21 Things You Never Knew About BLUE BLOODS

Published: June 18, 2026

By Movieguide® Staff

BLUE BLOODS ran for 14 seasons on CBS — 293 episodes of the Reagan family’s Irish Catholic New York life — and even the most devoted fans probably don’t know everything about how it got made. Movieguide® dug into the show’s history to find some of the best behind-the-scenes surprises.

The show was created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, a married writing team who had previously won Emmy Awards for their work on THE SOPRANOS. They envisioned BLUE BLOODS as something of an antidote to that world — a drama about people who actually try to do good.
Green and Burgess didn’t stick around. CBS fired both creators after Season 1 over creative differences, and they haven’t been involved with the show since.
Tom Selleck almost shaved the mustache. Producers initially pushed for it to go, figuring Selleck was a little old for it — but CBS executives overruled them and said it should stay.
The pilot was partly filmed in Toronto, Canada. It was Selleck who pushed to relocate the production fully to New York City, telling reporters: “It’s difficult for me to argue that shooting a show about New York won’t be better shot in New York.”
The Reagan family home exterior is a real house — 8070 Harbor View Terrace in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. The property has been owned by the Diocese of Saint Maron-USA since 1978. Interior scenes were shot at a CBS studio.
The actors who play Danny’s sons, Jack and Sean Reagan, are actual siblings off-screen. Tony and Andrew Terraciano are real-life brothers.
Len Cariou, who plays patriarch Henry “Pop” Reagan, is only about six years older than Tom Selleck in real life — yet he plays Selleck’s father on the show. Cariou, who turned 86 in 2025, was still calling himself “not ready to retire” at the end of the run.
The Sunday family dinner scenes are filmed with all real food, and shoots can stretch up to four hours. Bridget Moynahan described herself as a “food masher” — keeping her hand active and mixing her potatoes to survive multiple takes.

Tom Selleck was the biggest eater at that table, especially when pork chops and apple sauce were on the menu. Food that survived filming went home with crew members.
Will Estes didn’t fake the driving. While Hollywood typically mounts cars on flatbeds for filming, Estes drove a real police vehicle through New York City streets with cameras strapped to it — a privilege he earned through his track record on set.
Former NYPD Detective First Grade James Nuciforo served as the show’s technical advisor, associate producer, and recurring on-screen presence — cameoing in 29 episodes under his own name and providing up to 10 pages of script notes per week. As Movieguide® reported, Nuciforo once helped detain an actual phone thief who ran through the set, remarking afterward: “A cast member hip-checked him, and he went flying.”
The show’s score was composed by Mark Snow — the same man behind the iconic THE X-FILES theme. Snow died in July 2025 at age 78.
The exterior of the show’s 94th Precinct — where many of the Reagan family’s cases play out — was filmed at 100 Meserole Avenue in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Tom Selleck prepared for his role as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan by reading former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton’s memoir “Turnaround,” which chronicled Bratton’s two terms reforming the department.
Donnie Wahlberg is the reason Bridget Moynahan joined the cast. After she initially passed on the role of Erin Reagan, Wahlberg called her personally to change her mind, saying he couldn’t imagine anyone else playing his sister.

When CBS announced the cancellation, Wahlberg’s New Kids on the Block fanbase — the “Blockheads” — trended “Save Blue Bloods” on X. Wahlberg addressed his “Blockhead Family” publicly, thanking them for their loyalty.
BLUE BLOODS aired a total of 293 episodes across 14 seasons — a run that puts it in rare company among American network dramas.
The series finale, titled “End of Tour,” aired December 13, 2024, and drew 6.7 million viewers — the highest-rated episode of the entire final season.
CBS cited the cost of filming in New York City as a factor in cancellation, even though BLUE BLOODS ranked as the fourth most-watched drama on American network television in its final full season.
Tom Selleck has called “The Job” (Season 2, Episode 12) his favorite episode of the entire run. As Movieguide® previously reported, the episode revealed that Frank Reagan had been in the World Trade Center’s North Tower on 9/11 — and BLUE BLOODS was the first TV show allowed to film at the Trade Center Memorial after its completion. Selleck said: “It was quite stirring because 9/11 was still fresh in people’s minds.”
The spinoff BOSTON BLUE — starring Wahlberg as Danny Reagan, now with the Boston Police Department — premiered October 17, 2025, averaging 8.64 million viewers in its opening episode — beating the numbers BLUE BLOODS posted in its final season. The Reagan family, it seems, still has road left to run.