Last Friday, CBS aired “The Heart of the Saturday Night,” an episode that ended with the traditional Reagan family dinner and a sweet moment with Jamie and Eddie revisiting their vows. It was the Season 14 spring finale and the show has already been canceled by CBS, meaning that in a typical situation, it would have been the last time we sat down with Frank Reagan and the rest of the family. This isn’t a typical situation though, as CBS has split the final season so more episodes will air next fall, when we will finally get that series finale. And fans are taking the extra time to try and plead with the Eye Network.
What started as a bubbling brook has become a flood of comments from Blue Bloods fans likely spurred by the cast itself. Tom Selleck has made no secret of the fact he’s upset the Reagan family drama will be ending. Donnie Wahlberg, too has announced he’d like the show to run as long as it possibly can and fanned the flames CBS might change its mind.
In addition, a grassroots campaign has been spurred in recent months, with #SaveBlueBloods comments popping up on sites like X (Twitter) and Instagram and new fans latching onto the movement all the time. A Change.org petition has a reasonably large number of signatures and a steady stream of newcomers signing on a daily basis. Donnie Wahlberg’s recent posts on social media are also full of fans who are devastated about the news and who are getting plenty of traction for their comments.
- Please, pls #savebluebloods @cbs @bluebloods_cbs Friday nights will not be the same without the Reagan Family💙💙
- I’m going to miss watching you guys on my tv. 😭 Family forever!! 💙❤️ #SaveBlueBloods there’s so many stories left to tell. It needs to be renewed!!!!!!
- #SaveBlueBloods 💙💙
- Oh my heart. What will I do now 😢 Blue Bloods re-runs are everywhere!! ❤️ Yay because I truly would be depressed. Whenever I turn the show on, I just feel comforted, like I’m part of the family. Thank you all for this beautiful show!!
So there seems to be a real grassroots movement growing and continuing to grow as the series moves closer to its last batch of episodes.
Heck, I was even on a ferry boat last week when I got to talking to two ladies about how devastated they were the show would be ending. They'd resigned themselves to the show's fate, but then commented about how they thought the network had actually changed its mind given some of the stuff the cast has been posting around social media in recent days. They'd be happy to see the show get uncanceled and were holding onto hope it already had. (I hated to be the bearer of bad news but I did set them straight.)
While the fans want the show to stick around, the cast would clearly be happy to film more seasons, and the ratings aren’t half bad for a show airing on Friday nights, it seems CBS has doubled down on comments about the show ending.
Some might say the network is being a little blue-blooded cold-blooded.
The only thing I’d add to this conversation is that Selleck was bullish even after that the show could go on longer, in the vein of NCIS or Law & Order (as Donnie previously pointed out), should the network come around. There are other shows that have been saved from cancelation before, including CBS’ own S.W.A.T. just recently, and I can’t think of a drama that might fit the criteria for an uncancelation more than Blue Bloods.
There are at least a few more episodes to come when the Reagan family drama returns to the 2024 TV schedule next fall. While I still expect to see the Reagan family sit down to dinner one last time in the coming months, it ain't over til it's over. We'll keep you updated.
