Although Blue Bloods is officially over, Paramount and CBS are planning at least one spin-off series, which will continue the overall story.
After releasing 14 seasons, Blue Bloods came to an end largely due to budgeting issues. However, as many shows have proved, ending one series does not mean that the featured characters can't come back in a different project.
For example, Yellowstone, which was one of television's most popular shows in modern history, recently aired what will likely be its series finale, but the main actors and their respective characters will carry on in multiple spin-off shows.
Blue Bloods' Future Plans
Back in June, Paramount CEO Brian Roberts and CBS Studios President David Stapf talked about the future of Blue Bloods on an official earnings call.
On that call, Roberts specifically revealed that an "extension" of Blue Bloods was on its way, without specifying exactly when:
We're building tomorrow's billion-dollar brands right now. In TV, new franchise extensions are coming for 'Dexter,' 'Billions,' and 'Blue Bloods.'"
At the time, Blue Bloods Season 14 had not premiered yet, so Stapf mentioned that a spin-off of the show wouldn't "be in development soon." It was also apparent that the development process for the spin-off wouldn't be rushed, as Stapf also stated that they would take their time with it:
"We don’t have anything that’s going to be in development soon but it’s a brand, a title and a show that is beloved. We’ve got to get it right so we’re taking our time and trying to figure it out, okay, what is the next iteration of 'Blue Bloods.'"
Stapf also included in that same statement that they were entirely focused on Blue Bloods Season 14 at the time, which was another reason there wasn't a timeline for when a spin-off could go into production:
"We have a whole season to go where we intend to celebrate it all season long as to how good that show is, so there’s still time for us to figure that out."
It is also worth mentioning that a spin-off hasn't happened for Blue Bloods yet largely because of the wishes of series executive producer Kevin Wade.
In an interview with Deadline, Wade talked about how Blue Bloods included many different parts that made up a whole, essentially alluding that it would be hard to make a spin-off about one character when there really isn't one or two specific leads:
"Look, 'Blue Bloods' exist not as a lead character. It exists as long as it did and if people liked it because of the that family, that’s a lot of actors. Then going out from there, there’s Steve Schirripa and Marisa Ramirez and Greg Jbara, Bob Clohessy, Abigail Hawk, there were satellites that made the whole."
Wade also explained how a spin-off wasn't really set up in the finale (read about that episode's special guest stars here) because there wasn't another project in the works during production:
"You couldn’t just take one of them, place them in New Orleans and say, 'Blue Bloods New Orleans.' So that was never an option. So in the ingredients in the kitchen for the finale, we didn’t try to do that, not purposefully or not not one way or the other. Simply believe me, that just was not on the horizon when we were doing it."
So, there was a reason the Blue Bloods finale wasn't extremely open-ended, but that does not mean the franchise is coming to an end.
As Roberts and Stapf confirmed in June, there will be at least one spin-off on the way in the future, but only time will tell when.
What Could Happen in a Blue Bloods Spin-Off?
Due to Kevin Wade's comments, it seems unlikely that the upcoming Blue Bloods spin-off will feature one character moving to another city and joining a new police force. However, that doesn't mean a future show can't be set in a different location.
Blue Bloods ended on a pretty satisfying note, at least according to Wade. It would be hard to imagine the script for another series bringing any of the core characters back who received storybook endings, as those original satisfying endings would then not mean anything.
Instead, it is possible that a Blue Bloods spin-off could move to another city and feature a group of entirely new characters. It is also possible that an existing minor character could be followed and then grow into a major one.
Whatever the case may be, the only known details as of writing is that there will be some kind of spin-off in the future, but it is likely quite far off.
Blue Bloods is streaming on Hulu and Paramount+.
