“Blue Bloods” fans are incredibly loyal to the Friday night police procedural. They love the close connection between the Reagan siblings, adore the way the show goes about explaining the crimes at hand and then bringing the criminals in question to justice, and enjoy the various relationships the Reagans try to foster with the cast of engaging supporting players.
One of the show’s most well-known faces is that of Donnie Wahlberg, who portrays the driven and loyal Danny Reagan on the program. The actor often takes the time to interact with fans of the show on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, and the “Blue Bloods” faithful seem to love this personal approach. One particular recent post the actor made to his social media captured a fun behind-the-scenes moment that had fans of both the show and one of Wahlberg’s old projects in a lather of excitement. What did Wahlberg post to hype up his fanbase?
Bridget Moynahan’s New Kids on the Block shirt thrilled fans
On March 20, 2022, Donnie Wahlberg shared a video on his Instagram account of a dress rehearsal for a Reagan family Sunday dinner on the “Blue Bloods” set. In the post, co-star Bridget Moynahan, who plays Erin Reagan, can be seen sporting a New Kids on the Block tee-shirt. Wahlberg, naturally, rocketed to fame as part of the boy band in the late 1980s. In the video, Moynahan cheerfully dances and mugs for the camera as Wahlberg films her, with the camera eventually panning to an amused Tom Selleck (who plays Frank Regan) looking on nearby. The audio on the post has been replaced by music from the band AC/DC.
“Not sure it gets more epic than @bridgetmoynahan wearing @nkotb t shirt to #family #sunday #dinner scene — but #ACDC def made it more epic!” Wahlberg captioned the video.
Fans commenting on Wahlberg’s post loved this little tidbit of behind-the-scenes tomfoolery, as well as Moynahan’s support for her colleague’s band. “That’s my girl!! Of course she does. She knows what’s cool!” said lastuntgal. “Family scenes are my favorite, looks like you guys have even more fun making them,” remarked nedakiss. And michelekastler ultimately spoke for many when they said, “Bridget wins the internet today!!!”
Of course, some fans also really wanted to know where they could get the shirt. “You know @donniewahlberg everyone is going to want to know where @bridgetmoynahan got her shirt from!!” said lexipie81.
Wahlberg has referenced New Kids on the Block on Blue Bloods before
While the tee-shirt clearly won’t be making it onto “Blue Bloods” itself, Bridget Moynahan isn’t the only “Blue Bloods” cast member to make a notable New Kids on the Block reference. Donnie Wahlberg himself occasionally slips dialogue about his boy band past into the series’ scripts while in character as Danny.
“The first season I snuck a New Kids On The Block [song] title in every episode … So I would tell, like Bridget’s character, ‘Hey, hang tough’ and ‘Call It What You Want,’ ‘Step by Step’ … I was speaking in song titles pretty much every episode and nobody was really catching it because of the way I did it. But my music fans and the [NKOTB] fans definitely were catching it. And every week they would hashtag whatever the song title was,” the actor told Showbiz Cheat Sheet in 2019.
There have also been other brief references to the actor’s musical career on the show, such as a moment where Danny is invited to participate in a night of karaoke during the Season 12 premiere, but never performs onscreen. The actor’s bandmate, Jordan Knight, also had a brief cameo on the program as a criminal in the Season 1 episode “Model Behavior.” According to Wahlberg’s Showbiz Cheat Sheet interview, he’s looking to get other members of his band on the show in due time.
And two of Wahlberg’s “Blue Bloods” co-stars – Vanessa Ray, who plays Eddie Janko, and Marisa Ramirez, who plays Maria Baez — returned the favor, appearing in New Kids on the Block’s music video for their 2022 single “Bring Back the Time” (per YouTube).