The Real Reason Fake Silverware Is Used For Blue Bloods' Family Dinners

With enough repetition, certain situations eventually become comforting tropes on long-running television shows: Homer Simpson will always get angry at Bart, Mac will burst into Paddy's Pub telling the Gang about some news, and the Reagans will gather for their Sunday night dinners.

Every week on the CBS cop drama "Blue Bloods," the Reagan family gets together on Sundays to talk about the issues they're facing. This is complicated, however, by several of the family being members of the New York Police Department, including Commissioner Frank (Tom Selleck), Detective Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), and Sergeant Jamie (Will Estes). Sometimes this can mean conflict at the dinner table, other times it involves friendly advice for navigating police life.

Filming these scenes is often a good time for the "Blue Bloods" cast. Selleck told People Magazine that the dinners are "the most fun to film because everyone is telling stories, laughing, sharing their points-of-view." But eating the same foods over and over for different takes can also be miserable, and complicating things as well is the prop cutlery the actors have to use. So, why don't they use actual forks and knives during the Reagan Sunday dinners on "Blue Bloods"?

"Blue Bloods" did originally implement real plates, glasses, and silverware for the dinner scenes in the early seasons. The only problem was that all the clanking and clinking that comes with using forks and knives kept getting picked up by the studio mics capturing the sound in the room.

After the problem persisted, the crew then switched to plastic silverware for the duration of the show (via CBS News). However, this has posed some challenges for the cast of the show. Selleck even broke a fake knife while cutting into a chicken cutlet during a Season 3 taping, and, in frustration, threw the piece across the set. Selleck later joked, "How many people have thrown a cutlet across the room?"

Even if the plastic forks and constant eating make things difficult for the cast, they love being at the table together anyway. Selleck said that "You can work on an ensemble series and you may not see a fellow cast mate for a month. But here, once a show, we get to have a family dinner, which we all look forward to," as quoted by People. It's nice to know that much like the Sunday night gatherings on "Blue Bloods," these tapings help the cast catch up and enjoy each other.