‘Blue Bloods’ Season 11 Episode 1 ‘Triumph Over Trauma’: Can Jamie and Joe find a missing Danny and Baez?
‘Blue Bloods’ fans, are you excited to see the multi-generational family of cops back on your screens? Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry (Len Cariou), during his stint as Chief. A source of pride and concern for Frank is his eldest son, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), a seasoned detective, family man and Iraq War vet who on occasion uses dubious tactics to solve cases with his partner, Detective Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez).
Erin (Bridget Moynahan), a New York Assistant DA, serves as the legal compass for her siblings and father, as well as a single parent to her teenage daughter, Nicky (Sami Gayle). Jamie (Will Estes) is the youngest Reagan, a Harvard Law graduate and the family's "golden boy." Unable to deny the family tradition, Jamie decided to give up a lucrative future in law and follow in the family footsteps as a cop. He's found a friend and ally in Eddie (Vanessa Ray), his female partner who keeps him on his toes, and has very different reasons than the Reagans for joining the police force.
After several years of working together, Jamie and Eddie finally succumbed to their strong feelings for one another and tied the knot. Aptly titled ‘Family Secrets’, the Season 10 finale came with the shocking introduction of a new character: Joe Hill (Will Hochman), a detective in the NYPD Firearms Investigation Unit. "It was really a special room to find myself in," Hochman, who now recurs on the drama, told TVInsider. "It was quite the departure from the most recent thing I'd done, which was a two-person show on Broadway!"
Stressing that this "show about a family of white cops" was "never politically driven," executive producer Kevin Wade elucidated, "In the season going forward, we try to provide the points of view of the people who are charged with protecting and the people who sometimes charge them with stepping over boundaries in that protection. Those are both true and fair stories to tell."
Tom Selleck said, "We're staying true to Blue Bloods. We deal with the changing political environment, but my sense of it is that people need to escape a bit from everyday life right now, and we're going to deliver on that. We're very much in touch, but not in a ripped-from-the-headlines sort of way." He added, "Frank is seriously considering resignation. The job is so wearing on him. He's looked for ways out before, but this time it's serious. He doesn't think he's being effective in this antipolice climate, and he can't protect the rank and file. So maybe it's time for new blood."
Now, the summary of the new episode reads: "Amidst a shifting political climate, Frank goes head to head with City Council Speaker Regina Thomas (Whoopi Goldberg) over protests against police brutality. Also, Jamie and his nephew Joe Hill (Will Hochman) work together to locate Danny and Baez when they go missing while searching for a killer, and Eddie steps up to help an abrasive woman find her father's body after it was misplaced during the outset of the pandemic."
How will Joe's entry affect Frank? "Frank has always carried a certain amount of guilt [over son Joe's death] because of his sense of responsibility. Though he didn't give the order for the job Joe was on, he [feels he] ordered him into harm's way. So meeting his grandson is kind of a second chance," Selleck said.
Does Joe want the Reagan badge on his shoulders? "Frank understands Joe's dilemma, having been the son of a dad who was the PC [Len Cariou's Henry Reagan]," Selleck said. "He got a lot of crap for it and charges that things were easy. It made him very sensitive about showing favoritism to his kids. So does Joe want to let people know [who he really is], which will change his life, or do we keep that secret?"
So, in the episode, how do Danny and Baez go missing and will Jamie and Joe Hill find them? Meanwhile, how will police brutality and COVID-19 play a role in the new cop show? What will happen in Eddie's life? What do you think will happen in the season opener? Share your thoughts below.
‘Blue Bloods’ Season 11 premieres on December 4, 2020, with a new episode ‘Triumph Over Trauma’ at 10 pm ET on CBS Network.
