We’ll just say it here. The cancellation of “Blue Bloods” may go down in television history as one of CBS’s biggest mistakes.
The show has a huge fan base, many of whom have watched it for fourteen years and are angry that the show was cancelled.
CBS did what it felt it had to do for financial reasons, but that doesn’t make it any less painful, especially in a television landscape with few family-oriented programming.
‘Blue Bloods’ canceled at peak ratings
Getting rid of it won’t be easy
CBS did not cancel “Blue Bloods” because of the show’s declining ratings, making the decision a headache.
All network TV has had financial problems since streaming became big enough to compete with them, and the writers and actors going on strike in 2023 doesn’t help, so I can understand it would be hard for them to find a way to afford another season. cost. Top rated crime drama.
Blue Bloods Season 14 has one of the biggest casts yet. Eleven main characters appear each week, many of whom are actors who have been with the series from the beginning.
That’s a lot more expensive than a cast of new actors, and if you consider that it was filmed in New York and that Tom Selleck has been a leading man in Hollywood since the 1980s, you’re getting a high-end Budget show!
Still, CBS should work harder to find ways to make it work. Thousands of angry fans, many of whom will make good on their pledge to boycott CBS forever, doesn’t seem like a winning strategy if they want people to watch their other shows.
The cast and crew were able to negotiate a final season by agreeing to take pay cuts, and if this time isn’t enough, CBS can explore other options.
Of course, we don’t know what happened at the negotiating table, other than that the end result was that Blue Bloods was canceled, but it still seems like there had to be a way to keep the series going until the actors were ready to call it quits.
Blue Bloods are so popular because of their family values
Replacing it with another program won’t work
The reason “Blue Bloods” has been CBS’s No. 1 for fourteen years in a row isn’t a matter of police procedurals.
These are strong, to be sure, and Blue Bloods’ dedication to realism and showing the NYPD in a fair light are also selling points.
However, the main reason for Blue Bloods’ success is the family element of the series. The Regans are not just any police officers, they are a multi-generational family who have dinner together every week.
No matter what happens in this episode, the family will be putting it all aside on Sunday. In Blue Bloods’ nearly 300 episodes, family dinners have never been cut, not once.
That’s what makes Blue Bloods special and why people flock to it. In real life, many people are too busy to sit down and have dinner with their families every week, let alone every night, and many viewers long for a world where that’s not the case (no pun intended).
The Regans help fill in some of the gaps so viewers can spend time with one Families have dinner together, even if it’s not their own.
The cancellation of “Blue Bloods” not only leaves a gaping hole in its focus on family, but it leaves many of us feeling as though we’ve lost a group of beloved friends whose houses we went to for dinner every week.
Whatever happens in that time slot — and now CBS’ plan is to bring SWAT into the time slot — unless it’s another family drama, it’s not going to be any bigger than “Blue Bloods.”
This means people will stop paying attention. That’s not a good thing for CBS!
Aristocratic blood unifies a polarized society
it is popular with audiences across the political spectrum
Today’s polarized political climate has seeped into television. America is so divided that people with different political beliefs don’t even watch the same shows. Mostly.
Blue bloods are different.
Although the show had a more balanced view of police and a more conservative view of New York’s criminal justice issues than the average show, its refusal to impose opinions on viewers and its focus on families appealed to people across the political spectrum.
This is a very rare thing and when it happens it should be cherished rather than canceled prematurely.
I don’t always agree with the Reagans on issues, but that doesn’t matter.
The stories are funny, and the squabbles and banter over family dinners that week make up for the characters’ annoyance about how things should go.
If you agree with their point of view, you can cheer them on. If you don’t, it will give you something to think about.
I was studying social work and working within the criminal justice system during part of Blue Bloods, but it’s still my favorite show that has generated a lot of discussion with people online who hold different views.
“Blue Bloods” succeeds in this regard, in part because Frank is such a special and unusual character.
Like the heroes in old westerns, he follows his own moral code and does what he believes is right, no matter the personal or professional cost.
At times, he comes across as a grumpy, grumpy guy, but even though Frank is stubborn, it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone who has a value system that he tries his best to live by and isn’t afraid of being disliked.
CBS has made similar mistakes before
‘Blue Bloods’ cancellation will join ‘rural cleansing’ and other mistakes in TV history
The cancellation of “Blue Bloods” ignores how much viewers love the show and why they are so passionate about it.
This isn’t the first time CBS has done this. In 1970, it canceled a series of popular comedies such as “Beverly Hills” and “Mayberry R.F.D.” because it wanted to change its image by eliminating any country background from its lineup.
To make matters worse, in 1985, after 11 years on the air, “The Jeffersons” was canceled without notifying the cast.
Not only did the beloved sitcom not get a proper ending, but star Sherman Hemsley learned he was out of a job after reading about the cancellation in the newspaper.
The cancellation of Blue Bloods seems equally disrespectful! At least it will have an ending, but that’s all about this one.
It’s too late for CBS to change course; it’s already sold every Blue Bloods box set. The best we can hope for is a reunion movie or a Blue Bloods spin-off.
What a shame. This beautiful show deserves at least one more season, if not more.
Over to you, blue blood fanatics.
Hit the comments to express your feelings about Blue Bloods’ cancellation.
The final eight episodes of Blue Bloods will air Fridays at 10/9c on CBS, beginning October 18, 2024.
