Why These Actors Left Blue Bloods

Headlined by '80s TV star Tom Selleck, "Blue Bloods" has become one of the most beloved police shows on television. The series focuses on Selleck's Frank Reagan and his family of New York City law enforcers, who do what they can to bring justice to the Big Apple. The series has managed to keep its core cast — including Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, and Lou Cariou — in place, but, with a run that's lasted well over a decade, the CBS show has had its share of actors come and go.

From recurring characters to series regulars, some big stars have left "Blue Bloods" since it premiered in 2010. Each one has their own unique reason for leaving the series, be it their own choice or not. Some wanted out so they could pursue different roles, others were fired in controversial circumstances, and at least one left the acting game altogether. So, take a seat at the Reagan family dinner table and get comfortable as we discuss the reasons that these actors left "Blue Bloods."

Even long-time fans of "Blue Bloods" may not remember the name Marlene Lawston, despite the fact that she was part of the show's main cast right at the start. That's because Lawston — who was just 12 years old when she played the role of Nicky Reagan in the pilot — only lasted a single episode. Nicky was introduced as the daughter of Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan). She didn't have much to do in her one and only appearance in the series, and was then replaced by Sami Gayle (but more on Gayle later).

At the time of her debut on "Blue Bloods," Lawston had shown up on episodes of "Law & Order" and "Blues Clues," as well as in the Jodie Foster thriller "Flightplan." Her role as Nicky could have been a stepping stone to a greater career, but she hasn't done any acting since. Instead of continuing in Hollywood, Lawston left acting to pursue her education, attending Colgate University and the University of Rochester's School of Medicine & Dentistry. In 2022, she began a stint at the University of Oxford as a National Institute of Health scholar, where she also studies as a Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience.

When Marlene Lawston left "Blue Bloods" to pursue her education, the series needed a new actor to play Frank's granddaughter Nicky. A few episodes after the pilot, in came Sami Gayle, and she was a slightly different version of the character. For one, she's a few years older — it's possible the producers wanted a somewhat more mature version after testing Lawston in the premiere. Either way, Gayle was a recurring actor for the first year before getting an "also starring" credit for years two, three, and four. In Season 5, she joined the main cast.

After Season 10, Gayle would all but disappear from the series, at least as a regular. That's because, like her predecessor, Gayle decided to focus on her education. At the time of her departure as a main cast member, Gayle largely left acting to pursue a degree at Columbia University. Interestingly, the show decided to write her out by mirroring Gayle's real life: Nicky, who in the series is the same age as the actor playing her, also went off to school, even attending the same university.

Despite having left the show, Gayle has turned up intermittently, returning to guest-star as Nicky in a handful of episodes, though she was entirely absent for Season 12. With Gayle due to graduate in the next couple of years, it's possible she'll return to the series full-time, perhaps as a law enforcer herself, as Nicky has committed to becoming the first female Reagan cop.

Marlene Lawston isn't the only actor who was replaced after the pilot of "Blue Bloods." Fans today may not be aware, but when the show first started, Danny Reagan's partner wasn't Maria Baez or even Jackie Curatola — it was Detective Demarcus King, played by actor and comedian Flex Alexander. When the show went to series, Alexander was out, in came Jennifer Esposito as Danny's new partner, and King was never seen again. So what happened?

In an interview with UrbanBridgez in 2010, before the pilot episode even aired, Alexander opened up about getting canned from the series. Asked about the ups and downs of life in Hollywood, he cited his short-lived stint on "Blue Bloods," saying that after the first episode was shot, an outside firm determined that King wasn't the right character for Danny's partner.

"There's this group called Poll Tracks," Alexander explained. "They came in and said they felt a woman should be [Wahlberg's] partner. It didn't have anything to do with me or my skills but it's what they want." Alexander admitted that he was "rocked" by the decision at first, but he didn't let it get him down for too long. "I just felt you know what, I gotta get back up, refocus and just work harder."

Bebe Neuwirth is probably best known for playing Lilith Sternin, the wife of Dr. Frasier Crane on "Cheers" and "Frasier," but "Blue Bloods" fans know her for the recurring role of Inspector General Kelly Peterson. She turned up in five episodes of Season 4 but then abruptly left, with her character said to be resigning her post in light of her close relationship with Frank. Like several others, Neuwirth has never confirmed exactly why her role was cut short, though it's pretty easy to see why she might have put the series behind her: A look at her filmography reveals that not long after her exit from "Blue Bloods" she joined the main cast of "Madam Secretary," which premiered in 2014.

Neuwirth probably didn't want to push her workload on two big shows, even if they were both filmed in New York, and she likely chose "Madam Secretary" because of the bigger role — she played Nadine Tolliver, chief of staff to the series' title character Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni). She stayed with "Madam Secretary" for four seasons, departing in 2017, much to the disappointment of fans. "'Blue Bloods' wasn't the same when she left so there will be a huge void left at 'Madame Secretary,'" one viewer said (via TV Line). A couple of years after leaving the political drama, Neuwirth returned to "Blue Bloods" in a pair of Season 8 episodes, and she would reprise the role of Peterson again in Season 9.

"Blue Bloods" may be centered on the police in New York City, and in particular the Reagan family, but its broader cast goes far beyond the city's law enforcement. With Frank Reagan running the police in a high-profile position, he's often seen dealing with members of New York's political scene, and one such prominent member of that contingent was Mayor Carter Poole, played by David Ramsey. Over the course of his time on the show, Poole — who was a close friend of Frank's long before he was NYPD chief — was put through the wringer, even becoming the target of an assassination attempt.

In 2017, Poole resigned as the city's mayor, and just like that, Ramsey was gone from "Blue Bloods." The actor's exit was likely due to increased scheduling conflicts with other projects, most notably the CW superhero series "Arrow." Ramsey had played a recurring role as superhero John Diggle in that series since 2012, but his schedule got more complicated when he became a recurring character on other Arrowverse shows like "Legends of Tomorrow," "Batwoman," "The Flash," and "Supergirl." Considering that Arrowverse shows are largely filmed in Vancouver and "Blue Bloods" is filmed over 2,400 miles away in New York, it makes sense that Ramsey would leave "Blue Bloods" as his role as Diggle became bigger.

When "Blue Bloods" writes out a character, it's often surprisingly anticlimactic, with officers retiring or taking on new assignments and younger cast members going off to school. This was not the case when the show gave the heave-ho to Linda Reagan, the wife of Danny. Played by Amy Carlson, Linda had been a mainstay of the series from the beginning, but she was absent when the show returned for its eighth season. Fans were in for a shock in the Season 8 premiere when they learned that Linda had been killed off-screen, dying in a helicopter accident later revealed to be a targeted hit by mobsters.

The actor's exit was simply the result of a desire to leave the series, with Carlson opting not to renew her contract in between seasons. Writers for "Blue Bloods" had limited options when it came to writing her out and chose to kill her off, making the loss of Danny's wife a major plotline for Season 8. Carlson wasn't pleased about the way Linda went out, as she revealed during an interview with Deadline. "I feel badly that she dies the way she dies," the actor said. "I did not know they would do that, I was surprised. I wouldn't have done that."