CBS had its reasons for canceling Blue Bloods even though it was one of the network’s highest-rated dramas, so its viewership wasn’t enough to change the network’s mind. The Tom Selleck-led cop and family drama was one of CBS’ most popular shows during its final season. Unfortunately, CBS stuck to its disappointing decision to cancel Blue Bloods, with the series airing its final episode on December 13, 2024. As of right now, the network plans to air SWAT in Blue Bloods’ place.
The decision to air SWAT is particularly aggravating because itgot a reprieve from cancelation twice despite substantially lower ratings than Blue Bloods. Additionally, Blue Bloods‘ cancelation was strongly opposed both by fans and cast members, with Donnie Wahlberg and Tom Selleck being particularly outspoken about how much they hoped CBS would reverse its decision. Thus, while CBS had solid reasons for its decision, understanding them is cold comfort to those who feel the network ignored the fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods.
Blue Bloods Season 14’s Ratings Explained
It Had Substantially Higher Ratings Than The Show Replacing It
Image Created by Lukas Shayo
Blue Bloods continued to be a ratings success through its final episode. It was the sixth-highest-rated show on network television and the fourth-highest on CBS (via TVLine). Additionally, Blue Bloods attracted an average of 7.9 million viewers per episode, a doubly impressive feat considering that it aired on Friday nights at 10 PM — a time at which many people are out of the house instead of at home watching TV. The last two episodes attracted even bigger audiences, with 11 million people watching the series finale.
In comparison, SWAT was only the 16th-highest-rated series on CBS, attracting an average of 5.6 million viewers — a little over 2 million less than Blue Bloods. Thus,it appears that CBS has replaced a popular series with one that is far less so. Putting SWAT in the timeslot that worked so well for Blue Bloods is likely in an effort to improve its ratings, but that is no guarantee. The discrepancy in ratings also makes it seem unfair that Blue Bloods has been canceled while SWAT has gotten multiple reprieves.
Blue Bloods Season 14’s Ratings Were Never Likely To Save It
CBS Had Already Decided To End Blue Bloods Before The Season Began
Sadly, it was unlikely to matter how many people watched Blue Bloods season 14, as CBS had decided that this would be the final season before it began. CBS took a long time to renew Blue Bloods after season 13 despite its strong ratings and passionate fan base, ultimately agreeing to season 14 only if the cast and crew took a 25% pay cut. While the cast’s willingness to do so speaks to their dedication to fans, the fact that they needed to make this sacrifice shows that the reason Blue Bloods was canceled was financial.
CBS decided that Blue Bloods was too expensive to continue producing, and that concern was never going to be offset by the strength of its ratings.
Most of the cast had remained with the series for all fourteen seasons, which meant they commanded high salaries, and the procedural had an unusually large cast — including Tom Selleck, whose well-known name contributed to the salary he drew. Additionally, Blue Bloods was filmed in New York, which is more expensive than filming in a studio in Los Angeles. For all these reasons, CBS decided that Blue Bloods was too expensive to continue producing, and that concern was never going to be offset by the strength of its ratings.
Blue Bloods’ Ratings Only Make The Cancelation Backlash Worse
Devoted Supporters of The Series Resent Their Voices Being Ignored
CBS’ decision has led to a huge backlash, which is to be expected when a series is as popular as Blue Bloods is. The family aspects of the series, including the iconic Reagan family dinners in Blue Bloods, set it apart from other procedurals while filling a need for shows depicting families who supported one another despite their differences, while its respectful treatment of the NYPD endeared it to real-life police officers. Thus, many people are angry that the series was taken away from them, and some of them are refusing to watch other CBS programming in protest.
The high ratings take away the best justification for canceling the series, however. Many shows are canceled each year due to low ratings and thus audiences understand that their favorite show will be canceled if not enough people watch it. Conversely, the decision to cancel Blue Bloods makes little sense when viewed solely through the lens of ratings, as it is more popular than many shows that CBS renewed. Thus, many in the audience feel that CBS doesn’t care about its viewers’ preferences or worry that CBS canceled Blue Bloods for other unknown reasons.
Blue Bloods’ cast’s passion for the show and interest in continuing also contribute to the backlash about the cancelation, as audiences would likely feel better about it if it ended because they felt it was time rather than because of a seemingly arbitrary decision on CBS’ part.
Additionally, the cast has been vocal about wanting to do another season. Many of them believed until the last minute that CBS would issue a reprieve or that the high ratings on the final eight episodes of Blue Bloods would make a difference to CBS’ future plans. Blue Bloods’ cast’s passion for the show and interest in continuing also contribute to the backlash about the cancelation, as audiences would likely feel better about it if it ended because they felt it was time rather than because of a seemingly arbitrary decision on CBS’ part.
Blue Bloods’ Ratings Are Good For A Spinoff
There Is Already A Built-In Audience For A Sequel or Prequel
CBS made a mistake by not developing a sequel, prequel, or other spinoff while Blue Bloods was still on the air. Doing so would have allowed the audience to get used to the offshoot. Having a new series in the franchise to look forward to when the original ended would have helped soften the blow of losing Blue Bloods. It would have strong ties to the mothership, since plot seeds would have been planted. Although a spinoff is reportedly in development, there have been no updates about it, making it even harder to accept Blue Bloods leaving the schedule.
The spinoff needs to feature some members of the Reagan family in order to attract the original series’ audience.
A Blue Bloods spinoff should do well, considering the ratings on the original. However, the new series would have to have the same values that made Blue Bloods so popular. Additionally, the spinoff needs to feature some members of the Reagan family in order to attract the original series’ audience. A spinoff focused on an unrelated family would feel like a reboot, making it less clear why CBS was producing it instead of another season of the original series; this type of spinoff would not be successful as it would anger Blue Bloods‘ loyal and passionate audience even further.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
