Tom Selleck got his big break in the 80s when he was cast as Thomas Magnum in the hit television series Magnum, P.I. Although he took a break from Hollywood after this series ended, he came back in the early 2000s. Since then, Selleck has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows, including Friends. But his biggest since Magnum P.I. has to be New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the popular CBS police procedural drama series Blue Bloods.
With 14 seasons and more than 270 episodes to date, Blue Bloods has become a rather successful show. Selleck, along with the rest of the main cast, has made a big bank on this show. However, he’s proven that he’s not only doing it for the money. Most recently, Selleck agreed to take a major salary cut just to keep Blue Bloods in the air.
Tom Selleck Took A Huge Pay Cut To Save Blue Bloods From Being Canceled
On March 29, 2023, CBS announced the show had been renewed for a fourteenth season. But later that year, the network announced that the upcoming would have to be delayed due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. Ultimately, putting season 14 on hold ended up raising the cost of production so much that CBS considered not renewing the series.
Ultimately, the cast of Blue Bloods, including Tom Selleck, agreed to take a 25% pay cut to keep the show going and ensure stable salaries for the production staff. This pay cut also affected the producers and showrunner Kevin Wade. When the news came out, fans praised Selleck and the rest of the cast. If they hadn’t put their monetary interests aside, the audiences wouldn’t have been able to enjoy what’s going to be the last season of Blue Bloods.
For his part, the cast also seems to be happy to end this long-running show on a good note. “I can’t tell you all how fortunate I am to work with such an amazing cast & crew, nor can I ever properly express my gratitude to them and to all of you — our loyal fans & viewers!” Donnie Wahlberg wrote in a heartfelt behind-the-scenes video he posted on Instagram.
He added, “I can, however, promise to keep working my ass off to show you how incredibly thankful I am for this most wonderful opportunity to be welcomed in to your homes (with my TV family) each week, to be part of your lives and to have you as part of mine — and to be so blessed to do what I love to do every day. Thank you! On to Season 14!”
Tom Selleck Has Made Millions On Blue Bloods
Since Blue Bloods first aired in 2010, Tom Selleck has portrayed Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in this series. Given that this hit police procedural drama has been around for almost 14 years now, it’s no surprise to hear that Selleck and the main cast of Blue Bloods have made millions during their time on this show.
As the main star of the show, Selleck has the highest salary among the Blue Bloods cast. According to Parade, Selleck makes $200,000 per episode. While this is not even half of what he was making as the lead of Magnum P.I., this massive salary puts him among the highest-paid actors on television of all time, surpassing other successful actors such as Mark Harmon from NCIS and Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory.
While there had been rumors of Selleck leaving the show in the past, the actor quickly denied them. In fact, Selleck has said that he would love to continue to appear on Blue Bloods for as long as possible. “I’m very proud of Blue Bloods. As long as we can keep it going and people seem to like it and we’re still having fun doing it, I’ll keep doing it,” he told TV Guide in 2016.
Despite Having an Impressive Net Worth, Tom Selleck Lives A Modest Life Outside of Hollywood
Thanks to his work in popular series such as Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods, Tom Selleck has an impressive $45 million net worth. Despite his wealth and his star status in Hollywood, Selleck chooses to live off the grid on a 63-acre ranch.
The actor bought a ranch in Ventura, California with the money he made on Magnum P.I. This became his safe haven when he needed to take a break from Hollywood. “I’m a fairly private person,” Selleck told People in 2020. “And I’ve always treasured the balance between work and time with my family. It’s always about them.”
When he’s not filming Blue Bloods, he goes back to his ranch, where he lives by modest means.
“My relationships and my ranch keep me sane,” the actor explained. “I do grunt work and I make the rounds. I like watching things grow. It’s a retreat.”
Now that filming for Blue Bloods has ended for good, there’s no doubt that Selleck will go back to enjoy the quiet life on his ranch until he takes on any new projects.