“Blue Bloods Creator Draws Inspiration from Classic Finales, Promises ‘One Thing We Avoided'”
The final episodes of the popular cop drama Blue Bloods are set to begin this October, and the show’s creator, Kevin Wade, has promised that the finale will steer clear of familiar clichés. Drawing inspiration from some of the most memorable TV finales in history, Wade has crafted an ending that he hopes will stand out.
The Reagan family, led by Commissioner Frank Reagan (played by Tom Selleck), has been a staple of TV drama since the show premiered in 2010. Over the years, they’ve tackled a range of cases and personal challenges in New York City.
In November of last year, CBS announced that the 14th season would be the show’s last, sparking considerable fan disappointment. Despite this, the first ten episodes of the final season aired earlier this year, with the remaining eight episodes set to premiere this October.
Wade has teased what fans can expect from the series’ final moments, including one last family dinner and a final case that will bring the Reagans together. The series stars Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Danny Reagan, Bridget Moynahan as ADA Erin Reagan, and Will Estes as Sergeant Jamie Reagan. Viewers will have to bid farewell to the Reagan family and many other beloved characters when the finale airs on CBS in December.
Reflecting on the finale, Wade shared his approach to crafting a memorable ending. “If you’re on for 14 years, there are at least four or five of those years where you start a season thinking, ‘This could be the last one,’” he told TVLine. “So, I’ve thought about it a lot, along with my colleagues. [Executive producer] Siobhan Byrne O’Connor and I talked about it frequently.”
While Wade had envisioned the finale for some time, he stressed that the episode would not be overly sentimental. He studied the finales of iconic shows like MASH*, Cheers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Sopranos, noting that these shows excelled by delivering strong episodes and then subtly signaling their finality in the last few minutes.
The Blue Bloods finale will focus on delivering a compelling episode rather than indulging in a retrospective. “We avoided the typical ‘We are now going to do a retrospective of how great we’ve been,’” Wade said. “I think people tune in to see a really good episode of the show they loved.”
The finale will feature four distinct storylines that intertwine as the Reagans work together to solve or prevent a major crime, staying true to the format that has worked best in previous season finales.
