It wouldn’t be “Blue Bloods” without a family dinner. The gathering of friends and family for a sit-down and meal has become a staple on the show. The Reagans all gather together to spend time, an important motif in a show about a family of police officers.
But series star Tom Selleck revealed the family dinners are important for the actors as well. In real life, it’s one of the few times that the entire cast can gather together. Due to different storylines, some actors only see each other when they film these family occasions. For Selleck, filming the dinners feel a bit like going to a family reunion.
“Look, I love these people,” Selleck told “The Drew Berrymore Show. “They’re all close friends. So we have a family reunion once a week on the show, but we also have a personal reunion and one sometimes gets in the way of the other. It’s great.”
‘Blue Bloods’ Family Grows
Over the years, the Reagan family has grown even larger. There has been plenty of new people around the dinner table since Season One. For instance, Vanessa Ray’s Eddie Janko joined the family dinners after marrying Will Estes’ Jamie Reagan. Likewise, Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan also brought someone to dinner in Season 11. That would be his partner Detective Maria Baez. Actor Marisa Ramirez, who plays Baez, felt emotional in real life to get to be a part of the dinner scenes. She had previously been on the show for eight seasons.
“It’s eight years I’ve been there now, and it was actually very emotional for me on so many levels, which I didn’t share with anyone at the time,” Ramirez told PopCulture.
Ramirez’s grandmother passed away two weeks before she filmed. “I kept thinking about her while I was there. And it almost made me feel more comfortable and calm, and just was able to really take in the surroundings and the warmth and the fact that they welcomed me there. But again, the fact that she wasn’t going to be seeing that episode, it was touching a rough spot in my heart.”
Do the Reagans really eat their dinner? They do actually eat while around the table. But sometimes the food can be a bit sketchy after filming for hours. Still, what’s family dinner without a couple of problems? All things considered, it’s clear the actors certainly seem to enjoy themselves on “Blue Bloods.”