Blue Bloods season 11: Donnie Wahlberg on addressing real-life issues

Blue Bloods season 11 is still months away from premiering — that much is clear. What’s also clear is that this season carries with it challenges.

Perhaps more so than any other show on TV, Blue Bloods focuses on police regulation and the role of cops in New York City. They show you what happens with bad officers and also negotiations between the commissioner’s office and activist groups. There’s an added sense of responsibility now for the show to address the world as it currently is, one where there are conversations about brutality, police reform, and racial justice. These have to carry through on the show and there have to be problems exposed in the system.

So how will the series take some of this on? It’s hard to know specifics at this point, but star Donnie Wahlberg made it clear that he wants all of these issues to be examined further. Take a look at what he had to say to TV Insider recently:

One of the good things about Blue Bloods is that when topical stuff comes up, the family always has different points of view, but I do think that, of course, we have to look at everything that’s going on in America right now and address it. I think we can certainly be more mindful and do a better job of how we do this. We’ve always tried to engage in tough conversations with multiple opinions. Other actors who have been part of the show have also engaged in these conversations. Whoopi Goldberg has done some amazing episodes where her character is fighting for social justice and it creates great opportunities for us to engage in these topics.

But certainly, we are aware that everybody in this country has to take a closer look at themselves right now and of course Blue Bloods has to do that as well. It’s a good opportunity for us to really engage in a lot of what’s going on, but also maybe help the discussion and be a part of the discussion.

One of the things that we’ve suggested already that Blue Bloods can do is take a generational look at some of these reforms and issues. How Frank Reagan views things will be very different from how Jamie or how Nicky does. Everyone needs to hear each other, and that of course also includes people outside of the Reagan family. None of them have suffered injustices in the way that many people in this country have. They have to listen and then act. Blue Bloods can deliver messages to its audience that are thoughtful, reasoned, and also accessible — hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see that later this year.

How do you think Blue Bloods season 11 will take on topical issues?

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(Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jessica Carter.