Why ‘Blue Bloods’ lost its Linda
Q: Why did “Blue Bloods” get rid of the character Linda? – Joe Rogers, via e-mail
A: A number of fingers have been pointed at CBS (which not only airs but produces the series) for supposedly causing the big surprise that the season premiere yielded, but actress Amy Carlson was at the end of her seven-year contract for the show, and she reportedly decided to move on. Admittedly, Linda Reagan was the focus of an episode only on occasion, though she was seen in each week’s family-dinner table scene. If a performer wanted more to do, that’s surely not out of the realm of possibility. At the same time, the move has posed a challenge for the show’s writers and producers, who now have to reconfigure the characters of Linda’s husband Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and sons Jack and Sean (Tony and Andrew Terraciano) to a degree. It opens up new story possibilities, but to its fans, “Blue Bloods” always has been the show that it is – so don’t expect such alterations to be overly drastic.
Q: Any news or status on “Elementary”? Has it been canceled, or will it get a new season? – Willo Kollinger, DeLand, Fla.
A: As has been known since CBS revealed its current-season schedule in May, the Sherlock Holmes modernization was renewed for a sixth year – but for the first time, it hasn’t been a season starter. Expect it to return sometime in the first half of 2018, but it’s hard to say exactly when and where now. At least until the Thursday-night football telecasts end, everything else seems pretty well locked into its time period – and short of “burning it off” on Saturdays, which the network doesn’t seem prone to do, it could take until spring or early summer for “Elementary” to reclaim a spot in the CBS lineup.