CBS’s recent announcement that Blue Bloods would end in December 2024 was jarring for a number of reasons. The Tom Selleck-led drama about a close-knit family of cops has been a mainstay on Friday nights for the past 14 years. As production resumed after the writers’ and actors’ strikes ended, CBS announced that Blue Bloods season 14 would be the series’ final year, leading to massive protests from the show’s loyal fans.
Despite the announcement, star Donnie Wahlberg said that the end of Blue Bloods was not a done deal, and other stars followed suit. Meanwhile, a fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods has garnered thousands of signatures, with many joining in on a hashtag campaign on Twitter. These moves did not produce a change, and CBS announced that Blue Bloods would air its series finale in December 2024. This announcement made it clear that there was no hope of saving the show despite the strong movement from executives to change their minds.
Blue Bloods remains one of CBS’s highest-rated shows, despite a slight ratings dip between seasons 13 and 14. However, the series is more expensive to produce than other CBS shows. Blue Bloods is filmed in New York, which is more expensive than producing a show in LA. Most of the cast on the show have been with it since the beginning, so keeping them on could mean paying higher salaries than CBS would pay for a newer series.
The cast and crew of Blue Bloods agreed to take a 25% pay cut ahead of season 14 (via THR) so they could produce another season of the hit series. Unfortunately, it appears that this wasn’t enough to offset production costs, prompting CBS to renew Blue Bloods for another year. CBS has recently canceled several other critically acclaimed series, such as Bob Hearts Abishola and Young Sheldon, citing the financial impact of the strikes as forcing the network to make the difficult decision for financial reasons. Following the initial announcement that Blue Bloods would be canceled, millions of fans signed a petition asking CBS to reconsider. It was one of the largest campaigns to save a series in CBS history. Fans also took to social media with the hashtag “#SaveBlueBloods” after each episode. The power and energy behind this campaign, along with the high ratings each new episode has been getting, has led many to believe that CBS will reverse its decision to cancel Blue Bloods.
Many series decline in quality as they age, but Blue Bloods doesn’t seem to be the case.
Several stars have signed on to the campaign. Donnie Wahlberg and Gregory Jbara have both stated that there is hope that CBS will change its mind, and Tom Selleck’s response to the news of Blue Bloods’ cancellation made it clear that he would stay if the show were renewed for a 15th season. This star power, coupled with the fan backlash, makes it seem like CBS will cave to the pressure and renew Blue Bloods. Additionally, CBS reversed its decision to cancel SWAT, giving Blue Bloods fans hope that it will be renewed as well.
