CBS’ recent announcement confirming that Blue Bloods will end in December 2024 is upsetting for several reasons. The Tom Selleck-led drama about a close-knit family of cops has been a mainstay on Friday nights for the past 14 years. When production resumed following the end of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, CBS announced that Blue Bloods season 14 would be the series’ final year, leading to massive protests by devoted fans of the series.

Despite this announcement, star Donnie Wahlberg said that Blue Bloods ending was not a done deal, and other stars followed suit. At the same time, a fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods gathered thousands of signatures and many people participated in a hashtag campaign on Twitter. These activities failed to move the needle and CBS announced that Blue Bloods would air its series finale in December 2024. This announcement made it clear that there is no more hope of saving the series despite the strength of the movement to change executives’ minds.

Why Blue Bloods Was Canceled By CBS After Season 14

Blue Bloods’ Cancelation Was Likely Due To Financial Reasons

Frank (Tom Selleck) wearing a suit and looking annoyed in Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods remained one of CBS’ top-rated shows despite a slight dip in the ratings between season 13 and season 14. However, the series was more expensive to produce than other CBS shows. Blue Bloods is filmed on location in New York, which is more expensive than producing an LA-based show. Most of the actors in the series have been with it from the beginning, so keeping them on board likely means paying larger salaries than CBS would pay for a newer series.

The cast and crew of Blue Bloods had agreed to a 25% pay cut ahead of season 14 (via THR) so that they could produce another season of the hit series. Unfortunately, it seems like this was not enough to offset production costs and get CBS to renew Blue Bloods for another year. CBS has recently canceled several other high-rated series, such as Bob Hearts Abishola and Young Sheldon, suggesting that the financial impact of the strikes forced the network to make tough decisions for financial reasons.

There Had Been Hope For Blue Bloods Season 15

The Strength of the Campaign to Save Blue Bloods Made It Appear It Had a Chance

Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Danny Reagan in Blue Bloods

After the initial announcement that Blue Bloods would be canceled, millions of fans signed a petition asking CBS to reconsider. This was one of the largest campaigns to save a series in CBS’ history. Fans also utilized social media with the hashtag “#SaveBlueBloods” after each episode. The strength and energy behind this campaign, along with the high ratings each new episode enjoyed, caused many people to believe that CBS would change its mind about canceling Blue Bloods.

Many series drop in quality as they age, but that did not seem to be the case for Blue Bloods .

Several stars signed on the campaign. Donnie Wahlberg and Gregory Jbara both stated that there was hope CBS would change its mind and Tom Selleck’s response to the Blue Bloods cancelation news made it clear that he would keep going if the series was renewed for season 15. This star power on top of the massive fan reaction made it seem likely that CBS would have to bow to pressure and renew Blue Bloods. In addition, CBS reversed its decision to cancel SWAT, giving Blue Bloods fans hope that it was also going to be renewed.

Why Blood Bloods Deserved Season 15

The Series Was Still Going Strong

The Reagan family at dinner in Blue Bloods season 1

Blue Bloods continued to deliver some of CBS’ highest ratings, most likely because it told different types of stories than other cop shows, which earned it a dedicated fan base. Over its fourteen-year run, the series produced close to 300 episodes. As such, it is disappointing that CBS couldn’t order a few extra stories so that it could hit that milestone before it ceased production.

Many series drop in quality as they age, but that did not seem to be the case for Blue Bloods. After 14 years, the series was still delivering high-quality stories that earned them high ratings. Blue Bloods was unique among cop dramas because of its emphasis on the family ties between the main characters, and that continued to draw in millions of viewers each week. The series also stood out from other similar dramas because of its approach to the various sides of delicate issues.