With only five more episodes left of Blue Bloods, the pressure is on for how NBC will write off New York City’s most honorable family. As speculation grows that Blue Bloods could kill off patriarch Commissioner Frank Reagan, the series dropped a hint for how it’ll write off another main character — and it doesn’t look pretty.
Does Danny get fired on Blue Bloods?
The promo for Season 14, Episode 14, “New York Minute,” suggested that Detective Danny Reagan — Frank’s eldest son and the brother of ADA Erin and Sergeant Jamie Reagan — could get fired from the New York Police Department in Blue Bloods‘ final few episodes.
The promo saw Frank defend Danny in a conversation with Grace Edwards (played by Lori Loughlin), the widow of late NYPD trainee Louis Edwards who last made a guest appearance on the series in Season 7. “My son is a decorated cop and a fine family man,” Frank tells Grace, who responds, “He’s also from New York’s most visible cop family and enjoys as a very loose cannon.” The promo ends with Danny telling Frank, “This is getting really personal.”
While fans won’t know for sure whether Danny is fired from the NYPD until Blue Bloods‘ series finale airs, Donnie Wahlberg, who’s played Danny since Season 1 of Blue Bloods, hinted in an interview with TV Insider in October 2024 that, if Danny does leave the NYPD, he’ll at least stay a part of the force until the final episode, given that the last scene he filmed for the series ever was in the NYPD’s squad room with Danny’s love interest, Detective Maria Baez, played by Marisa Ramirez.
“The last day on the set of Blue Bloods was a lot of tears,” he said. “My final day was in the squad room where Danny and Baez filmed most of their scenes and Tom Selleck doesn’t come to the squad room ever — I don’t think he’s ever been in the squad room—but he came that day to watch us film the last day of the show. And seeing him there and seeing the emotion on his face, just it, yeah, turned on the waterworks for me.”
If Danny does get fired from the NYPD, Wahlberg at least teased a happy ending for his character and Baez after almost 10 seasons worth of their “Will they? Won’t they?” romance.
“The possibility of a Danny Baez romance has been discussed by a lot of people, not always by the show itself or the writers of the show, or even Maris a Ramirez and I,” he said. “But I think the audience at first was reluctant for a possible Danny and Baez relationship because of the loss of Linda. I think that was very traumatic for the viewers. It was also very traumatic for me personally being a friend of Amy Carlson and for the show.”
He continued, “So I think for a long time everyone was very reluctant to even consider such a thing, but I think as the show is winding down, it’s become clear that they have a special partnership and a special bond and I don’t know and won’t say whether or not there will be or should be a relationship. I will only say that the final episode will make a lot of people smile— that’s all I’m saying—and cry, but also smile.”
Wahlberg also confirmed that Blue Bloods’ series finale will provide definitive answers to some of the series’ longest-running cliffhangers. “There are a lot of questions that audience members have had for a long time that I think will be answered if not teased in a way that will give you answers for where people’s lives may go in the future,” he said.
If Danny is fired from the NYPD, it could open the door for a Blue Bloods spinoff featuring him at another law enforcement office in the country, which Wahlberg hinted at in another interview with TV Insider in October 2024. While Wahlberg didn’t confirm a Blue Bloods spinoff was in the works, he stated that he’d be open to the idea if the spinoff was still in the “spirit of Blue Bloods.” What better way to pay homage to the original series by having the new show centered around Danny leading a new team?
“There’s been a lot of talk about spinoffs, about various spinoffs, all types of concepts of spinoffs. I, for me personally, would say whatever happens next, if it’s done with the spirit of Blue Bloods and done with the care that we tried to put into Blue Bloods every week, it would be something that I would look forward to watching or being a part of either way. I’ve heard stories of prequels, sequels, you name it,” he said. “For me personally, I love the show. I’ve enjoyed working on it for 14 years and like I said, whatever comes next, as long as it has family at its core and the spirit of Blue Bloods, then I’m all for it.”
He continued, “There’s a final season of Blue Bloods still to air, so I’m looking forward to watching those episodes with all of my incredible fans of the show and tweeting with them every Friday night for every final episode. And I think after that, we’ll see what happens next. Spinoffs, sequels, it’s all good to me. I think what I do know is there are millions of people who love this show and want it to continue somehow some way. And if there’s a way that we can give them some extension of Blue Bloods, then great. I have nothing more to offer than that, but I will be enjoying the final eight episodes with the fans. That’s my priority right now.”