‘Blue Bloods’: Will This Character Return in Season 11?

New episode titles for upcoming Blue Bloods episodes have surfaced, but CBS still has not released the synopses for either of them. The titles alone provide a little insight into where things might be going in the show’s 11th season. They also hint at a possible return for Joe Hill, who has not been seen on the show since December.

The next new episode of Blue Bloods will air on March 26, titled “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” This episode was originally scheduled to air on March 12, but CBS changed the entire Friday night schedule that day to re-air Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and the Clarice pilot. We do know that the episode begins with Det. Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) waking up to find a dead body on her lawn and Det. Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) has to prove her innocence. A.D.A. Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) clashes with her boss again in her storyline while Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) asks his team to get therapy. Sgt. Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) and Officer Eddie Janko-Reagan (Vanessa Ray) also get into an argument after a young cop is punished.

While the wait for this new episode has been long, there is good news on the horizon. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” will be followed by at least two more new episodes in consecutive weeks. “The Common Good” will air on April 2 and “Guardian Angels” will air the following week on April 9. Each episode will air in the usual 10 p.m. ET timeslot. The episode descriptions for these have not been released yet. It’s possible that “Guardian Angels” could refer specifically to a Reagan family member, or it could just be about one of the cases in the story. “The Common Good” could actually be the title to any number of Blue Bloods episodes, since the Reagans always believe they are on the right side of the law.

Of course, Joe (Will Hochman) could be coming back as a “Guardian Angel.” Joe has not been seen since “Atonement,” in which he decided to leave New York City after everyone learned he was really the son of the late Joe Reagan. The story has not been picked up since, but showrunner Kevin Wade promised the thread would be picked up later on.

“It’s very different in our fictional world to be a cop named Joe Hill than it is to be a cop named Joe Reagan. Because the first question to that guy is, oh, wait is your old man the police commissioner? In which case this guy would answer, no, but my grandfather is and my uncle is this guy and my other uncle is that guy and my aunt is the ADA,” Wade told Deadline in December. “So, we play that out and then we will hopefully revisit with Joe Hill further on in the season.”

Season 11 runs only 16 episodes due to the late production start caused by the coronavirus pandemic. After “Guardian Angels,” there are only five episodes. Executive producer Siobhan Byrne O’Connor shared the title for episode 15, “The End,” on Instagram, but later deleted it after seeing fans get worried about the show actually ending. She later assured fans that it was just the title of an episode. It’s entirely possible that the title could change by the time the episode airs.