Across all 14 seasons of Blue Bloods, the Reagans and the NYPD helped solve crimes across New York City. But was the show really filmed in the Big Apple?
The ‘Blue Bloods’ Pilot Was Not Entirely Shot in NYC
It was initially believed that all scenes from Blue Bloods’ 14 seasons were filmed in NYC until a surprising detail was revealed about season 1. In December 2024, CBS aired a special called Blue Bloods: Celebrating a Family Legacy ahead of the show’s series finale. During the special, host Nischelle Turner dropped a shocking bombshell about how part of the show’s pilot was filmed in Toronto, Canada.
It was ultimately leading man Tom Selleck who pushed for the show to be fully shot in New York City thereafter.
“It was essential for me [to shoot in New York],” he once said during a press event for the Television Critics Association. “When I heard, ‘Well, maybe we’ll shoot it somewhere else,’ I said, ‘It’s difficult for me to argue that shooting a show about New York won’t be better shot in New York.’ No offense, Toronto, but I’ve shot there and it’s a lovely place to shoot, but it’s different.”
Sure enough, the IMDb page for the pilot episode of the show from 2010 lists Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as one of the filming locations for season 1, episode 1. The other filming locations for the pilot are listed as Brooklyn for exterior shots of the Reagan home, Madison Square Garden and New York City.
The ‘Blue Bloods’ Cast Embraced Filming in NYC
The rest of the episodes in the show’s 14 seasons were shot all around New York City, including famous landmarks.
“There’s certainly a Brooklyn vibe in @BlueBloods_CBS, which makes sense considering the show’s stages and offices are all in the borough. Of course, being there means it’s convenient to shoot on-location around New York City, be it Queens or the East Village,” Paramount+ posted on its official X account in August 2018.
Tom, who lives in California, opened up about what it was like filming the show in the big city.
“I had never shot for an extended period of time on the streets of New York. I’ve done movies here,” he once said.
“In L.A., you put up a tapeline to separate the crew from the spectators, and they’re held back, and everybody seems to do what they’re supposed to do,” the Magnum, P.I. actor explained.
He recalled the New York crowds being a bit different than the West Cost crowds.
“They don’t listen to rope lines and tapelines,” the Emmy winner remarked. “We’ve done many scenes where we say, ‘Let’s just shoot it and hope they don’t stare at me and jump into the crowd along the sidewalk.’”
Tom previously revealed that one of his favorite scenes to shoot was at the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center complex.
“My favorite scenes are with the family, especially at the Sunday dinner table. Also: when [Frank] was at [NYC’s] 9/11 memorial,” he said during an October 2024 interview with TV Insider. “It was the first time any show was allowed to shoot at the memorial. It was kind of an out-of-body experience.”