'Blue Bloods' Cast Then and Now — Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Other Stars

A Friday night staple on CBS, “Blue Bloods” premiered a decade ago in 2010. In tribute to the milestone reached by the Reagan family, we looked at the cast - seemingly as solid as the show.

In September 2010, the police procedural drama “Blue Bloods” premiered. Since then, the Irish Catholic Reagan family of cops gained a consistent viewership as they battle crime in New York City.

And consistency filtered through to the cast as well. The cornerstones of the Reagan family featured in every single episode thus far, while some deductions and additions followed as the seasons went by.

THE CORNERSTONES

At the head of the family is Henry Reagan, who, portrayed by Len Cariou, acts as the retired New York police commissioner. Henry’s son, Frank Reagan, is another cornerstone of the series.

Tom Selleck plays Frank, and as the current police commissioner, he has his hands full in keeping the peace at work and home. Frank’s three children fill out the rest of the cornerstones.

Erin Reagan is the gutsy assistant district attorney played by Bridget Moynahan, and she has two brothers. The youngest of the three, Jamie (Will Estes), is a sergeant, while the eldest, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), works as a detective.

SOME HAVE COME AND GONE

While the cornerstones are still going strong with season 11 of “Blue Bloods” scheduled to premiere in the fall, Jennifer Esposito and Amy Carlson were one of the first original cast members to leave the show.

Esposito starred as Detective Jackie Curatola and left the show in 2012 after 46 episodes. Carlson starred as Danny’s wife, Linda, and she left more recently, in 2017, after 155 episodes. But there have also been additions to the main cast over the years.

Marisa Ramirez joined the series in season 3 as Maria Baez, while Vanessa Ray, who plays Eddie Janko, came on board during the fourth season. In 2015, Steve Schirripa joined the cast as Anthony Abetemarco.

WHY THEY LEFT

Behind the scenes of Esposito’s exit loomed much more than her character’s early retirement from the NYPD. Following her departure, the actress claimed during an interview that things went south for her after she received a celiac disease diagnosis.

The network put her on unpaid leave but barred her from working elsewhere after she shared her diagnosis. However, they decided to let her go from the series due to her need for a reduced schedule due to the disease.

Carlson didn’t appreciate how her character suddenly died in a medivac helicopter crash at the end of season 7. During a later interview, she said the show’s writers “surprised” her how they handled the exit. Since fans didn’t actually see her character’s death, she would have wanted them to have at least that.

SOME PREVIOUSLY STARRED IN SOAPS

“

” features many familiar faces on television, but a good portion of the show’s cast members actually got their start in the industry acting in soaps.

Ramirez is one of the six cast members, as she began her career with “Port Charles” back in 1997. Carlson, on the other hand, began with “Another World,” wherein she starred from 1993 to 1998.