The overlooked victim of the ‘Blue Bloods’ cast exposes the reason CBS had for the controversial cancellation of the series

CBS statement on the reason for Blue Blood The cancellation is at odds with the sacrifice the cast made for the 14th season. The Tom Selleck-directed drama about an Irish Catholic police family was one of CBS’s most popular series throughout its run. However, the network announced that Blue Blood would end with the 14th season, despite the continued high ratings, and later confirmed that they were sticking to their decision despite a massive fan movement to save it Blue Blood.

The Blue Blood The cast continues to give hope that the series will continue, but currently there are only eight more episodes of Blue Blood before the show disappears from television for good. While CBS is reportedly considering Blue Blood Spinoff, something like that is not currently in production. CBS justified its decision to take the popular police series off the air with the words: The schedule had to be updated after Blue Blood was already so longbut this explanation doesn’t make sense given the circumstances of season 14’s production.

The cast of Blue Bloods had to accept a 25% pay cut for season 14

CBS had already considered canceling the series for financial reasons

CBS took a long time to decide on an extension Blue Blood for season 14, which was surprising given the series’ strong ratings. However, no new contract was signed until May 2023. Although it was disappointing that Blue Blood was only renewed for one season, it seemed likely that CBS would again wait until the last minute, but would eventually renew Blue Blood for season 15.

One of the reasons why CBS took so long to Blue Blood Season 14 was given the green light for the series’ costs. However, the cast and crew agreed to take a 25% pay cut for season 14 (via THR). This salary cut was cover the production costs so that Blue Blood could continue for another season. However, it is unclear what would have happened if the writers’ and actors’ strikes had not delayed the 2023-2024 television season. What is important is that Season 14 is moving forward.

How the pay cut decision contradicts CBS’s statement about why Blue Bloods was canceled

It is clear that the main reason for the cancellation of Blue Bloods is cost

CBS’s decision to discontinue Blue Blood was upsetting to those fans who had hoped their protest movement would change the network’s mind. The reason given to CBS was that the network wanted to update its programming rather than continue the long-running series (via Deadline), which seemed to dismiss as unimportant the millions of people hoping for a reprieve. Moreover, this reason makes no sense considering that Blue Blood had almost been cancelled a year earlier for financial reasons.

If the problem was that Blue Blood ran too long, then it was illogical that the show would be given a year-long hiatus after the cast agreed to a pay cut. Therefore, it is much more likely that the real reason was financial. Blue Blood is filmed on location in New Yorkwhich is more expensive than filming on a Los Angeles sound studio. The cast is large, including well-known actors such as Tom Selleck, whose fame requires higher salaries, and many actors have been with the film since the first episode, further increasing costs.

Blue Blood has always been an expensive series to produce. Meanwhile, the broadcasters have been struggling financially since the end of the writers’ and actors’ strikes in early 2024. Therefore, it is understandable that if Blue Blood When production resumed, CBS realized they could not afford a fifteenth season and decided to end the series.

How a possible Blue Bloods spin-off could save costs for CBS

The production of a new series becomes cheaper

There are many possibilities Blue Blood Spin-offs that would be cheaper to produce than the original series. A spin-off would probably focus on a smaller group of characters, such as Danny Reagan and his son or Erin and Anthony. Such a reduction in the cast would save CBS a lot of money, as the new series would not have to pay as many actors. In addition, minor characters could be played by people new to the franchise and paid lower salaries. The challenge for any Blue Blood The goal of the spin-off would be to preserve family values ​​without involving the entire Reagan family.

At this point, there is little to no hope that CBS will change its mind about canceling the series, especially given the financial factors that led to this decision. If CBS really wanted to freshen up its programming, it would not be considering a spin-off that would feature the Reagan family despite the Blue Blood Cancellation. He also shouldn’t have accepted the offer of a pay cut for season 14.

Source: THR, Deadline