Now that we are four episodes into Blue Bloods season 14, it does feel like the perfect time for a ratings conversation!
If you are fairly tapped-in to the show and headlines around it, then there is a chance that you’ve already heard a part of the story here — this is currently set to be the final season for the Tom Selleck cop drama. We are getting the first part of it now, whereas the second part (eight episodes) is scheduled to air in the fall. CBS has been rather coy, however, when it comes to promoting this as the final season to the masses, and nor does it turn up in the season 14 key art above.
What do we think is going on here? If we had to wager a guess, this is all the network giving itself a little bit of flexibility should they decide to reverse-course on something. As for whether or not Blue Bloods itself is making a case for said reversal, there are reasons for optimism!
After all, go ahead and consider the following — the series so far is averaging a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic and around 5.55 million live + same-day viewers an episode. These are nice numbers, and they only represent a small decline versus season 13. There is natural erosion that tends to happen with long-running shows, so that is not an issue — and it may even be making up some of that when it comes to DVR ratings or streams online.
If the ratings are this good…
We tend to think that another season Blue Bloods will instead come down to money — and in particular, just how willing the network is going to be in order to spend it. There is no denying that series get pricier as they do along, and this one has a big cast.
