Tom Selleck is renewing his criticism of CBS over the cancellation of “Blue Bloods,” revealing that the cast had already sacrificed part of their salaries to keep the long-running drama alive. The 81-year-old actor claimed the ensemble agreed to a 25% pay reduction despite the show remaining one of broadcast television’s strongest performers. Selleck, who portrayed New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan throughout the show’s run, argued that neither the cast nor the story had run out of steam when CBS ended the series in 2024.
Appearing on Ted Danson’s “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast, Selleck revealed the extent of the cast’s efforts to prevent the cancellation.
“The real truth to that is in the last year of [the series], at our last family dinner, everybody wanted to come back. We’d already taken a 25% cut in salary,” Selleck said, adding that they had already “done all sorts of things to keep the show going.”
Selleck was reportedly earning approximately $200,000 per episode before the reduction. Across a traditional 22-episode season, that rate would have amounted to roughly $4.4 million. His reported salary dropped to approximately $150,000 per episode during the final season. Despite those financial concessions, CBS moved forward with concluding “Blue Bloods” after 14 seasons.
Tom Selleck Says The Show Was ‘Certainly Not Out Of Ideas’
Selleck also pushed back against any suggestion that the procedural drama had reached the natural end of its creative life. The actor said “Blue Bloods” was “certainly not out of ideas” and pointed to its enduring popularity as evidence that the series could have continued.
“Out of the top 100 shows on broadcast television, Blue Bloods was number six in our fifteenth year. Nobody wanted to leave. It may be some kind of record to have the same cast intact for that length of time,” he said.
The drama premiered on September 24, 2010, and went on to become CBS’ second-longest-running scripted series behind “NCIS.” Selleck previously expressed similar frustration during a 2024 interview as the final episodes approached.
“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 said. “In a Top 100 Shows of 2023-2024 (in total viewers, we were number 9 out of 100), if you discount the three football shows, we’re #6!”
Actor Believes ‘Blue Bloods’ Was Taken For Granted
According to Selleck, the show’s consistent performance may have ultimately caused the network to undervalue it. “My frustration is the show was always taken for granted because it performed from the get-go,” he explained.
Selleck noted that “Blue Bloods” reliably attracted an audience despite airing on Friday nights, a time slot that networks have traditionally viewed as difficult.
“I’m not going to turn into a bitter old guy saying, ‘Get off my lawn!’ 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,” he said.
The actor admitted that he was still processing how such a dependable show could be brought to an end while viewers and cast members remained invested. “So how do I feel? It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out,” Selleck said.
Tom Selleck Struggled To Adjust After The Finale
For 14 years, Selleck regularly traveled between his California ranch and the East Coast to film “Blue Bloods.” That routine ended abruptly once the final episode was completed, leaving the actor momentarily expecting to return to work as usual.
“I remember after the weekend [of the final episode’s shoot], I said, ‘I’ve got to get to bed early tonight because I have to do my dialogue for Monday.’ Well, there was no Monday. It’s just going to take a while,” he recalled.
Selleck reportedly returned to his California ranch with his wife, Jillie Mack, following the conclusion of the series. The actor remained confident that viewers were not prepared to lose the Reagan family.
“CBS will find an awful lot of people aren’t ready to say goodbye to it,” he said at the time. “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.”
CBS Called The Series A ‘Beloved’ Part Of Its Legacy
CBS Entertainment and CBS Studios acknowledged the show’s popularity in a joint statement announcing its conclusion. “Blue Bloods will forever be a beloved part of CBS’s legacy,” the network executives said. “It ruled Friday nights with unprecedented dominance since its premiere and established itself as a pillar of our winning lineup with an exceptionally devoted fan base.”
“We’ll be forever grateful to the legendary Leonard Goldberg for developing this signature series and to the amazing cast led by Tom Selleck, who America embraced as a family and watched as welcomed guests at the Reagan dinner table,” they added.
However, those words have done little to ease Selleck’s frustration over the decision, or his concerns about life without the show’s steady income. “You know, hopefully I keep working enough to hold on to the place,” Selleck previously said of his 63-acre ranch.
When asked whether that was seriously a concern if he stopped working, he replied, “That’s always an issue, if I stopped working, yeah. Am I set for life? Yeah, but maybe not on a 63-acre ranch!”
