Blue Bloods will be staying put for Season 13 but will have some new companions on Friday nights.
CBS unveiled their 2022-23 schedule, which keeps the long-running cop drama at its 10/9c time slot on Friday nights.
It will be joined by one returning series moving to a new night and a new drama to anchor an exciting evening.
Blue Bloods finale ratings and the shifting Friday landscape
Ever since its debut in 2010, Blue Bloods has been a mainstay on Friday nights for CBS.
The network did briefly try the show on Wednesdays for a few weeks in its first season but moved it back to its Friday 10/9c time slot. Ever since, the series has maintained being the most-watched network show on that night.
The Season 12 finale continued that trend. Boosted by news of the Season 13 renewal, it finished with 6.2 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo.
This season will see a shift as in a surprising move, CBS canceled Blue Bloods’ lead-in, Magnum P.I. The revival of the 1980s series (which, of course, starred Blue Bloods’ Tom Selleck) had still seen steady ratings and its cancellation caught many (including its own stars) by surprise.
This will change up Friday nights this fall, although Kelly Kahl, President of CBS Entertainment, insisted in a statement this will work out.
“CBS had another incredible season. In addition to repeating as America’s most-watched network, we launched several breakout hits, not to mention winning and improving many time periods across our schedule. For the new season, we once again looked for ways to strengthen our position with new, compelling series, scheduling them strategically to guarantee sampling and maximize consistency and flow. We believe these great new shows, returning hits and our robust slate of event programming positions us for another winning year.”
This will include CBS as Blue Bloods now anchors a different Friday night.
What’s joining Blue Bloods on Friday nights this fall?
Fridays on CBS will now begin with S.W.A.T. at 8/7c. The crime drama had actually run the first half of Season 5 on Friday nights in 2021 before moving to Sundays at mid-season.
Season 6 will now have the show on Fridays, which will be a unique bookend of crime shows for the night.
Following S.W.A.T. is the new drama Fire Country, examining a group of prisoners who work off their sentences by fighting California wildfires.
“FIRE COUNTRY stars Max Thieriot (SEAL Team) as Bode Donovan, a young convict seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence by joining an unconventional prison release firefighting program in Northern California, where he and other inmates are partnered with elite firefighters to extinguish massive, unpredictable wildfires across the region. It’s a high-risk, high-reward assignment, and the heat is turned up when Bode is assigned to the program in his rural hometown, where he was once a golden all-American son until his troubles began. Five years ago, Bode burned down everything in his life, leaving town with a big secret. Now he’s back, with the rap sheet of a criminal and the audacity to believe in a chance for redemption with Cal Fire. Inspired by series star Max Thieriot’s experiences growing up in Northern California fire country.”
Besides Theieriot, the series stars Billy Burke (Revolution, Zoo), Kevin Alejandro (Lucifer), and Diane Farr (Rescue Me).
The night ends with Blue Bloods in its 13th season and fans no doubt hopeful for many more to come.
Thus, Blue Bloods will have some fresh shows alongside it for Fridays this fall, yet fans will happily tune in to see the Reagans continue their terrific run.
Blue Bloods Season 13 airs Fridays this fall on CBS.
All episodes of Blue Bloods are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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