7 Blue Bloods Will Just Miss The 300-Episode Milestone
Blue Bloods will have 293 episodes under its belt when it wraps up, which puts it within striking distance of 300. It’s heartbreaking not to be able to celebrate the major milestone before the series goes off the air, especially because it is so close and the series continues to be popular. CBS would not have had to agree to a much larger episode in order to accomplish this, either, which makes it doubly frustrating.
In any case, it shouldn’t be this difficult for the network to consider the legacy of one of its most-watched series. While cost-cutting has been cited as one of the main reasons for CBS’ cancelation spree during the 2023-2024 TV cycle, they should be more lenient with Blue Bloods given its accomplishments. Blue Bloods’ final season has been split into two parts, with the first ten airing in the spring of 2024 and the last eight airing in the fall.
Thus, CBS could have labeled those first 10 episodes a shortened season 14 and ordered an additional seven episodes for the second half of the 2024-2025 year and called it a farewell season. This hypothetical season 15 would have allowed Blue Bloods to reach the 300-episode milestone, which would have softened the blow of it going off the air.
6. There’s Still So Much Passion For Blue Bloods
Blue Bloods’ loyal cast and crew are a testament to how special this show is. After fourteen years, most shows would have only one or two original cast members left, but the ensemble has lost only three members over the years, not counting some recurring actors who have unfortunately passed away. The Blue Bloods cast is passionate about the series continuing. They even took a pay cut to get season 14 made (via THR). Meanwhile, Donnie Wahlberg and Tom Selleck have been vocal about their desire for the show to continue.
5 Blue Bloods Appeals To A Wide Variety of People
Blue Bloods appeals to a wide variety of people for different reasons. One segment of its audience loves it for its respectful depiction of law enforcement and the political issues police officers face, while others enjoy the case-of-the-week aspect. That said, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t embrace its focus on family and Blue Bloods’ iconic Reagan family dinners, which are the cornerstone of each episode. This makes it all the more impressive.
4 Blue Bloods Leaves The Audience With More Questions Than Answers, & That’s Great
Blue Bloods stories often delve into the impact of various laws and policies on police officers and the people they serve, especially Frank’s stories. As Commissioner of Police, Frank often butts heads with the current mayor about policy. He has also clashed with Erin when NYPD policy makes her job as an assistant district attorney harder and vice versa. However, the emphasis in these stories is usually on the characters rather than the issue. This results in a more nuanced examination of issues that are inspired by what’s happening in the real world.
3 Blue Bloods Often Focuses On Ethical Dilemmas
Frank Reagan is cut from the same cloth as many classic Western characters: he lives by a personal moral code, which is more important to him than societal approval, and which makes him seem sometimes to be a relic from an earlier era. His unusual dedication to integrity drives many conflicts between him and his staff or with the mayor; it also is one of the things that makes Blue Bloods different from most other police procedurals.
2 Blue Bloods Depicts Police Differently Than Most Other Procedurals
Many of the shows similar to Blue Bloods depict police officers heroically, but they aren’t nearly as realistic. Blue Bloods has a retired NYPD officer advising the writers so that the series can be as accurate as possible, and it seeks to show the NYPD, and by extension police in general, in a positive light without shying away from issues in policing. Thus, it neither makes cops into saints nor demonizes them, something which is unusual on television.
1 Blue Bloods Is One Of The Last Family Dramas On Television
Blue Bloods’ emphasis on family is one of the strongest reasons for its popularity, especially when the television landscape is full of police and medical procedurals rather than family dramas. The Reagan family’s relationships are at the heart of the series, with members turning to each other for support and advice as well as coming together every Sunday for dinner together no matter what is going on in their lives. Those family connections have unfortunately become rarer both in real life and on television, and Blue Bloods is one of the last series to center family relationships.
