Throughout Blue Bloods’ 14-season run, the CBS procedural’s main focus was always the Reagan family. However, the Blue Bloods cast also consisted of other characters that became fan favorites, from fellow cops to Frank Reagan’s team. This includes Abigail Hawk’s Detective Abigail Baker, Frank’s primary aide. While she grew into a beloved and important character, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, at one point, her character even had a different name. However, Tom Selleck helped change that.
Out of Blue Bloods’ 293 episodes, Hawk appeared in 265 of them, and quite frankly, it’s hard to imagine the show with her in a more minor role. Detective Banks was an important part of the Police Commissioner's squad, and that's, in great part, thanks to Selleck. Speaking to that point, Hawk addressed the fact that her character started with a different name and not much background during a conversation with Starry Mag. However, then Selleck stepped in and helped flesh out her character, as she explained:
Originally, she did not have a last name. She did not have an age. She did not even have a gender. She did not have a race. She did not have an anything. She was either detective Mel or Melissa. So, no first name. Definitely not my first name. I got the role, and about two to three episodes in Tom [Selleck] decided to change it to Abigail because he thought Melissa was too ordinary, which I guess is a compliment – so I’ll take it. Then he cleared with the lawyers the last name Baker. He obviously thought it was very important for me to have a last name since I was a person on the show. So, they gave me a full-fledged identity, and that was all him.
Blue Bloods might be over, but you can still watch it all with a Paramount+ subscription.
Giving Detective Banks not only a full name but an identity and a backstory made it easier to fully flesh out her character and really make her vital to the show. Additionally, Selleck thinking it was important enough for Hawk’s character to have an identity shows how much he cared about the series and the cast as a whole. Considering Abigail Hawk stayed on Blue Bloods for the entire run, this change turned out to be excellent.
That being said, if there were to ever be a spinoff, it’s unlikely Hawk would be involved, as she previously told HELLO! Magazine that if she were to return as her character not long after the CBS show ended it would have to take place in a totally new place and "not" involve the Reagans. However, she also didn't say a flat-out no...
To that point, some stars have opened up about where they want their characters to go after the finale. So, if a spinoff were to happen and focus on an already-established character, it would certainly give them the chance to dig even deeper into the backstories that they had been building up for years. Clearly, as Hawk's story shows, they all care deeply about them, and I think the fans would want to see it.
Meanwhile, Blue Bloods was one of many shows that ended in 2024, and the series finale earned some big numbers that fans should be proud of. Even though the finale also resulted in one final heartbreaking death, the Reagans and secondary characters were spared, living happily ever after, including Abigail (not Melissa).
Overall, this story goes to show just how important it is to give a character a name and a backstory so they can have an identity, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal at first. Tom Selleck certainly knew what he was doing, and it makes me wonder what other characters' identities he was responsible for.
