“That Was Never An Option”: Blue Bloods EP Weighs In On The Show’s Future & Why Series Finale Didn’t Set Up Spinoffs

An executive producer of Blue Bloods has offered some insight into the series finale. The show, which was a police procedural following the intergenerational, New York-based law enforcement family the Reagans, concluded on December 13 after running for 14 seasons. The core Blue Bloods cast included Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Len Cariou, Tom Selleck, Sami Gayle, Vanessa Ray, and Marisa Ramirez. Although even some cast members have expressed interest in spinoffs to the show after its conclusion, the finale did not include any evident setups for a possible continuation.

Deadline had the opportunity to sit down with Blue Bloods executive producer Kevin Wade to discuss the final episode of the show. When asked about potential spinoffs, he revealed that the show ran for as long as it did and was as successful as it was “because of that family.” He argued that they could not just “place [one of] them in New Orleans” and have a new spinoff.

He says that setting up a spinoff “was never an option” when they were writing the finale, though he offered a glimmer of hope by adding that they did not purposefully do anything “one way or the other,” seemingly implying that, while a spinoff was not planned, one could still happen. Read Wade’s full comments below:

It’s a fine question… Look, Blue Bloods exist[s] not as a lead character. It exist[ed] as long as it did and if people liked it because of that family. That’s a lot of actors. Then going out from there, there’s Steve Schirripa and Marisa Ramirez and Greg Jbara, Bob Clohessy, Abigail Hawk, there were satellites that made the whole. You couldn’t just take one of them, place them in New Orleans and say, [that’s] Blue Bloods: New Orleans. So that was never an option. So in the ingredients in the kitchen for the finale, we didn’t try to do that, not purposefully or not one way or the other. Simply believe me, that just was not on the horizon when we were doing it.

What This Means For Blue Bloods

A Spinoff Could Still Happen

From Wade’s comments, it seems that there are no immediate plans to mount a Blue Bloods spinoff. If there was one set for the coming season, it would very likely have already been announced. However, given the fact that they did not intentionally craft any concepts for a spinoff in order to use the finale as a backdoor pilot, it seems unlikely that a spinoff will materialize the following season either, and potentially not even in the coming few years.

Even though Blue Bloods star Donnie Wahlberg in particular has expressed interest in the show continuing in some capacity, it seems as though they will not become major players in any spinoffs if they do happen. Even though it seems likely that one or more of the Reagans could appear in a guest star capacity, Wade’s comments seem to imply that any continuation of the show would have to focus on an entirely new family that the audience could potentially forge a similar bond with, given the time to do so.

Our Take On Kevin Wade’s Blue Bloods Comments

Wade Understands The Core Appeal Of The Show

Although his statement may sound somewhat disappointing in terms of the possible longevity of Blue Bloods, it makes sense that spinoffs featuring just one or two characters from the flagship show are seemingly not going to happen. Wade is right that the bond between the Reagans is at the core of the entire show, especially considering the fact that the core cast stuck around for all 14 seasons. Taking any of the characters out of that dynamic immediately removes the heart of the show, which could irreparably damage any spinoff before it has the chance to get off the ground.