One Problem With Blue Bloods Having Such A Large Ensemble Cast, According To Donnie Wahlberg

Donnie Wahlberg in Blue Bloods

Starring on a long-running TV show can mean a cast that turns into more of a family than a group of colleagues. However, being close with the people you work if that group of people happens to be large can present some problems. CBS' Blue Bloods has had a large ensemble cast ever since its debut back in 2010, and star Donnie Wahlberg spoke out about why the large ensemble isn't always a good thing.

Donnie Wahlberg, who plays Detective Danny Reagan on the long-running CBS procedural, spoke to PopCulture about the show’s eleven seasons so far, getting into the fact that with the large ensemble cast, it’s hard to have scenes with everyone over the years. Wahlberg explained:

We have a great cast with so many great people, it's hard to work with them all. I've barely done any scenes with Will Estes in the last season or two, so it's hard. You look around and three years have passed and you've only done one scene with somebody and it's kind of like, how did that happen? But hopefully we'll keep going.

Donnie Wahlberg also mentioned that after ten years, they’re still having more fun on the show than ever before. For ten years now, Blue Bloods has been the number one show on Friday nights and Wahlberg doesn’t see that stopping anytime soon. The series premiered in 2010 and is currently in its eleventh season, with no signs of CBS slowing down the show anytime soon. Although ratings have dropped over the last few seasons, Blue Bloods is still holding strong and averaged nearly 12 million viewers the previous season.

With ten seasons under the Blue Bloods belt and the eleventh in progress, it’s hard for the characters to all interact with each other at one point or another. Currently, Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny’s storylines primarily involve Detective Maria Baez, with the occasional appearance from other Reagan family members.

Blue Bloods centers around the Reagan family who have a history of work in law enforcement, with each member of the family representing a different aspect of police work or the legal process. The series has involved storylines that include police midsconduct, the recent police brutality and more. Donnie Wahlberg even mentioned before that with a show like Blue Bloods, it's hard to avoid having those "tough conversations."

As Blue Bloods continues its current season, it's only a question of what will happen next and who will interact with whom. Hopefully, more characters will get to interact with those they usually don't, for the fans and for the cast.

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.