A former Blue Bloods star has landed a new TV gig.
Lauren Patten, who starred as Officer Rachel Witten on the hit CBS drama, will be part of the new Hulu drama Career Opportunites In Murder and Mayhem.
The Tony award winner will be joining a top-level cast in a quirky mystery series that promises some humor amid the mysteries.
Lauren Patten and her Blue Bloods tenure
The Season 8 episode Legacy had Frank informed that rookie patrolwoman Rachel Witten had been recorded questioning a jaywalker about his immigration status. The ensuing public outcry forced Frak to fire Witten.
The character returned in Season 9 as Frank felt guilty over terminating a promising officer. He tracked Witten down to her job as a waitress and offered her a spot on the force again.
From then on, Witten became the regular partner for Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray), the pair backing each other up as women in the NYPD. Witten also went out of her way to help a maid abused by her employer.
As Season 12 began, Witten was feeling pressure because of the public’s feelings against cops. That included getting in trouble for being filmed waving her gun at an unruly crowd.
Witten finally resigned from the force, confessing she just couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. Eddie wished her luck, and in a final meeting, Frank told Witten the door was always open for a return.
The exit was due to Lauren Patten returning to her Tony-award-winning role in the Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill. However, Jagged Little Pill closed in December of 2021 due to a combination of poor ticket sales and the coronavirus pandemic canceling performances.
While some Blue Bloods fans were hopeful this might mean a return for Witten; the actress has instead chosen an intriguing new project.
What is Lauren Patten’s new show about?
Ordered as a pilot in September of 2021, Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem was developed by Mike Weiss and Heidi Cole McAdams, who created the short-lived 2019 ABC dramedy Stumptown.
The series is compared to the hit movie Knives Out as a quirky murder mystery. It stars Emmy-award winner Mandy Patinkin as an eccentric detective attempting to solve a murder on a cruise ship filled with affluent passengers.
“How do you solve a murder in a post-fact world? Especially when sailing the Mediterranean on an ocean liner filled with the wealthy and powerful. Everyone on board is hiding something … but is one of them a killer? That’s what the World’s Once Greatest Detective, Rufus Cotesworth (Patinkin), and his protégée aim to discover. The truth at all cost.”
Patten shared photos of her on set on her Instagram page while discussing the show and her role.
“Setting sail on this new adventure with Hulu! Heidi and Mike created this completely original story over the pandemic, and they wrote the most fabulous, complicated, bada** woman for me to play. the clothes! the hats! the four inch heels! last shot is from my first day on set for the pilot – now we get to do it for real.”
The cast includes Violet Beane of The Flash as Patinkin’s assistant. Hugo Diego Garcia, Angela Zhou, Pardis Saremi, and Rahul Kohli round out the cast.
With filming underway, the series is expected to premiere on Hulu later this year. While Blue Bloods fans are hopeful Witten makes a return, fans of Patten will be happy to see her on a new TV crime series soon.
Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem premieres on Hulu in Fall 2022. Blue Bloods Season 12 returns with new episodes Friday, April 1 at 10/9c on CBS.