Q: Why did “Blue Bloods” get rid of the character Linda?

— Joe Rogers, via email

A: A number of fingers have been pointed at CBS (which not only airs but produces the series) for supposedly causing the big surprise that the season premiere yielded, but actress Amy Carlson was at the end of her seven-year contract for the show, and she reportedly decided to move on. Admittedly, Linda Reagan was the focus of an episode only on occasion, though she was seen in each week’s family-dinner table scene. If a performer wanted more to do, that’s surely not out of the realm of possibility.

At the same time, the move has posed a challenge for the show’s writers and producers, who now have to reconfigure the characters of Linda’s husband Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and sons Jack and Sean (Tony and Andrew Terraciano) to a degree. It opens up new story possibilities, but to its fans, “Blue Bloods” always has been the show that it is — so don’t expect such alterations to be overly drastic.

Q: Any news or status on “Elementary”? Has it been canceled, or will it get a new season?

— Willo Kollinger, 
DeLand, Florida

A: As has been known since CBS revealed its current-season schedule in May, the Sherlock Holmes modernization was renewed for a sixth year — but for the first time, it hasn’t been a season starter. Expect it to return sometime in the first half of 2018, but it’s hard to say exactly when and where now.

At least until the Thursday night football telecasts end, everything else seems pretty well locked into its time period — and short of “burning it off” on Saturdays, which the network doesn’t seem prone to do, it could take until spring or early summer for “Elementary” to reclaim a spot in the CBS lineup.

Q: I heard ABC changed its mind on a new season of “To Tell the Truth.” Why?

— Dina Prince, 
Willoughby, Ohio

A: The network didn’t change its mind on renewing the show; it changed its mind on its next season’s start date. That was going to follow the end of its previous season almost immediately as the fall lineup began, which did seem a bit odd.

Ultimately, ABC decided to take it out with a bang — with an airing after the “Dancing With the Stars” season premiere — and one of the blockbuster names in comedy, Mel Brooks, as a panelist. (Enjoyably, he was reunited in that episode with one of the stars of his movies, Cloris Leachman … hugely memorable as the horse-scaring Frau Blucher in “Young Frankenstein.”) Fear not, “To Tell the Truth” will be back, likely in early 2018.

Q: I watched Turner Classic Movies recently when all three versions of “A Star Is Born” were shown, and the host said there was going to be a fourth. When will that be out?

— Julie Green, via email

A: Yes, following Janet Gaynor (in 1937), Judy Garland (1954) and Barbra Streisand (1976), Lady Gaga — expected to be billed by her given name, Stefani Germanotta — will be the next performer to give the classic star-on-the-rise saga a go. (You can just hear the marketing of the soundtrack already.) She’ll be directed by her leading man, Bradley Cooper, making his behind-the-camera debut; he also had a hand in updating the screenplay.

Reportedly, Warner Bros. (which also made the Garland and Streisand versions) is so pleased with the footage already completed, the release date has been moved up from next fall to May 18. Co-stars include Sam Elliott and comics Dave Chappelle and Andrew Dice Clay.

Q: Please settle a debate. Was Kaley Cuoco ever a co-star of “Charmed”?

— John Scott, Providence, Rhode Island

A: She was, during the show’s final season (2005-06), when what is now The CW was the WB Network. She played telekinetically gifted college student Billie, who was taken under the wing of the show’s main “witches” as she sought her long-missing sister.

The idea had been to introduce the character in preparation for a possible “Charmed” spinoff that obviously didn’t happen, but Cuoco had no reason to worry, since the following year brought CBS’ premiere of “The Big Bang Theory” … and the rest is television history. A “Charmed” update remains under consideration by The CW.

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