A new report shows Blue Bloods season 14 drew stronger ratings than the show set to take its place. After more than a decade on air, with 293 episodes to its name, the police drama ended its run in December. Its final season stirred no controversy over plot choices but sparked ire for a different reason. CBS, despite its loyal audience and steady success, chose to end the show.
What’s Blue Bloods Finale Ratings?
TVLine reviewed the top-rated broadcast shows halfway through the 2024-2025 season. Blue Bloods season 14 ranked sixth, standing as the fourth most-watched drama. With Live+7 numbers, accounting for a week’s viewing, it drew an average of 7.9 million viewers and a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Among all CBS shows, scripted and reality, it placed sixth.
S.W.A.T. season 8, set to fill the old Blue Bloods 10 PM slot on Friday, January 31, came in at #16 among CBS programs. It averaged 5.6 million viewers with Live+7 and a 0.47 in the same demographic. Leading the pack was Tracker season 2, the most-watched scripted show on broadcast TV. Kathy Bates’ Matlock reboot followed, with 60 Minutes securing third place.
Why TV Favorites Face Sudden Cancellations: Behind the Decisions
Season 14 of Blue Bloods almost didn’t happen. The show’s fate hung by a thread until the cast and producers took pay cuts to keep the crew employed and ensure a proper send-off. It’s a harsh reality of television: the older a show gets, the pricier it becomes. Pay raises for actors and crew, combined with shrinking ad revenue and changing viewer habits, have networks scrambling to cut costs.
The result? Even successful shows aren’t safe. Take Young Sheldon (CBS), The Good Doctor (ABC), and 9-1-1: Lone Star (FOX): all popular, all nearing their ends. Sure, Young Sheldon’s creators insist it reached a “natural conclusion,” but cast members seem just as surprised as fans that the plug is being pulled.
S.W.A.T.’s Cancellation and Comeback
Meanwhile, S.W.A.T. has become the poster child for cancellation whiplash. Axed not once but twice, it returned after budget-trimming negotiations—a compromise that brought cast shakeups and left season 9 in limbo. It’s a brutal trend in today’s TV landscape: the business of storytelling often cuts stories short.
A Thoughtful Ending for Blue Bloods
There might have been a world where Blue Bloods lived on to see a fifteenth season. But like S.W.A.T., it could have meant losing familiar faces and shifting the heart of the story. Perhaps it is better this way. The CBS show had its ending, with the Reagan family together, seated around the dinner table, the way it was always meant to be.
Conclusion
Finally, Blue Bloods sat down for its last family dinner with a large helping of ratings achievements that overshadowed its successor before the dinner was even over. Even if CBS is cutting more than the budget faster than Danny Reagan pursuing a perp, the show’s 7.9 million viewers do not indicate that this was a natural death – it was budget that killed it. Maybe there is some kind of romanticism in the Reagans riding off into the sunset together rather than gradually losing members of their iconic family dinners
FAQs
Q1: Why was Blue Bloods cancelled if it had strong ratings?
Despite serving up impressive numbers (7.9 million viewers, to be exact), Blue Bloods fell victim to the classic Hollywood paradox: success is expensive. As shows age, cast and crew salaries rise as well – it’s compound interest for TV budgets, if you will. CBS, which has seen ad revenues shrink and viewership shift, decided to pull the plug instead of paying for an expensive bill. It’s like trading in a favorite luxury car because the costs of repairing it are becoming too high.
Q2: How does S.W.A.T. compare to Blue Bloods in terms of ratings?
The numbers tell a clear story: Blue Bloods was attracting 7.9 million viewers than S.W.A.T.’s 5.6 million. That’s like swapping a five star restaurant for a pretty good food truck. S.W.A.T. is slightly better in the 18-49 demographic (0.47 against Blue Bloods’ 0.46), but it is ranked 16th on CBS, while Blue Bloods was ranked 6th. Boy, that is quite a challenge to follow up in that 10 PM Friday night time slot.
Q3: Is this part of a larger trend in network television?
Absolutely! Networks are now applying the Marie Kondo touch to their hit shows – if it’s expensive, it has to go, even if it continues to be beloved by millions of viewers. Shows like Young Sheldon, The Good Doctor, and 9-1-1: Lone Star are all getting their gold watches and retirement parties, even though they have good ratings. It is like network television is going through a mid-life crisis and is now swapping all its reliable luxury cars for more affordable ones.
Q4: Could Blue Bloods have continued with a reduced budget?
Technically, yes – the show already proved that it is willing to pull the belt when the cast and crew agreed to take pay cuts for the show to be able to produce season 14. However, continuing further might have meant breaking up the Reagan family dinner table, which would be like serving Thanksgiving dinner without the turkey. The show decided to end with its DNA preserved instead of diluting its brand in the process.
