Amy Carlson spent seven seasons on Blue Bloods as Linda Reagan, the beloved wife of Detective Danny Reagan. As the only adult Reagan family member working outside law enforcement, Linda served the city as a dedicated ER nurse.
Her character was tragically written out between Seasons 7 and 8, with the reveal that she had died off-screen in a helicopter crash while airlifting a patient. Now, Carlson returns to television in a very different uniform. In the season finale of Apple TV+’s arson investigation drama Smoke, she trades in medical scrubs for a badge.
To prepare for her role as Captain Emily Pearson, Carlson didn’t draw from her Blue Bloods experience. Instead, she sought guidance from a real-life arson detective connected through her friend Dianna Taylor.
This isn’t Carlson’s first time portraying first responders. She previously played a paramedic on Third Watch and a tough bounty hunter on FBI: Most Wanted. She says she gravitates toward active, fearless characters who constantly push themselves.
“Dennis created this incredibly layered character of Captain Emily Pearson,” Carlson said. “One of her defining traits is her absolute zero tolerance for any B.S. She smells it like blood in the water and has a visceral reaction to it.”
“When she arrives on the scene, her instincts tell her to question every procedure that came before,” Carlson continued. “She’s like a bloodhound 
hyper-focused, detail-oriented, and impatient with anyone who gets in the way of that level of precision. She finds real joy in putting her subordinates on their heels and making them defend their decisions.”
But Captain Pearson isn’t without her weaknesses.
“Dennis writes such deep and complicated characters,” Carlson explained. “And of course, she’s made her own sloppy mistakes and poor judgments that leave her compromised. I love that she has a real Achilles’ heel and some delicious flaws. I can’t wait to see how they come back to haunt her.”