The Blue Bloods universe lives on via its upcoming spinoff, Boston Blue, and months after CBS canceled the flagship show, I finally understand why the network made this decision. Following 14 seasons and almost 300 episodes, Blue Bloods came to an end in December 2024. Many were upset, of course, and then they were confused when CBS ordered the aforementioned offshoot.

Boston Blue will feature the return of Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan, one of the most important characters in Blue Bloods. Fans were happy that Danny was returning to their screens, but also wondered why CBS would cancel Blue Bloods just to order a spinoff revolving around Danny. Thankfully, I have some answers (although they might not be a comfort).

CBS Canceled Blue Bloods For Its High Production Cost

The Network Needed To Make Budget Cuts

Blue Bloods ran for so long because it was a ratings hit. Its numbers dwindled over the years, which is to be expected, but the show was always one of CBS’s most successful series. Taking this into account (and the fact that the Blue Bloods cast were willing to take pay cuts to come back), it was confusing why the network canceled it.

Reports claimed that CBS cut the popular cop show because it was expensive to produce. Not even the cast taking pay cuts could persuade executives to sign off on another season, meaning they must have wanted to reduce Blue Bloods‘ production budget by a lot. And one of the reasons why its expenses were so high was that it was filmed in New York.

Boston Blue Continues Blue Bloods’ Legacy But With A Smaller Budget

It Costs Less For CBS To Produce The Blue Bloods Spinoff

Blue Bloods was one of CBS’s most expensive shows because of its filming location. So, one of the best ways the network could justify ordering a spinoff was seemingly to move its story outside of New York. As such, Boston Blue was born.

The real kicker is that the cast of Boston Blue isn’t even filming the spinoff in Boston.

There were certainly other benefits to shifting Danny’s spinoff to Boston. For starters, the location fit into the world that the producers were crafting, benefiting the story. Additionally, Wahlberg is from Boston. Overall, though, moving the Blue Bloods universe to Boston helps with budget constraints.

Boston Blue Cast
Role

Donnie Wahlberg
Danny Reagan

Sonequa Martin-Green
Lena Silver

Ernie Hudson
Reverend Peters

Maggie Lawson
Sarah Silver

Gloria Rueben
Mae Silver

Marcus Scribner
Jonah Silver

Mika Amonsen
Sean Reagan

The real kicker is that the cast of Boston Blue isn’t even filming the spinoff in Boston. Instead, Toronto is home to the upcoming show’s production. It’s much cheaper to produce TV shows in Toronto compared to New York, or likely Boston for that matter. As such, it finally makes sense why CBS canceled Blue Bloods but ordered Danny’s spinoff.