It’s hard to believe that Blue Bloods is ending…for good this time. For 14 seasons, the show has dominated on CBS, with Tom Selleck proudly in the leading role of New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan. Whatever happens, the show’s conclusion gives some of us hope that maybe, just maybe, if CBS knows what’s good for them, they’ll keep Selleck around for more. Since 2015, the actor has been itching to produce another made-for-TV feature in the Jesse Stone franchise, and now is the perfect time. As some of the most highly rated made-for-TV movies out there, it’s hard to imagine CBS not jumping at the chance to make more, especially if it means keeping Selleck around.
Tom Selleck Wants More Jesse Stone — and So Do We
But to make more Jesse Stone films (there are currently nine total), it means that Tom Selleck would have to be on board. Thankfully, he is, and he’s been trying to get a tenth film in the series off the ground for nearly a decade. “If Blue Bloods doesn’t [get uncanceled], there is room for a Jesse Stone because I’ve written them, as you know,” Selleck told Parade in May 2024. “I love Jesse. And he’d be different. He’s older. It’s been a while since the last one. That’s a fun thing to deal with.” Selleck has been clear from the moment the network first announced Blood Bloods was ending that he wants to continue to work, and playing TV lawmen has always been where he’s thrived.
Of course, as Blue Bloods continued (the show premiered in 2010, the same year Jesse Stone: No Remorse hit the airwaves), it became harder for Selleck to commit to both Jesse Stone and the long-form series. With the promise that Jesse would always be there, he favored his CBS drama, and it’s not hard to see why. Three more Jesse Stone films were made after Blue Bloods started, with the last installment (Jesse Stone: Lost In Paradise) airing in 2015. Though Jesse wasn’t exactly a spring chicken when Selleck first played him in 2005’s Jesse Stone: Stone Cold, his desire to portray an aged Jesse is interesting and appealing so long as it means he’ll be back for more.
Like streaming success stories such as Longmire, the Jesse Stone flicks have always attracted older audiences. Whether they’re drawn to the made-for-TV movies because of Jesse’s distinct outlook on the world, the original Robert B. Parker novels on which the series is based, or Tom Selleck himself, folks stick around for the crime flavor these pictures exude. Of course, mystery cop dramas are fun no matter which way they’re sliced, and Jesse Stone is no different.
Hallmark Still Has First-Dibs on ‘Jesse Stone’
The only problem one could foresee in CBS resuming their commitment to Selleck’s Jesse Stone franchise — aside from the fact that they don’t make many TV movies anymore — is that the network no longer owns the rights. Though the first eight were made in conjunction with CBS (who gave Selleck complete creative freedom), the last installment, Lost in Paradise, aired on The Hallmark Channel. “Hallmark bought two movies,” Selleck told the Wall Street Journal back in 2015, which means that they are still contracted for one more.
While we don’t know the particulars of Selleck’s deal with Hallmark (it’s possible their claim to Jesse Stone may have expired) or if the network is even interested in another (they originally stepped in because their Jesse Stone reruns were doing so well), the end of Blue Bloods may make that clear. Regardless, here’s hoping that Selleck makes the best of his post-Blue Bloods career and gives Jesse Stone the sendoff he deserves. Or, even better, that he would resume the series as if he never left. If CBS isn’t going to do it, no doubt someone will.