Blue Blood Fans Are Already Discussing Who Should Succeed Frank As Commissioner
CBS has had nearly a decade and a half of success from the 13 seasons of their police procedure, "Blue Bloods." While most police procedurals are popular due to the combination of the detective whodunnits and brilliant character developments, CBS's approach took a unique angle by making most of the characters family.
The Reagan family holds considerable power and influence over the justice department in New York City. This point gains them a fair amount of ire from citizens who don't trust the police. Not only do they have a sister, Erin Reagan (Bridgette Moynahan), at the top of the prosecutor's office as an Assistant District Attorney, but they also have siblings and other family in the New York City Police Department. Beginning with the lowest ranking, Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) walks the beat. The oldest of the sibling is Detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg), who is the more traditional angle of police procedural.
Above all in the series, the highest office in the land is the patriarch of the family and Police Commissioner, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). While he keeps the peace and delivers sage wisdom to his family around the Sunday dinner table every week, he also lends the political angle to the show from his office at the top of 1 Police Plaza. After 13 years of keeping the family and justice system from falling apart, there were rumors that the actor would be moving on from the series. Thankfully, Yahoo! reported the stories were exaggerated, but it began a conversation about who should step up and take the reigns of the Police Department. Here are the fan favorites.
Jamie Reagan has the most level head
Let's be honest; nobody in the Reagan family could sit behind Frank Reagan's desk, exuding the same gravitas. Erin isn't a police officer, which isn't an issue as the PC is someone the mayor appoints. However, she is very valuable in the District Attorney's office, and moving her to 1PP would be a significant hit to the conviction rate for the DA. Not to mention she has aspirations for the highest office as a lawyer, not a police officer, so the move to her dad's old desk wouldn't make a lot of sense for the character. Danny, well, he is the biggest hothead at the family table. And he is also notorious for wearing blinders to any viewpoint not draped in blue.
In a Reddit thread, u/Secretly007 posed the question about who would be the best pick to succeed Frank, and one responder sees the youngest of the family as the only choice with a short justification. u/MaineBoston says simply, "Jamie. He has a level head." Leading the entire department of over 50,000 people, including 36,000 (according to their website) uniformed officers, requires true blue loyalty and an objective outlook on the need for accountability and improvement. As a trained Harvard attorney and a career police officer, Jamie has unique skills that would be immensely valuable to headquarters.
Of course, there is one setback. Jamie Reagan is still relatively new to police work. While he was a rookie in the pilot, his decade of police work has yet to prepare him thoroughly to leapfrog career officers. While many of the original posters agreed that he doesn't have the experience, getting the nod now would possibly look like a severe case of nepotism.
Abigail Baker would be an inspired choice
The commissioner doesn't go at the job on his own. Running the biggest police department in the country takes a lot of help, and Frank Reagan employs a cadre of advisors that work behind the scene to get him all the information he needs to make the right decisions. Inside that group of people is possibly the best candidate to step up to the commissioner's chair.
Sid Gormley (Robert Clohessy) is a hard-edged police officer who would champion the rank and file more than maybe any commissioner before him. The biggest flaw he would have is similar to that of Danny Reagan's. He bleeds blue and often doesn't see the other side until someone else beats it into his head. The second option is Garrett Moore (Gregory Jbara), who has spent over a decade by Frank's side as his connection to the press. While he would be a stellar politician who could navigate much of the opposition Frank faces, he is clueless about police work, hampering him in leading the force. That leaves Abigail Baker (Abigail Hawk).
In the original post, u/Secretly007 believes Baker is the best choice, given her experience and her level head. u/1987Bri agreed with the sentiment by calling for the former detective, "Bring on Baker!"
Vincenzo would be a blast from the past
Of course, more than just Frank's close circle of people could take the reigns after he moves on; there is an entire chain of command. He has a strong crop of prospects that serve underneath him daily that would bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the office. If Frank Reagan were going to choose his successor, he would likely choose Abigail Baker. But he doesn't choose his successor, the role of Police Commissioner is appointed by the mayor (as every mayor reminds him upon their first disagreement), and the best choice to replace Frank is his number two in command, Vincenzo (John Bedford Lloyd).
u/SugarSweetSonny thought of him when the question was posed and threw the Deputy Commissioner's name in the ring. "He was seen in Season [1]. Here is the crazy part. Frank mentioned that the choice for commish was between him and Vincenzo (and then he chose Vincenzo for the first deputy because he was the most qualified). The weird thing? Technically he IS 2nd in command to Frank, but he hasn't been seen since Season [1]. I don't know if they just decided to pretend he doesn't exist, if he left, or what."
Vincenzo only appeared in Season 1, Episodes 14 & 15, and took over as interim commissioner while Frank was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound. He may not be the choice fans want or even remember, but he would be the most realistic and show that more than just the core group has stayed around since the beginning. Vincenzo also would remind fans that the NYPD is more than Reagans and friends. Many talented and dedicated individuals aren't blessed with the name.
He's not going anywhere
The idea of "Blue Bloods" going on without Tom Selleck feels like a travesty. What would family dinners be like without his mediating the arguments between Erin and Danny? What would the Reagan kids do when they need guidance if they can't bring him a drink or a pot roast midweek to sneak a conversation? Well, lucky for us, he doesn't sound like he is headed anywhere anytime soon.
Amidst a bizarre "Blue Bloods" rumor that he was moving on from the series, he sat down with TV Insider to talk about Season 13. The interviewer brought up that Bridget Moynahan believes making it to 15 seasons would be lovely, then they asked the veteran actor if he was in. Selleck responded with a simple statement that gave fans volumes of hope. "I've got a mortgage. I'm game."
It isn't often that an actor gets a successful role that stays on the air for nearly a decade, but Selleck is the kind of presence that people love to watch, and he has proved it multiple times. After an eight-season run on "Magnum P.I.," the actor surpassed that mark in 2018 with a ninth season as Frank Reagan. He is still going strong, and from his own mouth, we can look forward to him reaching the rarified air of a 15-season run.