donnie-wahlberg-says-wife-jenny-mccarthy-almost-appeared-in-season-4-of-blue-bloods

Donnie Wahlberg Says Wife Jenny McCarthy Almost Appeared in Season 4 of ‘Blue Bloods’

Donnie Wahlberg has been playing Detective Danny Reagan on Blue Bloods for going on 14 seasons, and along the way he’s seen all sorts of Hollywood happenings.

One of his own show’s biggest “what ifs” is how real-life wife Jenny McCarthy almost joined the cast.

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“Jenny almost did appear on [Blue Bloods]. Executive producer Kevin Wade asked me if she could play Danny’s high school sweetheart [in Season 4’s “Growing Boys.”] We had just started dating publicly, so to her credit, Jenny turned it down,” Wahlberg said. “Like Tom said with Larry, she didn’t want it to be disruptive for the audience. Charisma Carpenter played the part, instead.”

Donnie did mentioned, though, that he and Jenny want to work more together, most likely in a non-scripted setting.

“I don’t really watch comedies, but White Lotus was really fun,” Wahlberg answered when asked if he’d ever act in a comedy. “I love to do comedy though. Jenny (McCarthy) always said we should do a comedy together. So we treated Donnie Loves Jenny (their 2015-2016 reality show] as our sitcom. Right now, though, we’re developing non-scripted shows. Our goal is to cohost a game show.”

Donnie Wahlberg also produces and hosts a true crime show called Very Scary People

In the same interview with TV Insider, Wahlberg said no matter what he does in the entertainment business, he’s grateful to get to “have fun” for a living.

“For me, having as much fun as I do, 13 years [on Blue Bloods] have really flown by,” he said. “I know there’s another version of this life where I could have a totally different, more challenging job like my dad did. He had a lot of jobs, but mostly he drove a truck. He delivered lunches to public schools when we were kids, so we grew up on public school food that he brought home. I probably would have had fun doing that job, too, but this is a job I dreamed of.”

His “dream job” has led to a pretty high profile, as well, especially with real-life police, who seem to appreciate his long-running show.

“All the time, everywhere,” Wahlberg admitted when asked if cops stop him for pictures. “But there’s a level of camaraderie and appreciation with New York cops.

“Jenny and I were dating when she first hosted New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest. And I must have been stopped 2,000 times that night for pictures,” he continued. “Jenny said, ‘I’m the host of the show with Ryan and everyone’s stopping you!’ It’s a sign that they like our show and that’s a high compliment.”

Blue Bloods airs Friday evenings at 10 pm ET on CBS. Wahlberg’s other show, Very Scary People, airs Sundays on Investigation Discovery.