Despite canceling Blue Bloods after 14 seasons, the cast has been lobbying for a last-minute reprieve on CBS.
Sadly, the network has confirmed that the series is no longer in contention for renewal and will end after 14 seasons in December.
While announcing the CBS fall schedule on Thursday, Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach shared that the show’s fate has been sealed.
“We really want to thank the cast and crew, everyone involved in the show,” Reisenbach told reporters, according to Deadline.
“We absolutely will miss the family dinners. It is important to give the show the sendoff it deserves.”
Despite reporters pointing out that the cast had been trying to get the show renewed for Blue Bloods Season 15, Reisenbach shut down any speculation of keeping the show alive.
CBS is fond of the Blue Bloods cast
“We love this cast, we love their passion for the show. All shows have to come to an end,” Amy Reisenbach stated.
“It’s important to us to refresh the schedule. We are going to end the show come December,” she added.
CBS has made some controversial decisions recently, including canceling NCIS: Hawai’i without a pre-planned series finale. The Vanessa Lachey-led spin-off is ending later this month despite, scoring solid ratings on Mondays at 10/9c.
NCIS: Origins, a prequel to the original NCIS that features a younger Gibbs — this time played by Austin Stowell — replaces NCIS: Hawai’i.
Blue Bloods is getting a pre-planned conclusion
The only solace fans can take about the demise of Blue Bloods is that it still has half of Season 14 to air later this year, giving producers ample time to craft a farewell arc that brings the journey of the Reagans to a close.
The series has been a dominant force on Fridays on CBS since launching in 2010. Many shows don’t survive their first season, never mind 14, but the cop drama has consistently pulled in decent numbers on the night.
It’s hard to imagine CBS being entirely done with the franchise later this year, so we should probably expect a spinoff or two to get the formal green light.
Due to its age, Blue Bloods isn’t an easy show to keep around, with a budget buoyed by cast salaries.
In fact, the cast had to take pay cuts to get the show renewed for Season 14.
The Broadcast TV market is imploding
The broadcast TV market is not as lucrative as it once was. Streaming has decimated the on-air ratings, meaning the shows make less money airing on the broadcast TV networks than before.
Blue Bloods fans will still hold on to hope that there’s a way to save the show. Friday night companion, S.W.A.T., which was ending with Season 7, has scored a last-minute renewal for a 22-episode Season 8.
Anything is possible, and the passionate Blue Bloods fans will be hoping for a miracle at this stage.
Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS. Full episodes are available to stream on Paramount+.
CBS may need to let the decision makers go and keep some of the shows they are not renewing. It was bad enough that NCIS Hawaii was not renewed, but now they want to let Blue Bloods go. BOO to those making these decisions. Is there still time to do a protest to keep Blue Bloods?