Fans are no strangers to the whims of TV execs and their misguided belief in what is best for shows. Sometimes, it feels like the powers that be put names in a hat and pull them out randomly to decide what gets cut.
Let’s take the cancellation of Blue Bloods as a prime example. Blue Bloods has had an impressive fourteen-year run.
Not many shows achieve such a feat.
Along with a long tenure, Blue Bloods continues to achieve massive ratings weekly with its Friday night slot. Few shows can score the same air time for their entire run, let alone become a hit on Friday nights.
Just as few series end their long-term runs with most of the original cast intact.
What’s your favorite show that kept the same cast during its entire airing? How long did it air? Exactly.
So, if the show is receiving high ratings, surely it is the actors who want it to end? After so long in the same roles, they must all be ready to move on to other creative endeavors.
Except, no, that’s not the case here at all. None of the Blue Bloods actors have expressed interest in leaving the show to find new opportunities.
In fact, it’s been quite the opposite. They’re adamant that they would love to continue the show in its regular format.
Neither the fans nor the actors have much interest in the spinoff CBS has hinted at since the network dropped the news of their heartbreaking decision to cancel Blue Bloods.
Okay, let’s figure this out.
It’s not that the fans want the show gone. They have done all they can to fight the cancellation, even starting petitions. CBS has been known to reverse its decisions.
Look at S.W.A.T. We thought it was a goner.
And it’s not that the actors are tired of their recurring roles, which usually happens after more than a decade of playing the same character.
So what does that leave?
As with every decision, it’s all about the money. Between the evolution of streaming and the recent writer strikes, CBS — like every other network — is trying to find ways to save money.
Cutting shows from the lineup is just one attempt to trim the fat from the budget.
But why did they target a series that’s been so successful? That not only seems unfair, but it’s also a disservice to the fans that brought about its success.
To be honest, the show’s success caused its downfall.
Successful, long-running shows come with a higher filming budget. If you want to make money, you eliminate the things that cost the most. Given the higher costs associated with an all-star cast like Blue Bloods, it makes sense to cut it.
But why does Blue Bloods cost so much per season?
Well, you’ve got a massive cast list for starters. Most shows have a team dynamic of regulars, usually five or so.
Blue Bloods has eleven main characters, who usually appear in each episode.
Most of those characters have been with the show since Blue Bloods Season 1, so they will naturally have a higher salary than actors who appear on newer shows. Tom Selleck’s salary alone could make us broke folks cry.
But why wouldn’t a legend with over forty years of acting credits not be one of the highest-paid cast members on the cast?
Then there’s the filming location.
Blue Bloods is set in New York, and everyone knows it’s an expensive place, whether you live there or use it for recording.
If money is the main factor for the show’s cancellation, couldn’t there be negotiations to reduce the filming budget to keep the show going?
Surely, CBS is making bank off the show’s airing.
Unfortunately, that method has already been explored. Everyone involved with the Blue Bloods series production took a 25% pay cut to finish the series respectfully.
The final season of Blue Bloods aired in two parts.
Eight episodes made up the first half to fill the delayed 2023 fall lineup after the writer strikes.
The network held the last ten episodes to air for the 2024 fall season, which CBS delayed while other networks proceeded with their regular schedules.
Fans had hoped the delay in finishing the series meant a miracle would save the day. Alas, that hasn’t happened.
And it looks like there won’t be any reprieve from the decision.
No matter how much the fans protest, petition, and threaten to boycott the network, CBS won’t change their minds.
Okay, but does that mean all hope is lost?
We’ve seen similar situations where a show was set to end, only to get a last-minute rescue by getting picked up by another network.
9-1-1 was on the chopping block and guaranteed to end with its sixth season as Fox decided to pull the plug. But the ABC network bought the rights, and 9-1-1 got a seventh season.
Other shows have been saved from cancellation by moving from live airing on a network to streaming services. It’s worked for almost-canceled shows like Designated Survivor, SEAL Team, Lucifer, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Futurama.
For that to apply to the Reagan family, Blue Bloods would need a network or service with the budget to keep up with the expenses.
CBS no longer has wiggle room in its fiscal budget to cover the production of Blue Bloods.
And we can partly blame SWAT’s renewal for that.
Another issue for continuing a show that’s, first, a family drama and second, a police procedural is the story. While you can have dozens of new police cases, there is not as much flexibility for the storylines of the family.
You can only do so much to each character’s story before it’s all a repeated trope. And it’s not like we can toss out a cast member and bring in someone new.
The whole reason Blue Bloods works so well among the massive competition of shows on the air is because of its family dynamics.
Fans adore the show for its weekly Sunday dinners involving the whole Reagan family (that’s still left). If you want to cook the same meals that the Reagans enjoy on their Sundays, check out the new Blue Bloods Family Dinners YouTube series.
Each episode will correspond with the meal served on Blue Bloods that week, giving you step by step instructions for the entire thing by Chef Paul Wahlberg.
Brother of Mark and Donnie Wahlberg — Danny Reagan.
Okay, Fanatics. Let’s hear from you.
What are your thoughts on the Blue Bloods cancelation? Have you added your name to the petition? Will you boycott the network or just sadly accept the decision and find your next favorite family drama TV show?
And finally, how do you feel about the news of a Blue Bloods spinoff? Do you think it would be a good idea? Perhaps a prequel for Frank’s life pre-commissioner, like NCIS: Origins is doing for Gibbs.