Published: December 19, 2024
BLUE BLOODS Series Finale Hits Record-Breaking Viewership
By Movieguide® Contributor
BLUE BLOODS hit a viewership high on Dec. 13 for the series finale.
“CBS is reporting that Friday’s BLUE BLOODS series finale averaged 6.7 million total viewers (according to VideoAmp Overnight data; Paramount is not contracted with Nielsen this TV season). That marks a Season 14 high for the family/cop drama, including the 10 episodes that aired February through May; a second straight week of growth (+11%); and a 3% increase over May’s mid-season finale,” TV Line reported.
Variety noted, “The episode drew 5.86 million viewers in its Friday night timeslot. That is still a season high in Live+Same Day, outpacing the Season 14 premiere, which pulled in 5.67 million viewers when the final season began airing in February.”
When BLUE BLOODS began, nobody expected it to be the hit it was, especially for its Friday night time slot.
“Imagine if you told CBS when we started in 2010, ‘Here’s a show you can program on your worst time slot. You don’t have to promote it, and it’ll win the night for 15 years.’ That’s pretty neat!” Tom Selleck, who played Frank Reagan, said.
READ MORE: TOM SELLECK REFLECTS ON 15 YEARS OF BLUE BLOODS: ‘ENORMOUS BLESSING’
Selleck and the rest of the crew still can’t believe the show is over.
“I can’t figure out why they didn’t start streaming it, do 10 episodes a year,” he said. “But I’m not the boss. Everybody wanted to come back. And I think with this cast, it would have been a gift for the audience. I don’t make those decisions. I’m prepared to celebrate and commemorate this show, but I’m still getting used to it.”
The most iconic part of the series? The family dinner scenes, which producer Leonard Goldberg promised Selleck they would keep.
“The show could have gone in multiple directions after it was picked up,” star Donnie Wahlberg said, “and Tom was like, ‘Listen. It’s about family first.’ They had this big set design with a computer, and Tom was going to stand in front of the computer and overlord over New York. And he was like, ‘That’s ridiculous!’”
READ MORE: STARS TALK BLUE BLOODS’ FAMILY FOCUS AS SHOW WRAPS 14-SEASON RUN
