'Blue Bloods': Amy Carlson leaves after 7 seasons

Ruth Kinane
Updated
Blue Bloods: Amy Carlson breaks silence on her exit

There’s one less place to set at the Reagan family dinner table: Amy Carlson has left Blue Bloods.

Carlson, who played Linda Reagan on the CBS cop procedural, announced her departure from the show via a statement on her Instagram page after the season 8 premiere aired Friday night.

“My heart is full of gratitude to each of you for your generous support of me and my character for the last seven years of Blue Bloods – Linda Reagan,” she captioned her photo. “I have been touched by your compassion and enthusiasm. I loved playing Linda: wife to Danny, mother to Jack and Sean, nurse and working mom. I’m proud of my contribution to building this series. I’m so grateful to CBS and the Blue Bloods cast and crew. Mostly, I am grateful to the fans who have supported me and the show. Peace, blessings and many ‘love you mores’ to all of you.”

My heart is full of gratitude to each of you for your generous support of me and my character for the last seven years of Blue Bloods – Linda Reagan. I have been touched by your compassion and enthusiasm. I loved playing Linda: wife to Danny, mother to Jack and Sean, nurse and working mom. I’m proud of my contribution to building this series. I’m so grateful to CBS and the Blue Bloods cast and crew. Mostly, I am grateful to the fans who have supported me and the show. Peace, blessings and many ‘love you mores’ to all of you. Warmly, Amy Carlson @bluebloods__cbs @cbstv

A post shared by Amy Carlson (@theamycarlson1) on Sep 29, 2017 at 7:58pm PDT

Carlson had been part of the show’s main cast since its inception in 2010. The season 8 premiere revealed that Linda, the wife of hotheaded NYPD cop Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), had died. Linda did, in fact, survive the fire at her and Danny’s home at the end of season 7, but during a therapy session (grief counseling, it appears) it’s revealed the ER nurse apparently died as a result of a helicopter crash while transporting a patient.

In the season 7 finale, a drug cartel set fire to Linda and Danny’s home after the latter intercepted a shipment of several million dollars that was on its way to them in Mexico. As evidenced by Friday’s episode, Danny is both grieving and shaken up professionally, and that could mean a change in his impulsive ways. “He’s looking at life through a different lens,” the show’s executive producer Kevin Wade told EW. “There’s an element of circumspection and a bit of introspection as he considers the residual collateral damage.”

As for Wahlberg, he’s ready for whatever the writers throw at him. “I’m constantly surprised by the situations that they come up with to put my character in,” he explained.”That’s a great challenge.”

Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.