It’s strange to describe to others, but we often have a weird ache in our hearts when beloved cast members leave our favorite television shows. When you tune into a show week after week, these people stop seeming like characters and they start seeming more like friends. Once they’re gone, we can’t help but ask that sad question: where have our friends gone, and why did they leave us?
That’s certainly a feeling that fans of Blue Bloods understand all too well. The show has lot several key cast members over the years, and unless you follow their careers very closely, you may never know where they landed. Fortunately, you don’t need to call everyone’s favorite mustachioed police chief to solve this one: we’ve got the scoop on why your favorite stars left the show and, most importantly, what they’ve been up to since they left!
Jennifer Esposito
When it comes to why your favorite stars left Blue Bloods, there are sometimes two stories: the one the network shares and the one the actor shares. For example, when Jennifer Esposito stopped playing Detective Jackie Curatola after season 3, CBS claimed they simply put the actor on a leave of absence because she had a limited schedule and could no longer play the character because she didn’t have enough free time to meet the demands of a busy shooting schedule.
That sounds innocuous, but Esposito went on to make a now-deleted X/Twitter post where she claims she told CBS that her doctor wanted to limit her schedule due to celiac disease; she claims CBS didn’t listen, causing her to collapse on set. Making matters worse, she claimed the network thought she was lying about her condition in order to get a raise.
After leaving Blue Bloods, Esposito went on to star in shows like NCIS and Fresh Kills. In a truly surprising twist, she also made a surprise appearance in the finale of Blue Bloods’ 13th season.