We’re just a few months away from what’ll likely be a swamp of TV cancellations, with all the networks culling their content slates to coincide with weeks of season finales. CBS is known for rocking the most minimal turnover in broadcast, or perhaps all of TV, with a host of original shows that regularly last for five or more seasons. While we’ll be saying farewell to NCIS: Los Angeles at this season’s conclusion, the Eye network cemented the returns for most of its hit dramas that hadn’t yet received good news, with a few noteworthy exceptions: Blue Bloods, S.W.A.T., and East New York.
As it turns out, updates for Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg’s drama Blue Bloods have been delayed for a pretty important reason, which is also the case with S.W.A.T., albeit on a slightly smaller scale. Let’s first celebrate CBS’ big renewal wins before digging into why there are still a few holdouts.
CBS Renewed 9 More Series For New Seasons
Below is a full list of the shows that CBS rewarded with seasons renewals this week, along with each of the series that had already earned good news, with Max Thieriot’s ratings-crushing Fire Country as the standout freshman hit of the 2023 TV season.
- 48 Hours (Season 35)
- 60 Minutes (Season 56)
- The Amazing Race (Season 35)
- CSI: Vegas (Season 3)
- Lingo (Season 2)
- NCIS (Season 21)
- NCIS: Hawai'i (Season 3)
- Survivor (Season 44)
- Tough as Nails (Season 5)
- Previously Renewed In 2023: Fire Country, So Help Me Todd, Ghosts, The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola
- Previously Renewed for Multiple Seasons: FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International, The Equalizer, Young Sheldon
Considering all of the shows noted above, any exceptions from the list would certainly be questioned, especially when they've been a core part of CBS' weekly lineup, having anchored its Friday night primetime offerings for more than a decade. Okay, I guess that's more specifically about Blue Bloods, so let's talk about what's keeping that renewal news from being locked down.
Why Hasn't Blue Blood (And More) Been Renewed Yet?
Anyone out there who casually guessed "money" as being the reason for Blue Bloods' current semi-bubble status, you get the gold star. The longer a TV show remains on the air, the more expensive it ends up becoming, due to all the long-haul cast and crew members getting extensions and raises along the way. And given how large the Reagan family is, and how many other characters are featured heavily in the legal drama, budget specificity is absolutely a huge concern for Blue Bloods' future.
- S.W.A.T. airs Friday nights on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET
- Blue Bloods airs Friday nights on CBS at 10:00 p.m. ET
- East New York airs Sunday nights on CBS at 9:00 p.m. ET
According to Deadline, active negotiations are taking place, but with the belief that financial cuts will be necessary in order for Blue Bloods to make Season 14 happen. The show's generally steady and higher-end ratings, which have dropped from year to year, are a big reason why CBS would want to keep the show going. It's reported that things had stalled out recently, but are now moving in a more positive direction, and it's thought that an agreement will be reached.
What that likely means, at least in Blue Bloods' case, is one or more regular cast member could be taken out of contention as a cost-saving move. I wouldn’t imagine the biggest money-makers like Tom Selleck or Donnie Wahlberg will be bidding the series farewell, but it’s certainly possible for a newer addition to be written out in one way or another.
Blue Bloods appears to be the only show dealing with those particular financial issues. S.W.A.T., meanwhile is said to be in good shape as negotiations reportedly began recently, without any apparent obstacles in place to impact its potential seventh season. It’s curious that it wasn’t part of the bigger wave of renewals, considering it had been in the past, but it’s possible that other outside issues — such as Shemar Moore becoming a first-time dad this year — have affected the process.
When comes to East New York, the situation is more business as usual. Though the drama kicked off strongly as one of the most popular new shows of the 2022-2023 fall season, earning an extra episode order soon after premiering, it has yet to learn about its future. (Probably didn’t help that its full-season announcement was soon followed by two of its executive producers being fired.) It’s believed that CBS will only end up making a decision about the Amanda Warren-led procedural after the impending arrival of True Lies, the small screen adaptation of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action blockbuster, so that proper decisions can be made about what’ll fit into which time slots later this year.
Waiting on that renewal news doesn’t need to be a total slog either, as fans can stream episodes of Blue Bloods, S.W.A.T. and East New York (along with plenty of other awesome shows) with a Paramount+ subscription.
