TV
Original ‘Blue Bloods’ cast member Jennifer Esposito returns as Jackie Curatola in the final season of the CBS cop drama.
A familiar face is returning to Blue Bloods in its final season. Original cast member Jennifer Esposito will return to the CBS show when her character, Jackie Curatola, joins forces with her her old partner Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) on a case.
Jennifer Esposito to appear in ‘Blue Bloods’ Season 14 Episode 2
Esposito will appear in the second episode of Blue Bloods Season 14, which airs Friday, Feb. 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
In “Dropping Bombs,” Danny and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) team up with Curatola when a serial killer resurfaces. Esposito also appeared in the Blue Bloods Season 13 finale. In that episode, Curatoloa – now chief of police in Suffolk County – worked with Danny and Baez to investigate serial killer Dr. Leonard Walker. Walker later attacked Curatoloa. She survived, but he got away.
Also in “Dropping Bombs,” Eddie (Vanessa Ray) faces backlash when she tries to help a woman who accuses a sergeant of rape. Meanwhile, Jamie (Will Estes) clashes with his nephew, Joe Hill (Will Hochman), when Joe interferes with Jamie’s undercover operation; and Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is blindsided when Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) publicly suggests bringing back a Commission of Police.
The original ‘Blue Bloods’ cast member left the show after season 3
Curatola was Danny Reagan’s original partner on Blue Bloods. But her character was written off the show early in season 3. Esposito’s departure from the cop drama wasn’t exactly amicable. At the time, she claimed CBS had forced her out after she developed a medical condition that required her to work a part-time schedule.
“Jennifer has informed us that she is only available to work on a very limited part-time schedule,” CBS TV Studios told Deadline in a statement when the actor left the show in 2012. “As a result, she’s unable to perform the demands of her role and we regretfully had to put her character on a leave of absence.”
Esposito claimed the network refused to accommodate her after she asked for a reduced schedule due to her Celiac disease.
“CBS put me on unpaid leave and has blocked me from working anywhere else after my doctor said you needed a reduced schedule due to Celiac,” she tweeted. “CBS didn’t listen to my doc and I collapsed on set. Which everyone saw! After a week off my doc said I could return to work but CBS implied that I was not truly ill and this was a scheme to get a raise! It’s been almost two months without bringing me back to work + keeping Me from working anywhere else!… Absolutely shameful behavior.”
The final season of Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Episodes also stream live and on-demand for Paramount + with Showtime subscribers and on-demand the next day for Paramount+ Essential subscribers.
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