Blue Bloods solely has three episodes left earlier than it leaves the airwaves perpetually.
That is heartbreaking for lots of causes, however the purpose that hurts essentially the most is that we’ll lose the household side.
The Blue Bloods phenomenon is partially resulting from its concentrate on a household of cops fairly than simply the case of the week. Ought to extra police procedurals comply with the development it set?
Blue Bloods Was Distinctive, However Different Procedurals Can Be taught From It
Each police procedural needs to be a little bit completely different from the others or there’s no level to watching all of them.
Blue Bloods’ uniqueness got here from HOW it dealt with household relationships. Lots of exhibits have facet tales involving the cops’ private lives, however for Blue Bloods, it was greater than that.
Household and work have been intertwined in distinctive methods for this present. For one factor, police work is the Reagan household legacy.
We had 4 generations of Reagans across the household dinner desk, and excluding the youngest, who have been nonetheless kids when the collection started, everybody was principally made up of cops.
That premise is what made the household scenes that adopted so pure. Household and police work have been inseparable from one another for the Reagans.
Moreover, they have been an Irish Catholic household whose non secular religion demanded they do public service, making it much more clear that work and household have been two sides of the identical coin for them.
This premise opened the door to the forms of tales you may’t discover on another cop present.
For instance, an early episode had Henry using together with Jamie, and Jamie feeling like he didn’t measure as much as his grandfather’s requirements.
Later episodes included Danny having to postpone a romantic weekend with Linda when an necessary case got here up, Eddie and Erin butting heads when Eddie wouldn’t let go of a perp’s declare {that a} cop raped her, and Frank making Jamie and Joe journey collectively after they received in a fistfight.
A few of these are typical police procedural tales, however they wouldn’t have landed the identical with out the shut household relationships on the coronary heart of Blue Bloods.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply different cop exhibits can’t study from the Blue Bloods phenomenon.
Persons are hungry for household dramas.
They wish to see people who find themselves like them, and those that don’t have robust household ties wish to change into a part of a fictional household that can love and settle for them for who they’re.
Blue Bloods isn’t the one present that has ever capitalized on this want, even when no different present does it to such a outstanding diploma.
Early SVU Additionally Bought The Household Stuff Proper
The unique format for SVU was much like Blue Bloods in that there have been two storylines: the case of the week and Stabler’s issues along with his teenage daughters.
Essentially the most memorable SVU episodes aren’t essentially those with robust circumstances. The household stuff stands out essentially the most.
I’ll always remember Stabler’s problem coping with Maureen’s potential consuming dysfunction or Kathleen’s full breakdown when she was battling undiagnosed bipolar dysfunction.
These have been highly effective tales about household points that Stabler needed to take care of alongside placing individuals in jail who dedicated among the most unimaginable atrocities ever.
This side of SVU was so profitable that the writers tried it once more with Regulation & Order: Organized Crime throughout Season 2, and it labored.
The tales about Mama Stabler’s dementia and teenage Eli’s performing out have been extra standard than the lengthy circumstances, although individuals beloved these too.
So what did Organized Crime do? It removed all of the household tales in Season 3.
Discuss going within the mistaken route!
Regulation & Order: Organized Crime has since taken steps to rectify that mistake. Including Stabler’s brothers was a terrific thought, and now Eli is again and is having a child of his personal.
This dynamic works effectively, making Regulation & Order: Organized Crime the closest factor to the Blue Bloods phenomenon.
I discover it unusual that some Blue Bloods followers suppose this present ought to be canceled when it has an identical household dynamic.
Hopefully, this time, the modifications will stick, and the writers won’t determine to eradicate Stabler’s household once more, which is the alternative of what they should do.
FBI Season 7 Episode 5 Was On The Proper Monitor
The FBI exhibits are additionally examples of police procedurals that might imitate the Blue Bloods phenomenon by placing their very own spin on balancing household and work storylines.
FBI Season 7 Episode 5 did this nearly completely, with Jubal entering into hassle after he used his standing as an FBI agent to get his son launched from police custody after a protest.
The FBI franchise has this behavior of writing characters out who’ve robust household storylines, so hopefully, Jubal’s suspension will solely be momentary.
FBI: Most Wished‘s Jess LaCroix was standard partially as a result of he had a rebellious daughter whom he needed to take care of, however she was written out shortly earlier than Jess was killed off.
Equally, agent Kristin Gaines, who had a daughter across the identical age as Jess’ daughter, was written out with out clarification.
In fact, this isn’t solely the present’s fault; if actors wish to depart, they must be written out. Nonetheless, the FBI exhibits may make extra of an effort to interchange departing characters with those that even have compelling household storylines.
Do Police Procedurals HAVE To Have Household Storylines?
The Blue Bloods phenomenon means that mixing household and police drama is extraordinarily standard, which is undoubtedly a part of what makes the collection so beloved that tens of millions of persons are offended about its cancelation.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply each police procedural has to have household tales to succeed.
The style used to require impersonal, practically interchangeable detectives. Take a look at Dragnet, one of the vital basic police exhibits in TV historical past.
Positive, Invoice Gannon talked about his spouse generally, often jokingly, and there have been an infinite variety of suspects, witnesses, and different cops who thought it was a rattling disgrace that Joe Friday didn’t have a girlfriend.
However these facet conversations have been so far as it went. The cops had a job to do they usually did it, and it was solely on uncommon events that they have been even seen outdoors of working a case.
The unique Regulation & Order adopted an identical method for over 20 years. (Enjoyable reality: Dick Wolf tried to reboot Dragnet shortly earlier than hitting tv gold with Regulation & Order.)
The collection centered totally on the cops and prosecutors doing their jobs, and it was solely towards the top of its authentic run that it started incorporating extra private storylines.
There may be an viewers for that sort of impersonal police drama, however the Blue Bloods phenomenon makes it clear that trendy audiences desire their drama with a facet of household tales.
The extra trendy episodes of Regulation & Order appear to acknowledge that; one of the vital standard was Regulation & Order Season 24 Episode 3, which featured a narrative about Detective Riley’s no-good brother.
Over to you, police procedural fanatics.
Do you suppose extra exhibits ought to take their cues from the Blue Bloods phenomenon, or would you fairly the tales concentrate on circumstances greater than household drama?
Hit the feedback and tell us.
Watch Blue Bloods On-line
Blue Bloods’ final three episodes will air on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c and on Paramount+ on Saturdays. The collection finale airs on December 13, 2024.