‘Blue Bloods’ To End On CBS With Season 14″ When & Why Is The Police Drama Ending?

Blue Bloods, CBS’ long-running police drama, will be wrapping up with a two-part final season after more than a decade on the air. Starring Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Will Estes, Bridget Moynahan and Vanessa Ray, the upcoming 14th season will be split into two installments consisting of 18 episodes in total, according to Deadline.

Part one of Season 14 is slated to return on Friday, Feb 16 at 10 p.m. EST, while the second half of the season, consisting of eight episodes, will come out in the fall of 2024.

Blue Bloods marks the third show under the CBS/Paramount umbrella to be canceled in the last week. CBS announced that the Big Bang Theory prequel, Young Sheldon, will be concluding with Season 7. Paramount
PARA
+’s military drama, SEAL Team, is also wrapping up after seven seasons in 2024.

“For the past 13 years it has been an honor and a privilege to work on a show that not only celebrates the men and women who protect and serve in New York City, but also displayed the importance of family,” said series star Tom Selleck, who plays Reagan family patriarch and commissioner Frank Reagan.

He continued, “Working alongside these incredible actors, writers, producers, directors and crew has been a dream come true and I’m grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary group for over 275 episodes. Thank you to CBS Studios and CBS Network for their steadfast support and we offer heartfelt gratitude to the fans who gathered with us for dinner every Friday night.”

“Blue Bloods will forever be a beloved part of CBS’s legacy. It ruled Friday nights with unprecedented dominance since its premiere and established itself as a pillar of our winning lineup with an exceptionally devoted fan base,” said Amy Reisenbach, President, CBS Entertainment and David Stapf, President, CBS Studios, in a joint statement.

The executives also acknowledged the show’s lead and executive producer Selleck, as well as the late Leonard Goldberg, the show’s executive producer passed away in 2019. They also referenced writer/executive producer Kevin Wade.

“We’ll be forever grateful to the legendary Leonard Goldberg for developing this signature series and to the amazing cast led by Tom Selleck, who America embraced as family and watched as welcomed guests at the Reagan dinner table,” Reisenbach and Stapf continued. “We also sincerely thank the incredible writing and producing teams guided by executive producer Kevin Wade, for years of compelling episodes as they conceive this final chapter that we expect to be the most satisfying season yet for our loyal viewers.”

Despite the massive success of Blue Bloods on TV and streaming, negotiations for Season 14 back in March 2022 proved to be difficult. Deadline reported that CBS was asking for “significant budget cuts — 25% for above-the-line talent, including actors — amid increased fiscal scrutiny in the media business and a push to contain production costs.”

To save the show and the jobs of the hundreds of crew members, the cast and producers of Blue Bloods agreed to salary reductions for the upcoming season. Sources tell the entertainment news site that the decision to end Blue Bloods was finalized after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended “when the size of the order was determined and the idea to split it into two parts came about.”

The show’s cancelation comes a few days after the network revealed its post-strike winter schedule, which included the anticipated return date for fan-favorite family cop series. Lengthy production delays from the now-resolved writers’ and actors’ strike will reduce the sizes of most 2024 scripted seasons to around 10-13 episodes each.