t want to call you anything other than Abigail, I really think it suits this character.’
“It was the first time in my life that I had looked at my name in a really positive way. Growing up I hated it.”
She added: “Now all of a sudden there’s an intelligent woman behind it, there is capability. Then Abigail Baker was born by the fifth or sixth episode of season one.”
In November 2023, it was announced that Blue Bloods had been canceled by CBS and would end with its 14th season split into two parts and 18 episodes.
Many of the show’s stars have expressed their disappointment over its cancelation, including Abigail, who is not ready to entertain the idea of a spin-off, despite pleas from fans.
“I don’t want to spin off right now, this is very fresh for me and I’m still grieving because we all wanted to continue, this is not something any of us wanted,” she shared.
“We felt that there was so much more we could continue telling and sharing and creating, but I do think there are certain characters that could continue to have quite an amazing and interesting life beyond the world with the Reagans, and I think Abigail Baker is one of them.
“She’s this woman of mystery and there’s so much that we could just uncover and pull out of her.”
Abigail continued: “She has this simmering energy that I just love about her. It’s magnetic and you can’t help but be invested in what she’s got going on, whether it’s at her desk, or sitting saying nothing because her nonverbal communication is [chef’s kiss] and I leaned into that once I realized that was a great way to get camera time!
“But she also doesn’t need to say anything unless it’s necessary and when she does say something, it has meaning so I think there’s a lot of potential for her. I think she’s a fun one.”