Is Blue Bloods' Donnie Wahlberg Hinting At A First For The Show Since 2014?

Blue Bloods is still going strong 12 seasons in, and now one star may be hinting at something that hasn’t happened on the CBS show since Season 4 back in 2014. Donnie Wahlberg, who has been starring as Detective Danny Reagan from the very beginning, shared a message that could be a sign of what’s on the way for him in the rest of Season 12. Could Wahlberg be heading to the director’s chair again? 

Donnie Wahlberg hit Instagram to post a photo and caption that raise the question of whether he could direct a second episode of Blue Bloods, and the first since the Season 4 episode back in January of 2014. In response to a post from CBS about a CBS actor who directed an episode of their own show, Wahlberg had this reaction:

Apparently, the Blue Bloods star is ready to helm another episode for the first time in nearly eight years! Now, it’s possible that Wahlberg is using this post just to put his name out there as a possible director for an episode in what remains of Season 12, but also possible that this was his way of cluing in fans that he’s headed back behind the camera again. Whatever the meaning in the message, it’s nice to see that he’s still so enthusiastic about the show more than a decade in that he wants another turn directing!

It’s worth noting that Donnie Wahlberg has spoken about potentially directing another episode before, and not all that long ago by Blue Bloods standards. Back in 2020, the actor spoke with PopCulture.com about the then-current tenth season, and he dropped some comments about potentially directing as well as starring again. Wahlberg said: 

A lot of times I have to pass off the directing job to somebody else, but next season I plan on directing early in the season. And I loved it, I had such a good time.

Donnie Wahlberg didn’t get to direct before the end of Season 10 or early in Season 11 as he’d evidently intended, but that’s not altogether shocking. His comments were released in early February 2020, just about a month before the entertainment industry began suspending productions large and small, bringing many shows to early conclusions for the season and changing production policies moving forward due to COVID.

There was some doubt toward the end of Season 11 as to whether the show would even continue into Season 12, and a star/director of another show has spoken out about how the pandemic prevented him from directing as well as performing. For the 2021-2022 season, however, productions are back in the swing and most shows haven’t had to suspend production. Perhaps Donnie Wahlberg’s chances of directing an episode are as good in Season 12 as they’ve ever been, unless his post was a hint that he’s already scheduled to do so!

For now, you can find the actor in action as Danny Reagan with new episodes of Blue Bloods on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, and swing by our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule for additional viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).