Who is Luis Badillo on Blue Bloods? Everything to know about the character

The parent series of Boston Blue, CBS’s Blue Bloods, wound up its storyline in December 2024. The series had the Reagan family at the centre of its plot, which included the NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan. While his elder son, Danny, was a detective, his daughter was an assistant district attorney and his younger son was an NYPD sergeant.

The spinoff, Boston Blue, finds Danny Reagan in Boston investigating crimes while caring for his son Sean, who is a rookie in the Boston Police Department. Currently, the spinoff, which premiered its first season in October 2025, has been renewed for a second season. Donnie Wahlberg continues to play Danny Reagan as in the original series, Blue Bloods. The parent series aired 14 seasons before CBS closed the show.

Incidentally, the character of Luis Badillo, played by Ian Quinlan, died in the fourteenth and last season, leaving his partner and the department distraught. 

Blue Bloods: A glimpse at Officer Luis Badillo

Ian Quinlan joined the Blue Bloods team in the show’s 12th season, as Officer Luis Badillo, in episode 6, titled Be Smart or Be Dead. He joined his partner, Edit Janko-Reagan, also known as Eddie. He was introduced as the carefree officer who would not hesitate to hurt people to get the job done. However, his partner, Eddie, set him straight. Over three seasons, Quinlan’s Badillo made 29 appearances on the show.

Earlier in Blue Bloods season 14, Officer Badillo was caught smoking weed. However, he refused to go into rehab. In exchange, he was ready to be written off as drug-tested and fired from his job. Soon, Jamie Reagan admitted to having filed a false report against Badillo for smoking. As such, Badillo was excused and Jamie received a warning. 

Eddie noticed her partner’s unusual behavior and approached his mother. They could not reach Badillo and his mother accepted that it was out of character. Later, they tracked him spending time with the child of his former partner with no plausible excuse. However, Badillo soon embarked on a path of redemption.

What happened to Officer Badillo in the end

His last appearance was in Blue Bloods season 14 episode 18, End of Tour, which aired on December 13, 2024. In the episode, Badillo and Eddie received a distress call for a carjacking. The officers arrived at the location only to find the vehicle empty. However, it turned out to be a trap as the two officers were ambushed by a group of gangsters who opened fire at them.

While Eddie had a minor gunshot injury, Badillo was hit by a bullet in his chest. His partner rushed to comfort him as he fell down. She noticed that Badillo was not responding and was bleeding from the mouth. A call for backup was answered and the two officers were taken to the hospital. While Eddie survived her injury, Badillo died of his gunshot wound. This left his partner distraught and he swore to take action.

Later, Badillo’s shooter was caught as he attempted to visit his newborn baby at the hospital. While Jamie and Joe arrested him, Eddie handcuffed the killer with Badillo’s cuffs as a symbolic gesture. Later in the season, Badillo had his funeral and it was attended by his colleagues from the NYPD, his mother, the Reagans and Mayor Peter Chase, among others.

Since this was also the series finale, Badillo’s death and related events marked the closing of Blue Bloods.

While the series was not renewed for a 15th season, all episodes are available to stream on Paramount+. Meanwhile, the spinoff, Boston Blue, airs on CBS every Friday.