Despite fans’ hopes, it doesn’t look like Blue Bloods will be adding a Danny/Maria relationship soon.
The last season has seen the bond of the top Reagan detective (Donnie Wahlberg) and partner Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) grow deeper, leading some to wonder if maybe another romance is coming.
But showrunner Kevin Wade has made it clear it’s likely the pair remain just friends and partners for the time being.
The growing partnership
After Danny’s first partner, Jackie (Jennifer Esposito), left in season 2 (the actress had to leave over health concerns), he partnered with Baez. The backstory is the two had known each other since school and quickly slipped into a good partnership.
Baez was there to help Danny cope with his wife Linda’s death and do her best to rein in his anger issues. In turn, Danny helped Maria when her brother Javier was killed in a drug bust gone wrong.
The pair’s bond has grown to the point Maria earned the honor of an invitation to the Reagan family dinner.
This has led to fans wondering if the bond could grow with Danny and Maria dating. After all, Jamie and Eddie spent years dancing around being “just partners” before they showed up to dinner together, already engaged.
Yet it doesn’t seem like that’s in the cards.
Just partners for now
Talking to TV Insider, showrunner Kevin Wade put a kibosh on any chances at the moment of Danny and Maria taking their relationship to the next level.
“We recognize it and certainly the actors like each other, in front of the camera and between setups. I’m gonna use Sam and Diane from Cheers and really age myself here, but once it happens, there’s nowhere to go. There really aren’t stories in happy couples and there are definitely not stories in police detectives on the job having a personal relationship with their partner.”
Danny has yet to move on to another regular partner since Linda died. He did show a flirtation with Maggie Gibson (Callie Thorne), the self-professed psychic who helped on a few cases.
While not believing in her gift or claiming to have talked to Linda’s spirit, Danny was intrigued to ask her out for dinner.
Meanwhile, Baez is the first to note her troublesome romantic history of bad dates and lousy judgment with guys. She seemed tempted by asking Danny out but seems happy to be just a friend.
“It would get a little bit to me into the weeds unless we found them other partners,” Wade continues, “but we have so little real estate as the show grows, as we bring in a guy like Will Hochman playing Joe Hill, as we play Whoopi [Goldberg] or Dylan Walsh as the mayor. It’s 43 minutes and we have to keep an eye on what we have room for.”
Thus, while fans may hope this partnership blossoms in the future, it appears Danny and Maria will only be partners on the street for now.
Blue Bloods seasons 1-10 streaming on Hulu, Season 11 on Paramount Plus.
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