Steve Schirripa Reveals What NYPD Officers Really Think of His ‘Blue Bloods’ Character

Blue Bloods star Steve Schirripa is revealing how NYPD officers truly feel about his character. With the CBS procedural set and filmed in New York City and centered on the NYPD, there’s a lot of pressure to make sure that it’s as accurate as possible. Schirripa joined Blue Bloods in Season 6 as a series regular, playing Detective Anthony Abetemarco, and since then, he’s had a lot of actual police officers stop him in the streets to tell him he’s “1,000% believable” in the role and they “worked with guys” just like him.

“That made me happy,” Schirripa told PEOPLE. “That it was authentic, that [there] are cops and old-school blue-collar cops like Anthony [Abetemarco]. He was a good character, you know?” Not only is that a testament to how well the script was written, but it just proves how much Schirripa can pull it off. He was on Blue Bloods for close to a decade and was certainly a big part of the show, especially when it came to cases involving Bridget Moynahan’s Erin Reagan.

Even though Blue Bloods has ended, it’s very likely Schirripa and the rest of the cast will continue to be stopped on the streets, whether in New York or elsewhere, and be praised for their acting and the series as a whole. The show ran for 14 seasons and managed not to get too preachy despite some certain storylines, but it still remained a fan-favorite with the audience for years. And it will probably continue to do so with all 14 seasons streaming on Paramount+.

There have also been reported discussions of a potential Blue Bloods spinoff, meaning that Schirripa or anyone else on the cast could be returning to their NYPD roles in the future. Nothing has been confirmed, but it’s always possible, especially since much of the cast have expressed their desires to continue the show, as well as the fans.

Meanwhile, the series finale of Blue Bloods killed off a character, Eddie’s longtime partner Badillo, but the Reagan family, Baez and Anthony included, were all safe and sound by the episode’s end. The characters were pretty happy despite the events of the episode, but that’s all that really matters. Whether or not the series eventually comes back as a spinoff or TV movie, it’s clear that it made quite an impact on fans and officers alike.