CBS: Blue Bloods Saved After Cast Took Significant Pay Cuts

The CBS series Blue Bloods has been going for 13 years and like any show, costs are high so the cast took pay cuts to keep it going.

Blue Bloods first aired on CBS in September 2010 and as with many shows, costs are high to make it. For instance, major stars want salary increases, while studios want to increase licensing fees. However, when it looked like the series could come to an end, Tom Selleck and other lead members of the cast took pay cuts, so ensure everyone in the series kept their jobs for the 2023-2024 season. No doubt due to this, CBS did finally renew Blue Bloods on Wednesday for season 14.

CBS wanted to cancel Blue Bloods

During February, CBS renewed many shows, but Blue Bloods wasn’t on the list. However, this wasn’t totally surprising, as the network often renews shows on their own, often weeks after the others are renewed.

Back then, sources told Deadline that the reason for not immediately renewing Blue Bloods was “proposed budget cuts.” In fact, CBS was pushing for some pretty deep cuts, which left season 14 of the show hanging for weeks.

Meanwhile, in a further report released last week, Deadline wrote that the network wanted to cut salaries by up to 25 percent for the show’s lead stars. Later sources told Deadline that some of the cast and crew members had agreed to a pay cut to keep the show going.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter further confirmed that certain members of the cast and crew did take a pay cut, so many production employees could keep their jobs.

About the CBS show

First premiering in September 2010, Blue Bloods was created by Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green, with Kevin Wade as the showrunner and Tom Selleck as an executive producer. The lead role of New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan is played by Selleck. Meanwhile, Reagan is the patriarch of a family of public servants. Other cast includes Will Estes, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg, Len Cariou, Vanessa Ray and Marisa Ramirez.

Meanwhile, Blue Bloods has been part of CBS’ Friday night lineup all along and is considered the top-watched primetime network show airing on that night. In fact, CBS confirmed the show averages 9.54 million viewers each week.

Seasons 1 to season 13 are available for streaming on Paramount+.