‘Blue Bloods’ Star Will Estes Teases Fans Can ‘Expect More’ Guest Stars for Season 11 (Exclusive)

Blue Bloods Season 11 brings the star power right away in the season premiere, with Whoopi Goldberg making her first appearance on the show since Season 8. That is just the tip of the guest star iceberg though, as Will Estes revealed in a recent interview with PopCulture. Estes, who stars as Jamie Reagan on the long-running CBS police drama, promised that fans could “expect more” stars making appearances.

Guest stars are not a rarity for Blue Bloods, but Estes pointed out that he rarely gets to work with them. In some cases, Estes joked that he does not even learn about a guest star until he sees an episode put together. They all usually work with Tom Selleck, as is the case with Goldberg. “I find out the last second,” Estes joked. “You know like I was like, ‘Lou Diamond Phillips is on the show? What I wanna meet Lou Diamond Phillips.’” Estes said he might not only get to see a guest star in passing as they get into a van.

“We’ve had [an] incredible guest cast,” Estes continued. “And I’m usually as excited as everybody else to see them because I find out like when it airs or, or I see them… in you know passing in the night. But yeah… I think you can expect more [guest stars].”

In the season premiere, “Triumph Over Trauma,” Frank (Selleck) will have meetings with City Council Speaker Regina Thomas, Goldberg’s recurring character. The View co-host makes her third appearance on the series, after previously showing up in Season 6’s “Help Me Help You” and Season 8’s “The Enemy of My Enemy.” In these episodes, Thomas brings up some of the police department’s more controversial policies. In the Season 11 premiere, she will confront Frank about the protests against police brutality.

While Estes does not work with guest stars all the time, he does work with Selleck. In fact, Estes said he cannot imagine Blue Bloods with anyone else. “Obviously, at this point, he is Blue Bloods,” Estes said of Selleck. “He embodies the role of the patriarch more than I think anyone else I’ve ever worked with could,” Estes continued. “He architects scenes… He’s full well capable of producing, directing, editing, and doing all of those things.”

Selleck brings “expertise, his knowledge, his professionalism to the show in ways that make it better every time he puts his hands on it,” Estes said. “And so he’s a leader on and off the camera. And I know that Blue Bloods is all the better for it… It’s great to have him at the helm on and off camera.” Selleck, Estes, and the rest of the Blue Bloods cast will be back in action in the familiar Friday, 10 p.m. ET timeslot on CBS this season.