BLUE BLOODS Star Says Cast ‘Did Everything They Could’ to Save Show
By Movieguide® Contributor
Donnie Wahlberg says he and the rest of his BLUE BLOODS castmates “did everything we could” to try to keep the show on the air.
“I think one of the things we haven’t really talked about is having worked so long with the crew that we had in New York City,” he told Fox News. “I personally — and I’m sure some of the other castmates — felt bad. I felt sad. Like, we tried to keep the show going. We tried to help the show carry on, and we couldn’t. We couldn’t do it. You know, we did everything we could, everything in our power, to have the show carry on.”
Wahlberg shared that he feels like he’s “letting [the show’s crew] down a little bit.”
“That was tough. That was tough to process, you know,” he said. “And I know the crew wouldn’t feel that way. But in some ways, we just kept sort of believing we would keep the show going. When that finale ended, it was kind of like reality hit us all. It was definitely a part of it, a bit of like, ‘Gosh, you know, if we could have just kept going a few more years, you know?’”
Wahlberg continued, “We got close to that crew, and they have, you know, families and mortgages and a lot of responsibilities. It was a really cool feeling to go to work every day knowing that hundreds of New Yorkers who work on this show had these careers that we were a part of. And just to know that that was ending, it was tough. It was tough. I’m sure it’s scary for them. It had a lot of emotion because of that.”
READ MORE: BLUE BLOODS STAR RECALLS ‘EMOTIONAL’ FINAL MOMENT ON SET
Wahlberg isn’t the only BLUE BLOODS star who feels like the show could have gone on. Tom Selleck has been vocal about his opposition to BLUE BLOODS’ cancellation.
“We’re the third-highest scripted show in all of broadcast. We’re winning the night. All the cast wants to come back. And I can tell you this: we aren’t sliding off down a cliff. We’re doing good shows, and still holding our place. So, I don’t know. You tell me!” he told CBS News.
Speaking to Town & Country, Selleck said, “Actors are not widgets — people matter. Audiences tune in, in any kind of series, whether it’s a cable or Netflix, they tune in again to see the people, the people they become interested in. I don’t think that’s ever going to change, but I don’t think it’s in a very good state at the moment, frankly.”
READ MORE: HERE’S HOW TOM SELLECK REALLY FEELS ABOUT BLUE BLOODS ENDING
The outlet added that viewing numbers were “up 11% for its November 29 and December 6 episodes and up 5% for the finale, which was up 15% in live+same day averages across the season, and up 3% from last season’s finale.”