After ‘Blue Bloods’ Cancellation, CBS’ New Show Must Avoid the Same Fate—Here’s Why

Blue Bloods came to an end in December 2024 with its season 14 finale, much to fans’ dismay, and another CBS TV series (which could also be canceled soon) replaced it in the network’s Friday lineup. The cancelation of Blue Bloods was met with animosity as many viewers (and the cast itself) attempted to save it. Unfortunately, they weren’t successful and CBS held strong in its decision to end the police procedural drama. Now, a different established TV show with many seasons has replaced the former beloved series, and it cannot afford to face the same fate as Blue Bloods.

CBS canceled Blue Bloods due to wanting to freshen up the network’s schedule. The series lasted for 14 seasons and 293 episodes, after all. However, many believe that the cost of producing the police procedural TV show also played a part in CBS cutting it from its lineup, even though the cast and crew reportedly agreed to take a 25 percent pay cut for season 14 (per The Hollywood Reporter). So, despite its popularity and ratings success, Blue Bloods is over. Another popular police procedural series has taken its place, but its future is as unclear as Blue Bloods‘ was.

While the second half of Blue Bloods season 14 was airing on CBS, so was the first half of S.W.A.T. season 8. New episodes of both TV shows premiered on Fridays, with S.W.A.T. at 8 pm ET and Blue Bloods at 10 pm ET. However, once Blue Bloods season 14 ended, S.W.A.T. took over its 10 pm ET timeslot on Fridays on CBS, while NCIS: Sydney season 2 replaced S.W.A.T. at 8 pm ET.

Of course, succeeding Blue Bloods is seemingly good news for S.W.A.T. The older series ran for 14 seasons and received great ratings, suggesting CBS has faith in the newer series. Nevertheless, CBS choosing S.W.A.T. as Blue Bloods‘ replacement is confusing because it has significantly lower ratings than its predecessor. Plus, it has already been canceled twice before. So, it’s just strange that CBS seemingly expects S.W.A.T. season 8 to match or even beat Blue Bloods‘ performance when it simply can’t.