After 14 seasons, Blue Bloods has ended on CBS, but given how its replacement is performing, perhaps the network is regretting its decision to cancel the Tom Selleck-led show. The police procedural series, created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, premiered in 2010 and was an instant hit. Blue Bloods became one of CBS’ most consistent shows, pulling in impressive ratings (especially for a Friday timeslot) and solid reviews from fans and critics alike. So, it’s unsurprising that Blue Bloods ran for 14 seasons and almost 300 episodes. What is shocking, though, is that it ran for only 14 seasons.
Blue Bloods had the potential to become CBS’ version of Grey’s Anatomy (without the medical aspect, of course). It could have lasted for 20-plus seasons and way more than 300 episodes. Instead, CBS let go of the Reagan family in Blue Bloods, deciding to move on from the popular TV series and focus on newer projects. Following its finale in December 2024, the network shifted one of its other established shows into Blue Bloods’ old timeslot on Fridays in early 2025, and its performance proves that canceling the police procedural was a big mistake on CBS’ part.
SWAT Took Over Blue Bloods’ Friday Timeslot For CBS
SWAT Season 8’s Second Half Has Replaced Blue Bloods On Fridays In Early 2025
More than a month after the Blue Bloods series finale, SWAT took over the police procedural’s timeslot at 10 pm ET on Fridays, starting on January 31, 2025. The action crime drama’s eighth season initially aired at 8 pm ET on Fridays. However, in the wake of Blue Bloods’ cancelation, CBS chose SWAT as its replacement, likely in the hope that it could perform just as well as or even better than its predecessor.
SWAT has been unable to live up to Blue Bloods’ success.
So, SWAT season 8 made its new timeslot debut during its midseason premiere (aka episode 9, “Open Season”). Meanwhile, NCIS: Sydney season 2 took over for SWAT at 8 pm ET on Fridays, followed by Fire Country season 3 at 9 pm ET. Unfortunately, SWAT has been unable to live up to Blue Bloods’ success.
SWAT Ratings Dropped Significantly Since Taking Over Blue Bloods’ Timeslot
SWAT Performed Better In Its Old Timeslot
If CBS’ reasoning for moving SWAT season 8 from 8 pm to 10 pm ET on Fridays was to bump its ratings, the network is undoubtedly disappointed by the actual outcome. Not only has the action drama failed to live up to Blue Bloods’ ratings, but it has also experienced a decrease in viewership totals compared to season 8’s first half. According to TVLine, SWAT’s ratings are down by 22 percent since it replaced CBS’ canceled series Blue Bloods. Essentially, season 8 performed much better when it aired at 8 pm ET on Fridays compared to its current 10 pm ET timeslot.
Blue Bloods season 14, part 2 averaged 5.07 million viewers during its 10 pm ET timeslot on Fridays in the fall of 2024 (per TVLine). On the other hand, SWAT season 8, part 2 is averaging about 3.4 million viewers in early 2025, as of the writing of this article. So, it’s safe to say that SWAT is falling short of expectations previously set by Blue Bloods. It was never going to live up to said expectations, but it’s still surprising that the timeslot change has affected SWAT so drastically.
CBS Has Canceled SWAT For A Third And Likely Final Time
SWAT Is Ending After 8 Seasons
Given its decline in ratings and failure to measure up to Blue Bloods, CBS canceled SWAT (again) in March 2025. This isn’t the first time the network has attempted to cut ties with the show, though. CBS canceled SWAT just ahead of its season 6 finale in May 2023, just to reverse the decision a few days later in response to fan uproar. The network renewed the action drama for a seventh and final season. However, when the season 7 finale came around, CBS announced that SWAT had been renewed for an eighth season, undoing its cancelation a second time.
However, CBS’ third attempt at ending SWAT will likely stick. It’s quite improbable that the network will change its mind a third time. Unless the producers are able to find another home for the show (like Netflix, as SWAT star and executive producer Shemar Moore suggested), SWAT will conclude following the season 8 finale. Its ratings, which rank at the bottom of all 14 2024–2025 CBS dramas, aren’t good enough to warrant a renewal. As a result, CBS’ effort to replace Blue Bloods with SWAT has failed, further proving why canceling the Tom Selleck-led police procedural series was a big mistake.
SWAT’s Failure To Thrive On Its New Timeslot Proves Why Blue Bloods Should Have Continued
Blue Bloods Carried Fridays For CBS
As SWAT season 8, part 2’s failures have demonstrated, Blue Bloods was not successful because of its Fridays at 10 pm ET timeslot. CBS can’t just replace the police procedural with any show during that period and expect it to be as triumphant as its predecessor. If SWAT (which has impressively survived two cancelations) falls short, no TV series can follow in Blue Bloods’ footsteps and achieve the same accomplishments.
Perhaps the spinoff (tentatively titled Boston Blue) can carry on Blue Bloods’ legacy, as it will likely take over the flagship show’s timeslot if CBS is smart.
What Blue Bloods accomplished on Fridays (which is known to be a slow day for network TV) is unprecedented. No other show in the modern era has come close to the success that the police procedural experienced during its timeslot, proving why CBS should not have canceled it. Unfortunately, there is no going back, though. The good news is that a Blue Bloods sequel with Donnie Wahlberg is happening instead of season 15. Perhaps the spinoff (tentatively titled Boston Blue) can carry on Blue Bloods’ legacy, as it will likely take over the flagship show’s timeslot if CBS is smart.