The One Thing About Frank That Really Gets On Blue Bloods' Fans Nerves

Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is an indomitable force in "Blue Bloods." As the Reagan family patriarch, he shepherds his law-enforcement family through thick and thin. Often dispensing valuable nuggets of wisdom from his long tenure as a police officer and commissioner during the famous dinner scenes of "Blue Bloods," Frank is usually direct to a fault with his family. Considering Frank's position, he has to balance both his professional and personal life, though this act can lead to some of Frank's best moments. Despite generally being a no-nonsense kind of fellow, Frank has several quirks such as never hanging up his coat in his office, furrowing his eyebrows while deep in thought, and rarely using the computer in his office. His strict adherence to tradition and Catholic faith often dictate his outlook and behaviors and form the basis of his personality. 

Speaking with Rachael Ray during a virtual interview, Selleck talked about what brought him to "Blue Bloods," and said, "What has always worked for me — or what my appetites are, they go towards character-driven shows. So 'Magnum P.I.' was character-driven. I don't remember half the plots... way less than half." He continued, "And when I saw this script, it was character-driven in an age where there are just so many procedurals on... I'm sure not bored with it." Now that Season 12 is over, fans have had plenty of time to see the character of Frank and begin to notice his idiosyncrasies, but there is one aspect of his personality that seemingly grates on fans.

u/dslwraith started one conversation on the subreddit r/bluebloods with the title "Sigh...Lol," and noted that while watching in subtitles, there are plenty of exasperated breaths in "Blue Bloods." Others seemed to have noticed this as well, with u/kagiles suggesting that viewers turn the sighs into a game, and joked, "I've said we should turn Frank's sighs into a drinking game. But we'd probably be dead at the end of one episode."

However, these two weren't the only ones who noticed an excess of sighing on "Blue Bloods," and u/skieurope12 agreed that were plenty of sighs on the popular television show, but Frank does it significantly more than the rest of his family, while u/DaveOJ12 replied that they can hear Frank's sigh just reading through the comments. u/NS3708 quipped that the sighs have become the only thing they notice now, and u/TarzansNewSpeedo added that they wish they would scale the sighs back in the show, on account of it being of their pet peeves.

In a separate Reddit thread about Frank's mannerisms, u/leftai2000 said, "As much as I enjoy Blue Bloods, it seems to me that Tom Selleck's main acting choice these days is a heavy sigh, basically in every scene he's in." They continued, "He's certainly got a better actor's repertoire than that, but every freakin' scene with the heavy sigh. Kind of pulls me out of the scenes he's in, because it is SO predictable!"

However, it seems as if one Reddit user has an in-universe theory as to Frank's sighing, and u/Goronstye stated that it seems as if the amount of sighs from Frank is only increasing as the show goes on. They added that they see Frank's sighing as a non-verbal cue to show that he is becoming increasingly tired and losing his luster — or at least that's how they view the onslaught of sighs. Needless to say, Frank's sighs are quickly becoming a hallmark of the series in the minds of some fans.