Tom Selleck is revealing his honest reaction to Blue Bloods coming to an end.
In an interview with TV Insider, the actor, 79, opened up about the show ending after nearly 15 years of him playing NYPD Police Commissioner Frank Reagan. Selleck said he was not happy to hear the news and admitted his true feelings about the cancellation.
“I’m kind of frustrated,” he said. “During those last eight shows, I haven’t wanted to talk about an ending for Blue Bloods, but about it still being wildly successful.”
“I’m not going to turn into a bitter old guy saying, ‘Get off my lawn!’ I don’t believe in holding grudges,” he continued, noting that the drama series was in the top 100 shows of 2023-2024. “But if you were to say to the television network, ‘Here’s a show you can program in the worst time slot you got, and it is going to guarantee you winning Friday night for the next 15 years,’ it would be almost impossible to believe.”
Explaining more about where his emotions are coming from, the Friends alum said he wished the show got more praise before it got canceled.
“My frustration is the show was always taken for granted because it performed from the get-go,” he shared. “So how do I feel? It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out. I remember after the weekend [of the final episode’s shoot], I said, ‘I’ve got to get to bed early tonight because I have to do my dialogue for Monday.’ Well, there was no Monday.”
“It’s just going to take a while,” he told the outlet.
Thinking back on his time on set, the Emmy nominee recalled the final scene he shot as Frank. He said it holds a special place in his heart because it was reminiscent of when he began the show.
“My last scene was ironically family dinner — that was also the first scene I shot on the show 15 years ago!” he revealed. “I’m not going to tell you everything about the last episode…but the family dinner kind of reunites the Reagan family.”
He goes on to tease: “Erin’s daughter Nicky (Sami Gayle) was there and so was Jack (Tony Terraciano) Danny’s older son. Everybody agreed with me that we should close the set for the family dinner and not exploit that. Most of them had four more days to shoot, but not me.”
Selleck said more than anything, he would miss the other actors the most.
“The family of actors is as close as the Reagan family and the characters that they play,” he said. “There’s isn’t a single one of them who didn’t want to come back. Most shows don’t end that way — there’s petty jealousy and all sorts of things — and we seemed to overcome that.”
“It’s something for everybody to hang their hats on and be proud of,” he added.
CBS announced the decision to cancel Blue Bloods in November 2023. Months later, in May, Selleck told CBS News that he will “continue to think that CBS will come to their senses.”
“We’re the third-highest scripted show in all of broadcast,” he explained. “We’re winning the night. All the cast wants to come back. And I can tell you this: we aren’t sliding off down a cliff. We’re doing good shows, and still holding our place. So, I don’t know. You tell me!”
Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.