‘Blue Bloods’ Season 9 Air Date, Spoilers: Donnie Wahlberg Hints Lou Diamond Phillips Has Joined Series as Special Guest

The cast and crew of “Blue Bloods” season 9 have started filming, and a new face joined recently. Series regular Donnie Wahlberg, who plays Detective Danny Reagan, shared that actor Lou Diamond Phillips was also on set for a “special guest” role.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Wahlberg confirmed that they are definitely back on set for the production of “Blue Bloods” season 9. Joining him in the photo are other series regulars Marisa Ramirez (Detective Maria Baez) as well as onscreen lovers Vanessa Ray (Officer Eddie Janko) and Will Estes (Officer Jamie Reagan).

However, the biggest surprise in the photo is Phillips. It is still not clear if Phillips’s character will appear in more than one episode. But based on Wahlberg’s social media post, the “Stand and Deliver” is only briefly joining “Blue Bloods” season 9.

Lou Diamond Phillips is no stranger to police procedural dramas. This year he has appeared in an episode of “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS: New Orleans.” In 2017, he also joined “Hawaii Five-0” and worked in a recurring guest role in the NYPD-themed sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine." Meanwhile, plot details for his “Blue Bloods” season 9 stint are still under wraps.

“Blue Bloods” season 9 will pick up from a very romantic ending. A near-death experience made Officer Jamie Reagan realize that life is short. So he wasted no time and asked Officer Eddie Janko to get married, which he later announced at a family dinner.

Jamie and Eddie’s engagement somehow balances the show’s season 8 run after it started off with a sad premiere due to Linda Reagan’s (Amy Carlson) sudden death. While engagements are always a sweet way to end an installment, Eddie and Jamie’s upcoming wedding might cause some family drama in “Blue Bloods” season 9.

Actor Tom Selleck has hinted that his character, the patriarch Frank Reagan, might not be fully on board with Jamie’s engagement with Eddie. "Frank doesn’t want him to be the first in NYPD history to ride with their fiancée," Selleck told TV Insider last month. "Most cops would say it could affect one’s judgment. Frank wants his son to be happy, and yet he’s got this hyperactive sense of responsibility. He already lost one son in the line of duty."

Whether or not Frank will give his blessing to Eddie and Jamie is still a mystery and a possibly a plotline to explore throughout the season. Meanwhile, fans still have to wait a few more months before “Blue Bloods” season 9 starts airing on Friday, Sept. 28, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.