‘Blue Bloods’: Donnie Wahlberg Hopes the Reagan Dinner Table Has More Guests
Those dinner conversations at the Reagan household in CBS’ Blue Bloods continue to delight loyal viewers of the show. It also brings a rarity to TV in seeing a family discuss personal and larger issues around a dinner table. Something like that was seen more often on TV 40 years ago.
Nowadays, the dinner conversations among the Reagans have become the most favorite part of the series, if perhaps keeping it only within the confines of the family. Once in a while, the family would bring in a few guests, though not often.
In a recent interview from Donnie Wahlberg, he mentioned he hopes the show will change this going forward. Which guests should they bring in?
Guess who came to dinner at the Reagan house before?
One notable guest who showed up at the dinner table in past Blue Bloods seasons is Frank’s former partner, Lenny Ross (played by Treat Williams). He was one of the few invited people to the Reagan house to sit with the family, something only occurring in one episode.
Not very many other guests have shown up, other than some direct or indirect members of the family. For instance, Linda (Danny’s late wife) joined in on dinner. Some of those moments were more than a little tense.
Other times, dinner was a little different from the usual. In one episode, Frank and Henry babysat Danny and Linda’s two sons. They ultimately went out to eat, one of the few times anyone saw the Reagans take on food other than their own.
Beyond this, it seems the only new regular at the dinner table is going to be Joe. He is the newly discovered grandson of Frank from his eldest (and now departed) son by the same name.
Who does Donnie Wahlberg want at the dinner table?
In an interview with TV Insider recently, Wahlberg noted he hopes more guests will start showing up for dinner. He said he loved it when Treat Williams was a guest there years back.
As for a wish list, Wahlberg says that his partner, Det. Baez (played by Marissa Ramirez) should be one of those long overdue as a dinner guest. Why she has not been invited yet is a mystery, unless what the viewer sees is not indicative of whom the Reagans have already had over.
According to Wahlberg in the above interview: “There’s an opportunity there to have company once in a while and engage in the conversation.” His mention of this comes on the heels of Wahlberg addressing the fact the show has to deal with reality now and the public impression of law enforcement.
Will those discussions create some powerful dinner table conversations, sometimes with new guests? To get the conversation started as Wahlberg mentioned, this may be the perfect way for a show like Blue Bloods to address our current view of police.
Who could the Reagans have over for dinner?
The potential for who could break bread with the Reagans is fairly vast when going by the number of sideline characters. Many of the others from the NYPD have apparently not visited the Reagans for dinner, including Detective Abigail Baker (Frank’s right-hand aide) as just one.
Or, there could be new people coming in to help broach discussions about police brutality, something the show is sure to touch on this coming season. Since Danny Reagan has already been accused of crossing the line a few times, having that as a key plot could bring major drama.
Having it brought up at the dinner table with guests involved might lead to some very fiery conversations. Just as long fans never see food being flung or the table being overturned, it might be proof families can talk about difficult topics in a constructive way.
