CBS has already ordered at least five spinoffs for the 2026-2027 season, so why not add a Blue Bloods prequel?
I know; it’s giving us Boston Blue. But there’s room for more of the Blue Bloods franchise.
A prequel would be the perfect show to soften the blow of losing the original. I’m still mad at CBS’ decision, but a show that is so close to the original Blue Bloods might help me forgive the network.
Fire Country Gets Two Spinoffs, So Why Should Blue Bloods Get Only One?
So far, Boston Blue is the only Blue Bloods spinoff on CBS’ schedule.
Fire Country, on the other hand, gets two: Sheriff Country and Fire Country: Surfside.
I have nothing against Fire Country, but I always tuned in on Friday nights for Blue Bloods, and I’m not satisfied with Boston Blue’s premise.
The new show will star Danny Reagan, but no mention of the other Reagans.
Instead, it sounds like we’re in for a substitute cop family because Danny’s new partner comes from a prominent Boston family of police.
That’s great, but swapping out the Reagans for random other people doesn’t sound like the best way to carry on Blue Bloods’ legacy. I’m sure I’ll fall in love with this family, too, but I need more Reagans in the meantime.
A Blue Bloods Prequel Would Be A Brilliant Way To Continue The Series’ Legacy
Sadly, we’re never going to get Blue Bloods back.
It doesn’t matter that its ratings can’t be replicated or that there are millions of angry fans, some of whom are boycotting CBS in retaliation.
The series was too damn expensive, so much so that the huge fanbase simply didn’t matter.
A Blue Bloods prequel is the next best thing.
Unlike Boston Blue, a Blue Bloods prequel series wouldn’t have to change locations. It could still honor the NYPD the same way the original series did.
It also could honor the series’ family values, and the Reagan family in particular, without running into the budgetary issues that ultimately killed Blue Bloods.
Ideally, a prequel would be set in the late 1980s or early 1990s, when Frank’s kids were young, and Henry was the police commissioner.
This set-up would allow for the same types of stories as Blue Bloods: family drama mixed with police drama, though the only cops at the table would be Henry and Frank.
Essentially, Frank would be in the same stage of life that Danny was in when the series began: a career cop who has a wife and children at home that he has to support on a meager police officer’s salary.
Similarly, Henry would be in the role that Frank takes in Blue Bloods: the police commissioner who has to worry about politics when he’d rather think about what’s good for the cops under him.
A Prequel Series Would Give Us Greater Insight Into Henry And Frank
Henry was one of my favorite Blue Bloods characters, but his role was small and shrank further as the years passed.
Most of the time, he was there to provide emotional support, lament how policing had changed since his day, and offer wisecracks at the dinner table — he only had a real storyline once or twice a season.
There was clearly more to the man than met the eye. He once shocked everyone at the dinner table by admitting he and his wife went to a nudist beach.
A Blue Bloods prequel would offer us a different side of Henry.
The younger Henry would probably run his police department — and his family — very differently than the older and wiser Henry, and it would be fascinating to learn what his life was like in those days.
Indeed, a Blue Bloods prequel could tell the story of how Henry became the man we know him as today.
Similarly, some of the family stories the Reagan kids talk about could come to life in a prequel show. Erin’s bossiness and control of her brothers could be a recurring theme, and we’d also learn how Frank and his wife parented their kids when they were young.
We’d also finally get to meet Joe Reagan.
He’s been a ghost throughout Blue Bloods’ 14 seasons, but it would make his death even more poignant if his younger self were a charming, lovable kid who grew into the man who sacrificed his life by fighting police corruption.
How cool would that be?
Could A Blue Bloods Prequel Include The Original Cast?
It would be brilliant if the younger actors from the Blue Bloods Season 14 cast could join the prequel.
Donnie Wahlberg will be playing Danny on Boston Blue, so it’s unlikely he could step in to play a younger Frank, though that would make the prequel even cooler.
Will Estes would be an interesting choice for a young Frank, though. Over the years, there has been much discussion of how much Jamie is like his father.
Unfortunately, it’s not likely that any of that would be greenlit. One reason Blue Bloods came to a premature end was that its large cast commanded higher salaries than CBS could afford to pay.
Thus, we’d likely have to start over with new actors playing Henry and Frank. Still, there’s a way the original cast could still participate.
The prequel could go the tried-and-true way of having an older character narrate.
Tom Selleck’s Frank Reagan could be telling stories about his past.
Heck, the prequel could even borrow a motif from How I Met Your Mother by having Frank tell the grandchildren about when their parents were young.
Conversely, Will Estes’ Jamie could do it since he has his first child on the way at the end of Blue Bloods.
This twist would allow for occasional special episodes in which Eddie tells a story about her childhood.
There Are Clearly A Million Ideas For A Blue Blood Prequel, But What Do You Think?
There is so much potential for a Blue Bloods series set before the original.
But what do you think, Blue Bloods fanatics?
Should CBS give us one? Would it heal the hole in your heart since Blue Bloods was canceled?
Hit the comments with your thoughts.
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