'Blue Bloods' Season 11: Premiere Date, Cast, and More Key Facts You Must Know

The recent announcement of the premiere date for the highly-anticipated season 11 of CBS's "Blue Bloods" has generated major buzz on social media. Here is all you need to know about the well-watched show.

"Blue Bloods" is a popular police procedural television drama series that airs every Friday, along with other popular CBS shows, including "MacGyver," and "Magnum P.I."

The show, which Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess created, first premiered on CBS on September 24, 2010. It is executive produced by Leonard Goldberg and Brian Burns.

"Blue Bloods" follows the Reagans, a family with a rich history of service in law enforcement. Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is the police commissioner and patriarch of the family.

Frank's oldest son Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is an NYPD detective, his youngest son Jamie (Will Estes) is an NYPD sergeant, and his daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan) works as an assistant district attorney.

Other "Blue Bloods" cast members include Amy Carlson (Linda Rose Reagan), Len Cariou (Commissioner (ret.) Henry Reagan), Sami Gayle (Nicole "Nicky" Reagan-Boyle), Marisa Ramirez (Detective Maria Baez), Vanessa Ray (Officer Edit "Eddie" Janko-Reagan).

The show originally featured a 22-episode season, but the novel coronavirus pandemic forced many networks to cut short the 2019-2020 seasons of most series.

In a July interview, the actor hinted that some of the real-life events happening in the country would influence proceedings in the forthcoming season.

As safety concerns due to COVID-19 continue to hang over the entertainment industry, CBS has reacted by trimming the orders of its scripted series, including "Blue Bloods," from its original 22 episodes to about 16 and 18.

THE UPCOMING SEASON

Over the last decade, CBS's popular crime-drama series "Blue Bloods" has garnered a strong following, and it's ratings show that it is one of the most-watched TV programs every Friday.

So, it came as no surprise when fans reacted excitedly after actor Donnie Wahlberg accidentally revealed that the show had been renewed for another season in May.

Even though the show had not been officially renewed for newer seasons by the network, the show's lead cast, Tom Selleck, expressed optimism over its long-term future during an interview with PEOPLE earlier in the year. In his words:

"I don't think there is an end point. I think there is a lot of life in the show, as long as you let your characters grow and get older."

Well, much to fans' delight, CBS confirmed the show had been picked up for its 11th season and is scheduled to premiere on Friday, December 4.

From the synopsis of the season header recently released by CBS, the show will address front-burner topics in the country like police brutality and the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The season opener also features officer Eddie playing an unlikely hero. She steps up to help a woman find her father's body after it was lost during the outset of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

More importantly, the season opener will also try to quickly integrate the new family member into the scheme of things as Jamie and his newly found nephew, Joe Hill, partner up to locate Danny and Baez when they go missing while on a killer's trail.

NEW FAMILY MEMBER

During the "Blue Bloods" season 10 finale, the showrunners pulled a major plot twist when introducing a new member of the Reagans family.

Joe Hill (Will Hochman, "The Code") was revealed as the grandson of police commissioner Frank Reagan. Hill's history can be traced back to before the series began, when Frank's oldest son Joe, an NYPD police officer, was killed on duty.

Interestingly, the younger Joe is also a police officer and has already been welcomed into the fold by his new-found family. The finale was rightly titled "Family Secrets," and fans applauded the plot twist. One particular fan tweeted:

"Aww and Joe lives on... Even named after his dad. Love this twist."

It is not only fans who are happy about the new plot twist. While speaking about his new-found on-screen nephew, Wahlberg claimed he is thrilled to have more faces on the legendary Reagan family dinner table.

Apart from his comments on the finale's plot twist, Wahlberg has been airing his thoughts on the upcoming season. In a July interview, the actor hinted that some of the real-life events happening in the country would influence proceedings in the forthcoming season.

Over the last decade, the cast members have developed a close friendship, and they would love to keep the ball rolling for as long as possible. The network remains mute on that possibility, but for now, all focus has shifted to the new season.