Who plays detective McKenzie in Blue Bloods? Character arc explored

CBS’ Blue Blood wrapped up recently after running for 14 seasons. The show debuted in 2010, and the final episode was aired in 2024. Focusing on the Reagan family as New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan tries to manage both his personal and professional lives, Blue Blood is one of CBS’ most popular long-running shows.

While the show had a number of regular characters, it also introduced multiple recurring characters who appeared in a couple of seasons or episodes. One such character is Detective Douglas McKenzie, who appeared in two episodes in Blue Bloods.

Played by Michael Carlsen, Detective McKenzie appeared in Blue Bloods Season 10 Episode 5 and Season 11 Episode 7. Let us now explore McKenzie’s character in detail.

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Detective McKenzie is a guest character in Blue Bloods

As mentioned previously, Detective McKenzie was a guest character in Blue Bloods. He appeared in season 10, episode 5, titled The Price You Pay, where it is shown that his character is under security on allegations of using too much force.

Things get even more complicated when it is revealed that Detective McKenzie was reported to the internal affairs department by none other than Frank himself. When a bunch of protesters show up outside McKenzie’s house as he takes his daughter to school, he decides to resign.

However, his character again comes back in season 11 episode 7, titled In Too Deep, where he gives Frank intel about an alleged crime ring. Although a few other detectives seem hesitant to trust his information, Frank asks to join the force again.

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Michael Carlsen plays the role of Detective McKenzie in Blue Bloods

Michael Carlsen, an American actor, plays the role of Detective McKenzie in Blue Bloods. Carlsen is mainly famous for guest starring in a number of famous projects, including Frankie in Night Court, Mr. Swofford in Law & Order: Organized Crime, Mr. Pinsky in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Mike in The Other Two, etc.

One of his most popular guest roles was starring as Mikey Politano in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He appeared in 17 episodes throughout 2015-2019. His other projects include the roles in Believe, Person of Interest, Pan Am, The Good Wife, and Rescue Me.

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More on Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods mainly focuses on the Reagan family, who have a long history of being police professionals in New York. Created by Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green, the show stars Donnie Wahlberg, Will Estes, Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Jennifer Esposito, Vanessa Ray, Sami Gayle, Amy Carlson, and Marisa Ramirez in key roles.

Commenting on how it feels after Blue Bloods’ end, Tom Selleck told Entertainment Weekly,

“Well, I don't think it goes away that quickly. We finished shooting our last episode in July, but it's just now airing. It just takes an enormous amount of getting used to, which I'm still doing. I'm still doing interviews, obviously, about it and all, so it isn't kind of in the past yet, and it also takes a certain adjustment for a show that was still as successful as we were—and especially a show where everybody wanted to come back. So all those things are going to take quite a bit of getting used to.”

Blue Bloods has a total of 14 seasons and can be streamed on Paramount+.

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