‘That’s What I’ll Miss the Most’: Tom Selleck Reveals the Key to Blue Bloods’ Success

Tom Selleck looked back at 14 years of Blue Bloods and the relationships formed between the cast. He said they wouldn’t have been as close-knit if they didn’t film a dinner scene for every episode.

Blue Bloods created one of TV’s most iconic families in the Reagans; their onscreen chemistry was palpable. Tom Selleck confirmed they formed familial bonds behind the scenes, and the care also went out to the crew and the rest of the cast. He said this happened naturally over the years, a cumulative effect of 14 years spent on set. When asked about his favorite memory of the show, he told Entertainment Weekly it’s a million moments of experiences. “I think it was just really the continuity,” he asserted. “I know that doesn’t fit in a little box, but it wasn’t like a light bulb went off one day and I said, oh, this is the best moment. There were so many.”

Selleck said the Reagans’ weekly family dinners strengthened their onscreen and offscreen bonds. “On an ensemble like this, you could go three, four weeks and never see some of your fellow actors,” he explained. “It’s just work on different days and all on Blue Bloods every eight days, which is how long it took to do an episode, you were all going to get together at that family dinner table. And that’s what I think I’ll miss most.” Blue Bloods never failed to bring the Reagans together for dinner, and that scene became a staple of every episode. Now that the show is ending its run, the season finale’s dinner scene will likely be bittersweet for Blue Bloods fans.

The Weekly Dinner Scene Was Key To Blue Bloods’ Success

Selleck confirmed they made the most out of those shared moments, getting to know everyone better in between takes. “I knew we all could kind of do our work in the family dinner scenes, but also kind of catch up with each other and it really cemented the relationship and was, I think, the key to the show and the show’s success,” he explained. He previously asserted Blue Bloods exceeded expectations despite facing stacked odds; CBS never prioritized the show but it still performed outside the primetime slot. While the cast is adamant the series should be renewed, former co-star Jennifer Esposito agreed with the cancellation. “Everything has to come to an end, and I think they’re smart to end it now,” she told ScreenRant.

Those dinner scenes featured many of Blue Bloods‘ iconic moments, such as Jamie and Eddie’s engagement announcement, celebrating Henry’s 60th anniversary in the force, and the Reagans’ first dinner after Linda’s death. The season finale’s dinner scene could trump all of these because of its sentimental value to the cast. Co-star Donnie Wahlberg said the final Reagan dinner is a fitting bookend to the Blue Bloods pilot. “In hindsight, had that dinner scene not been first, I don’t know where the show goes,” he mused. “I don’t know that it has the same result or journey.“

The series finale of Blue Bloods airs on Dec. 13.