The Harsh Truth: Tom Selleck (Sheriff Reagan) Reveals He Doesn’t Have Long to Live md20

One of Tom Selleck’s speeches as Commissioner Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods shouldn’t have been hard to memorize and recite, considering that years before, he used the same dialogue as General Dwight Eisenhower in Ike: Countdown to D-Day. Blue Bloods, a police procedural crime drama, aired for 14 seasons on CBS between September 2010 and December 2024. Focusing on the Reagan family and their massive involvement within the New York Police Department (NYPD), Tom Selleck led the critically acclaimed series from day one as Commissioner Reagan, the patriarch of the family and a tough nut to crack, personally and professionally. Blue Bloods was created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, famous for their work on HBO’s The Sopranos.

Before he was cast as Commissioner Reagan, Selleck was already a highly sought-after actor with dozens of prolific credits on his acting resume. In the entertainment industry since 1965, Selleck’s most prominent roles include Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988), Peter Mitchell in Three Men and a Baby (1997), and Jesse Stone in the Jesse Stone film franchise (2005-2015). One year before Selleck made his Jesse Stone debut, he starred as General Eisenhower; Ike: Countdown to D-Day was a made-for-television film that didn’t just show off Selleck’s acting chops, but had lines of dialogue reused over a decade later.

Tom Selleck Held Major Influence On Blue Bloods

An Episode of Blue Bloods isn’t Complete without a Family Dinner

There would be no Blue Bloods without Selleck’s involvement (or, if it existed, it would be a completely different show). As one of the main characters and an executive producer, Selleck had significant influence over Blue Bloods in front of the camera, and behind the scenes. As an executive producer, Selleck had the power to collaborate on how the police procedural crime drama should proceed through the seasons, which new characters to introduce or which characters could become the show’s next victim, and which actors were the best to cast from their auditions. Detective Abigail Baker (Abigail Hawk), for instance, was originally named Melissa. Selleck suggested the character’s name change and helped deliver her backstory.

Selleck’s largest influence on Blue Bloods was the recurring family dinners that were featured in almost every episode throughout the series’ 14 seasons. Hosted every Sunday at Commissioner Frank’s house (with a couple of meals taking place at other residences), each family dinner is lively, full of conversation, and an excellent way to showcase the Reagans more traditionally. After the first dinner was filmed for season 1, Selleck advocated for the family dinners to become a Blue Bloods staple; Selleck believed the scenes would bring the Reagan family closer together and let the audience take a break from the tough and sometimes violent police work that the show focused on. The idea ultimately paid off and became a fan favorite.

Tom Selleck Shined In Ike: Countdown to D-Day

General Eisenhower Led the Allied Invasion of Normandy

General Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, who later served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, was a major player in World War II. Appointed the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Eisenhower oversaw two of the most influential operations during the war for the Allies: Operation Torch (1942-1943) and the invasion of Normandy, now commonly referred to as D-Day (1944). Ike: Countdown to D-Day, directed by Robert Harmon and written by Lionel Chetwynd, examines the 90 days leading up to the invasion of Normandy from Eisenhower’s perspective.

Ike: Countdown to D-Day is full of strong performances from actors portraying a number of famous people from the era, including Omar Bradley (James Remar), George S. Patton (Gerald McRaney), Charles de Gaulle (George Shevtsov), and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Carole Seay). As the main subject and a natural-born actor with powerful acting chops, Selleck steals the show as General Eisenhower, especially when it comes to making speeches and rallying the massive group of soldiers. Selleck, who undergoes quite the physical transformation without his signature mustache, has a commanding presence throughout Ike: Countdown to D-Day and carries the high stakes involved well.

How Historically Accurate Is Ike: Countdown to D-Day?

The Film Takes Creative Liberties, but Doesn’t Stray Far from the Facts

Historical films may be rooted in the past, but they’re not always accurate. Whether to spice things up or to translate events more accurately to the screen, most historical war dramas, like Ike: Countdown to D-Day, have at least a couple of continuity or fact-checked errors. The made-for-television film is historically accurate. One of the best components of Ike: Countdown to D-Day, besides Selleck’s performance, is that the movie accurately refers to the other troops involved in the Normandy invasion instead of just mentioning the British (the Canadian First Army, for example, successfully took Juno Beach in the attack).

Other events depicted in the film really occurred and were accurately portrayed, such as when Major General Harry Miller (Paul Gittins) drunkenly spoke about Operation Overload at a restaurant. Ike: Countdown to D-Day is full of inaccuracies, although most are relatively minor. When General Eisenhower meets with the 101st Airborne troops and their command, for instance, the date is given as June 6, 1944; in reality, the event occurred a day earlier, on June 5. In another scene, some characters are watching the Laurence Olivier film Henry IV ahead of D-Day, but in real life, Henry IV wasn’t released until November 22, 1944.

Besides these small errors, Ike: Countdown to D-Day incorrectly references the types of aircraft and weaponry used (Landing Ship, Tank was not involved in the initial beach storming), uses incorrect terminology for the time (Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Ian Mune) uses the term “saturation bombing” instead of “area bombing”), and tweaks the military relationship between the United States and Britain.

How Do Blue Bloods and Ike: Countdown to D-Day Compare?

Tom Selleck is a Natural at Portraying Series Characters

On the surface, Blue Bloods and Ike: Countdown to D-Day couldn’t be any more different. While the former focuses on a family heavily involved in the NYPD and how they interact with one another personally and professionally, the latter follows the true story of how General Eisenhower directly influenced the events of D-Day and the 90 days before the Allied troops stormed the Normandy coast. Ike: Countdown to D-Day is based on real-life events and set in the 1940s, while Blue Bloods portrays a fictional version of the NYPD with made-up characters in the present day.

Despite the obvious difference that Blue Bloods is a police procedural crime drama television show and Ike: Countdown to D-Day is a historical made-for-television drama film, the two projects do share some similarities. While the characters and main plots are at almost-opposite ends of the spectrum, Blue Bloods and Ike: Countdown to D-Day both have themes of loyalty, dedication, and bravery, especially when under pressure or in the face of danger. Although Commissioner Reagan and General Eisenhower are equally different, Selleck’s characters are serious, intuitive, intelligent, and critical. With that in mind, it’s not actually that far-fetched that the line, “The big things in life being easy; it’s the small stuff that’s hard,” was said by both men.

A Blue Bloods Spin-Off Is In The Works

Boston Blue will Focus on Danny Reagan

Blue Bloods may be over, but the Reagan family’s story isn’t over just yet. In February 2023, season 14 of Blue Bloods was ordered, with everyone taking a reported pay cut to return. That July, production was halted because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike; CBS announced Blue Bloods ​​​​​​wouldn’t be renewed for another season soon after. Although the cancellation of Blue Bloods wasn’t entirely a surprise, the last season, and in particular, the season finale, was an emotional ride. At the last family dinner, Selleck recited the poem “Love Is Not All” by Edna St. Vincent Millay at the table, which was quite the gut-punch to Selleck’s co-stars and produced more than one tear.

Fans of Blue Bloods and the cast had their time to mourn the end of the police procedural drama, but it wasn’t long before talks of a spin-off made their way around the Internet. In February 2025, CBS announced the Blue Bloods spin-off was real and revealed that it would premiere in the Fall of 2025. Boston Blue will follow the adventures of Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg), Commissioner Reagan’s son, after he transfers from the NYPD to the Boston Police Department. Wahlberg will executive produce the series alongside his starring role; Boston Blue is also set to star Sonequa Martin-Green, Ernie Hudson, Maggie Lawson, Gloria Reuben, and Marcus Scribner.