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This season of Blue Bloods kicked off with a powerful guest star. Whoopi Goldberg returned as City Council Speaker Regina Thomas. This is what she had to say to Frank (Tom Selleck) and if she’ll return in season 11.

Whoopi Goldberg appeared in the ‘Blue Bloods’ Season 11 premiere

Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, Whoopi Goldberg as Regina Thomas in 'Blue Bloods'
Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, Whoopi Goldberg as Regina Thomas in ‘Blue Bloods’ | Patrick Harbron/CBS via Getty Images

The episode “Triumph Over Trauma” showed City Council Speaker Regina Thomas calling out the NYPD publicly for corruption on the radio. She talked about repurposing the NYPD resources. She also didn’t have hope in retraining the officers.

Frank later met with Regina in his office. He tells her that he thinks every officer is being painted with the same brush. She told him he has criminals in his ranks and needs to get them in check.

The episode ended with Frank and Regina talking about their differences over the radio. Frank also got to address the concerns of citizens while on air.

The showrunner said there are no plans for her return yet

It’s obvious the show wanted to acknowledge the Defund the Police movement. But it doesn’t look like Goldberg will be back to continue her conversation with Frank.

Showrunner Kevin Wade was asked if Goldberg will be returning later this season. “No plans right now but plans are more fluid than ever now because shortly after we started shooting I think episode 2, we were told that or order had been reduced from the usual 22 down to 16,” Wade told Deadline. “So, I would hope to have Whoopi back in this season but there’s no date, episode slotted right now.”

But he did say other Black characters will have a story this season. “It will be addressed that a Black female from Atlanta was moved over Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) to become the acting district attorney for Manhattan by the white governor of New York, if we’re going to stay in our fictional world,” he said.

Goldberg previously appeared on the show twice

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This season wasn’t Goldberg’s first time being on the show. Her first appearance was back in season 6 in the episode, “Help Me, Help You.” The episode showed Regina Thomas becoming the new speaker and wanting to dismantle the “Broken Windows Policy.”

She later returned in season 8 in the episode, “The Enemy Of My Enemy”. Mayor Dutton (Lorraine Bracco) opposed Frank’s public safety initiative. Regina teams up with Frank by coming up with a plan to get around the mayor’s veto.

So Frank and Regina have an interesting relationship. They both seemingly want to do what’s best for the community. But they have different opinions on how the police should be run to achieve that goal.

Fans will have to wait and see if Goldberg will return. But it looks like the show will continue to move forward without her for now.

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