Bridget Moynahan Reflects On Career, Industry Change At North Fork TV Festival Deadline Dinner

As one of the leads on CBS mainstay Blue Bloods, which ended its 14-season run in 2024, Bridget Moynahan enjoyed a run of rare stability in a rapidly evolving TV industry.

The actor reflected on the environment of change and disruption during the latest installment of the Deadline Dinners series, which was held October 21 at the North Fork Television Festival. Along with streaming’s rise to dominance, more recently the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger (forming Skydance) and a big shakeup at Netflix have added to uncertainty about the industry’s future.

Don’t count Moynahan among the skeptics, however. “I still feel optimistic about great stories and creativity being able to break through,” Moynahan said. “Despite all of the changes, people will always gravitate toward stories, so I do feel hopeful. You have to have hope.”

The conversation, moderated by Deadline New York Business Editor Dade Hayes, touched on various points in Moynahan’s career. Her signature roles have been on shows like Sex and the City (and followup And Just Like That) as well as the John Wick films.

American Beech Hotel in Greenport, NY, hosted the dinner, an intimate gathering of two dozen people in the boutique hotel’s ground-floor boite. Attendees included fellow actors Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy) and Michael Nathanson (The Knick) as well as festival stakeholders from the legal, industry and sponsorship realms.

Now in its 11th year, the festival has leaned into its setting on Long Island’s East End, about 90 miles from New York City. The region is notably more tranquil than its glitzier sibling to the south, the Hamptons. While it may be quieter on the North Fork, some major figures in finance, media and technology have homes there, and Greenport has evolved from its roots as a remote fishing village into a significant cultural hub.

A separate festival-curated conversation on October 21 featured actor Kelly AuCoin from Billions. On the following night, Walsh, Anthony Anderson and Kelsey Grammer received awards at a gala dinner. The festival also screened independent pilots and convened a panel about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the TV business.

Moynahan, who produced an indie pilot that premiered at the 2025 North Fork fest, said she has enjoyed her chances to get behind the camera. She directed three episodes of Blue Bloods and another of spinoff Boston Blue. Asked about genres or areas she hopes to explore next, Moynahan said, “There are a lot of shows I am watching now” with that in mind. One example is Youth, the HBO series created by Sharon Horgan, which Moynahan considers an ideal blend of entertainment and serious purpose.

When Moynahan asked the table if they had watched Youth, several guests loudly chimed in, adding their own favorites and comparing notes. As the free-flowing conversation continued, it wound up illustrating Moynahan’s point about the eternal hunger for stories well told.