CBS had its reasons for canceling Blue Bloods even though it was one of the network’s highest-rated dramas, so its viewership wasn’t enough to change the network’s mind. The Tom Selleck-led cop and family drama was one of CBS’ most popular shows during its final season. Unfortunately, CBS stuck to its disappointing decision to cancel Blue Bloods, with the series airing its final episode on December 13, 2024. As of right now, the network plans to air SWAT in Blue Bloods’ place.
The decision to air SWAT is particularly aggravating because it got a reprieve from cancelation twice despite substantially lower ratings than Blue Bloods. Additionally, Blue Bloods’ cancelation was strongly opposed both by fans and cast members, with Donnie Wahlberg and Tom Selleck being particularly outspoken about how much they hoped CBS would reverse its decision. Thus, while CBS had solid reasons for its decision, understanding them is cold comfort to those who feel the network ignored the fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods.
Blue Bloods Season 14’s Ratings Explained
Blue Bloods continued to be a ratings success through its final episode. It was the sixth-highest-rated show on network television and the fourth-highest on CBS (via TVLine). Additionally, Blue Bloods attracted an average of 7.9 million viewers per episode, a doubly impressive feat considering that it aired on Friday nights at 10 PM — a time at which many people are out of the house instead of at home watching TV. The last two episodes attracted even bigger audiences, with 11 million people watching the series finale.
In comparison, SWAT was only the 16th-highest-rated series on CBS, attracting an average of 5.6 million viewers — a little over 2 million less than Blue Bloods. Thus, it appears that CBS has replaced a popular series with one that is far less so. Putting SWAT in the timeslot that worked so well for Blue Bloods is likely in an effort to improve its ratings, but that is no guarantee. The discrepancy in ratings also makes it seem unfair that Blue Bloods has been canceled while SWAT has gotten multiple reprieves.
Blue Bloods Season 14’s Ratings Were Never Likely To Save It
Sadly, it was unlikely to matter how many people watched Blue Bloods season 14, as CBS had decided that this would be the final season before it began. CBS took a long time to renew Blue Bloods after season 13 despite its strong ratings and passionate fan base, ultimately agreeing to season 14 only if the cast and crew took a 25% pay cut. While the cast’s willingness to do so speaks to their dedication to fans, the fact that they needed to make this sacrifice shows that the reason Blue Bloods was canceled was financial.
Most of the cast had remained with the series for all fourteen seasons, which meant they commanded high salaries, and the procedural had an unusually large cast — including Tom Selleck, whose well-known name contributed to the salary he drew. Additionally, Blue Bloods was filmed in New York, which is more expensive than filming in a studio in Los Angeles. For all these reasons, CBS decided that Blue Bloods was too expensive to continue producing, and that concern was never going to be offset by the strength of its ratings.
