Blue Bloods has been on an elongated ending path. It’s among the many shows that were canceled in 2024; however, it’s also not over yet, as CBS split the final season into two parts. Muddying the waters further has been series lead Tom Selleck, who has been very vocal about wanting the 2024 fall TV premiere to not be the last for the show. But how does the Eye Network feel about Selleck’s comments?
While Blue Bloods stars like Donnie Wahlberg wrapped production back in June, there’s been some push for CBS to reverse the decision. Much of that has come from Tom Selleck himself, who has spoken out more than once on the matter. He’s said, ‘I will continue to think CBS will come to their senses” at one point, while at another point he flat out said, “CBS will find an awful lot of people aren’t ready to say goodbye to it.”
The actor also made some comments about how losing the show will impact Selleck’s ability to care for his ranch. That’s where an insider says “CBS higher-ups aren’t buying it.” In fact, that insider got really specific with their feelings while speaking to Closer Weekly:
Tom is an entitled brat. Hundreds of people are facing unemployment when the show wraps. Most of them will struggle to make ends meet — while Tom complains about the upkeep of his lavish 63-acre ranch. Give me a break.
That comment, whether factual or not, has quite a bit of vitriol attached to it. The insider also went further, saying the real strain will be on the myriad behind-the-scenes personalities who work on the show.
Many of these hardworking individuals reportedly make less than $100,000 a year, facing uncertainty and financial strain as the show comes to an end.
The interesting thing to note about these insider’s comments is that presumably the insider and those other lower-paid individuals on Blue Bloods would want the same thing. Everyone wants to be paid and (most) everyone wants a steady job with longevity. For years, that’s exactly what Blue Bloods was. While Tom Selleck has an idea for what he wants to do next on TV, and others will no doubt find other Hollywood gigs, with Netflix and other places canceling projects after one season, there’s certainly less stability in many places than on a long-running network show.
It’s pretty easy to see why any cast and crew would be sad to see their drama ending, but I don’t really blame Selleck for attempting to get CBS to change its mind, particularly when there’s still time and the drama does pull in good ratings. (Though I’m not sure it will work.)
TV has always been a crapshoot, and plenty of shows get canceled before their time. In Blue Bloods’ case the show got 14 seasons on the air. Then, when CBS did cancel it, they gave the creative team an elongated double season to wrap up and plenty of advance notice. That’s far more respect than other shows on CBS even got — and yes I’m looking at NCIS: Hawai’i, CSI: Vegas and So Help Me Todd, which upset fans just this past season.
I’ll be prepared to say goodbye this fall, but if fortune ends up favoring the bold (and the Blue) in this case, I won’t be shocked either.