Why Frank Reagan Won’t Retire in Final Season of BLUE BLOODS
By Movieguide® Contributor
While BLUE BLOODS will come to a close with its fourteenth season, showrunner Kevin Wade explains why Frank Reagan will not retire at the end of the series.
Per TV Insider, “Some characters this season, like the mayor, have hinted at a desire for a new commissioner, raising questions about whether Frank is going to stay in the job that defines his life. Even when he has difficult days like in Season 14 Episode 10, which showed Frank and his father (Len Cariou) at uncomfortable odds over a deceased cop’s use of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, Frank doesn’t want to leave this work behind. And the show’s creators don’t want him to either.”
In an interview with TV Insider, Wade explained his reasoning behind why Reagan won’t step down as police commissioner.
“I’m pretty sure that Frank would stay in his job until the series ended,” he said. “We didn’t really pursue that avenue because the show is built on him being the police commissioner of New York City.”
“So to take a detour during the last mile, if this is the last mile, I don’t know what he would be doing down at the hardware store or having coffee with old buddies during the day,” he added. “I always have to look at stuff that generates stories. Police Commissioner of New York generates stories. He’s the CEO of 35,000 cops.”
ScreenRant suggests that the decision to keep Reagan in his position might signal a future for BLUE BLOODS despite the cancellation.
“The writers are seemingly keeping some storylines ongoing (like Frank’s run as the New York City Police Commissioner) in the event that CBS brings the series back for a fifteenth season or a BLUE BLOODS spinoff. The plot won’t come to a definitive end (like the death of Frank) that can’t be undone if the show were to continue,” the outlet explains.
Star Tom Selleck has also signaled that he’d love to keep working on the show.
“I’m not counting the days so I can do something else,” he told TV Insider previously. “I love the work. Sometimes the hours are a little harder because I’m older, but so what? I want work as long as they’ll have me.”
As of right now, though, despite fan and cast wishes, BLUE BLOODS will conclude with the second half of Season 14, which airs later this year.
Wade revealed that he won’t leave any questions unanswered in the series finale.
“There won’t be any cliffhangers because there’s no cliff, but it ends,” he explained. “Anything we would do that was an open question would by definition never be answered, so we’re trying to bring character stories to a close in that one. Obviously, we have some stories, some plot, but no, it’s designed as the last one.”
Movieguide® recently reported on the ending of BLUE BLOODS:
American police drama BLUE BLOODS is coming to an end with its fourteenth season, and stars Donnie Wahlberg and Bridget Moynahan explained how leaving the show feels like saying goodbye to family.
“I think it’s more saying goodbye to the people behind the character. We’ve created such a family on set with each other and the crew—most of the crew’s been with us for 14 years, so we’ve been through a lot of weddings, births, deaths, and everything. We’ve been through it all with each other,” Moynahan said.
She told Drew Barrymore that she’s feeling “more upset and sad” about the show ending.
Wahlberg, a long-time friend of Moynahan, shared how he supported her when others doubted her ability to direct an episode of the show.
“I don’t remember who it was so I’m not throwing anyone under the bus, but somebody came to me early on, someone said, ‘Oh, Bridget wants to direct,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, and? She’s gonna do it, right? It was like, do you think there’s anything that she can’t do? She’s been lights out, phenomenal,” he said.