Amy Carlson has never given a straight answer about her departure from "Blue Bloods," but she has suggested that she wanted to try out other roles. She's proven true to her word -- she already has two films poised for release in the coming months.

Carlson has had two main chances to explain the bizarre death of her character -- which happened off-screen, in a work-related helicopter accident that had nothing to do with the events of the show. When the new season premiered without her, Carlson posted an open letter to fans on her social media accounts talking about her exit, and a few weeks later she did an extensive interview with Deadline.com to discuss it. In both cases, she didn't actually explain much.

All she said directly was that her contract expired at the end of season 7. That, of course, isn't saying much -- contracts expire all the time. However, she suggested indirectly that she chose not to renew because she wanted to pursue other projects. In support of this, she had nothing but nice things to say about her co-stars and about CBS.

Because she's been sparing with the details of her decision to leave (assuming it was her decision), it's hard to say whether the two films she's currently booked came before or after.

She has roles in two indie pictures slated for release sometime this year -- "The Incoherents," a comedy about a rock band reuniting in middle age, and "A Bread Factory, Part One," a film whose plot details haven't been announced, and couldn't possibly be guessed based on that weird title.

It seems that both were filming shortly after season 7 of "Blue Bloods" wrapped, and Carlson said in her Deadline interview that she knew she was leaving the show while she was filming her final scenes.

This all suggests that she really did leave the show to pursue other roles, and she didn't waste any time in booking them.

Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.