Blue Bloods: The Dinner-Table Tricks Behind the Reagan Family Scenes

A weekly cast check-in

The Reagan family dinners became a defining part of Blue Bloods, bringing the characters together after demanding weeks in law enforcement. Donnie Wahlberg said the scenes also gave the cast a regular opportunity to reconnect.

In an interview with Emmy Magazine, Wahlberg described having the dinner scene each week as a blessing and a chance to check in, similar to the fictional family’s routine. People reported his comments.

Rules for eating on set

The dinners took considerably longer to film than they appeared on screen. Jim Lillis, the show’s prop master, discussed the production details in an interview with the Virginian-Pilot.

Lillis said actors could eat the food if they wanted, but they were not allowed to deliver dialogue with their mouths full. That guideline did not stop every character from bending table manners.

Cast members found strategies

Tom Selleck said filming the dinners took six to eight hours. At a PaleyFest panel, he recalled Bridget Moynahan moving food around on her plate and said he buttered rolls; Entertainment Weekly reported his remarks.

Vanessa Ray, who played Eddie Janko, said she initially ate too much during her first dinner scenes. She later realized she could not keep eating roll after roll throughout filming.

Wahlberg kept the dinner table

Wahlberg said Danny’s unruly manner made talking with a full mouth part of his approach to the dinner scenes. He told TV Insider that Danny was like a bull in a china shop.