Once in a while, Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) gets paired up with a new partner who isn’t Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez). He’s gone toe-to-toe with family friend Anthony Abetemarco (Steve Schirripa), and he experienced a severe clash of cultures with southern Major Waylon Gates (Lyle Lovett). During “Without Fear or Favor,” Danny is brought into contact with the very British Christopher Granger (Jake Weber). Granger accuses Danny of slaughtering the English language; Danny thinks Granger is a snob. But they have a criminal to catch and that supersedes everything.
The connection is typical of these sorts of episodes — Danny and Granger have a culture clash, grudgingly get along for the case’s sake, and then manage to bring in the internationally connected bad guy before it’s too late. They part as almost-friends. It’s all very typical of the guest partner scenario “Blue Bloods” has done before, but the episode seems to be setting Granger up in a certain way. Could he be the character being set up to carry the show’s greenlit but thus far star-free spin-off just like the one Danny himself almost got?
The episode goes out of its way to establish Granger as a good man
Let’s look at the facts; Christopher Granger is portrayed as smart, righteous, and well-spoken in his outing on “Blue Bloods.” He’s commanding, and the case he brings to the episode is a rarity in that it takes Danny beyond the borders of his New York world. It’s not often that he collaborates with Interpol, but he acquits himself well. So does Granger in adapting to America.
Might the franchise want to go international? It’s quite possible. As New York-centered and community-based as “Blue Bloods” is, “NCIS” was once very much a show about life in Washington, D.C., and is now a franchise that straddles the United States and indeed the world. It would be easy to mine seasons out of a fish-out-of-water premise of transplanting him to America or creating an agency for him in England. While CBS hasn’t announced a Granger “Blue Bloods” spin-off as of this writing, he definitely seems to be in the running as a possibility. Then again, he might disappear into the ether like another of Danny’s guest agents.
Will Granger go the way of Lyle Lovett’s Major Waylon Gates?
Christopher Granger’s chemistry with Danny likely reminds audiences of the latter’s time working with Waylon Gates (Lyle Lovett), who has appeared on “Blue Bloods” four times while helping him pursue justice. He first shows up during Season 10, where he helps Baez and Danny track down the Lone Star Killer. He comes back during Season 12’s “Old Friends,” where Gates tries to help Danny stop a huge flood of illegal drugs from hitting the streets.
Fans were thrilled when Gates resurfaced during Season 13, and during “Close to Home,” he finds himself on an escort mission with Danny, once more delivering a drug cartel member to justice. But audiences have seen neither hide nor hair of Gates since. Perhaps he’ll resurface during Season 14, but his multiple appearances also feel like backdoor pilots that never reached fruition. Could Granger end up in a similar situation? Or will he become the center of a whole new series? Time — and the next set of CBS upfronts — will tell.