Tom Selleck has spoken out about his frustration following the cancellation of his long-time police drama, Blue Bloods, after 14 seasons on air.
It was announced late last year that the CBS drama, which follows the members of the fictional Irish-Catholic Reagan family, was coming to an end after 14 years, despite receiving an average of nine to 14 million viewers per episode.
At the time, Tom, 79, did not hide his disappointment regarding the decision, telling TV Insider in January: ‘CBS will find an awful lot of people aren’t ready to say goodbye to it.
‘The show’s more popular than ever, and I think [numbers] will increase with the interest this year. We’re certainly not out of ideas.’
His co-stars, Donnie Wahlberg and Bridget Moynihan, shared this opinion, which resulted in the trio urging the network to reconsider its decision. Despite their pleas, show executives confirmed that part B of season 14 will conclude in December.
CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in a statement: ‘All shows have to come to an end. It’s important to us to refresh the schedule. We are going to end the show come December.’
Now, ahead of the show’s final episodes hitting screens, Tom has sat down withTV Insider and revealed how he feels about the situation, admitting it will take him a ‘long time’ to get over the ending of the show in which he plays New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan.
‘I’m kind of frustrated,’ he said. ‘During those last eight shows, I haven’t wanted to talk about an ending for Blue Bloods but about it still being wildly successful,’
He continued to say he wasn’t going to ‘turn into a bitter old guy’ and said he would continue to speak about the series’ success.
‘I don’t believe in holding grudges, but if you were to say to the television network, “Here’s a show you can program in the worst time slot you got, and it is going to guarantee you winning Friday night for the next 15 years,” it would be almost impossible to believe.’
Blue Bloods has aired predominantly at 10 p.m. on CBS and remains one of TV’s top broadcast dramas.
‘My frustration is the show was always taken for granted because it performed from the get-go. So, how do I feel? It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out,’ Tom said.
Tom and his co-stars aren’t the only ones upset by the cancellation. Ahead of the show’s final episodes, fans have taken to X to share their feelings.
‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH CBS!!!!’ Tech_Snobi7 wrote. Alan FJr added: ‘Definitely upsetting news. The best TV drama on the air. It never lost steam.’
Another fan, MrNobod11768580, spoke about how the cancellation ‘stings’: ‘I’m very much a late bloomer to Blue Bloods. But it’s very good TV. Compelling stories. a family that fights with each other at times but always comes together in times of peril. This and the previous cancellation of NCIS: Los Angeles sting the most for me.’
While CBS claims the show was cancelled because they needed to ‘refresh’ the schedule, Deadline has reported it is more likely coming to an end ‘due to the financial burden’ on the network.
Blue Bloods will air its final eight episodes on CBS in America from October 18. The first ten seasons are also available to stream on Paramount+.
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