Despite your NCIS' and your Law & Order: SVU's, the chances of a primetime, network TV show getting to episode 200 are actually quite rare, especially in our current television landscape where streaming services are becoming increasingly prominent. Well, one series that's managed to break the mold and reach episode 200 (and beyond) will be the CBS police / family drama Blue Bloods.
When Blue Bloods returns to the airwaves this fall, audiences will have been watching the Reagan family deal with a wide variety of political issues, law enforcement cases and behind the scenes family crises since 2010. And, obviously, the cast is over the moon about the accomplishment of staying on the air for 10 seasons and managing to get to the 200 episode milestone.
Abigail Hawk, who has played Frank Reagan's primary aide in the police commissioner's office, Abigail Baker, since the show began, has some thoughts about what this season means for them and why the show has lasted for so long.
It has been a decade of our lives. A decade of my life. It’s a huge accomplishment, and I’m thrilled we have been able to celebrate. It is a big deal. Shows die very quickly on networks these days. For us to have 200 episodes, it’s kind of unheard of. We’re also something new. We’re not a reboot. We’re totally fresh and kind of cornered the market with having this character drama married to a procedural all in one show. I think that makes us special because you do see the characters evolve, but at the same time it’s still very formulaic in the sense that they have different cases every week. Every episode stands on its own.
As Abigail Hawk told TV Insider, everyone who works on Blue Bloods is certainly aware of how lucky their are to be able to enjoy a decade of employment on a show they love to bring to fans every season. It's also very cool that the cast got a chance to celebrate all the hard work they've done over the past decade to get the show there, especially if there was cake. You know, because they're actors. I've heard they tend to stay away from foods that are even remotely fun most of the time. So, yay for the Blue Bloods cast eating Episode 200 cake! (And surviving fires! Which will help burn calories!)
She is certainly correct that for a show of any type to last as long as Blue Bloods has, it needs to catch those eyeballs quickly and keep them. We've all fallen in love with a series, made it appointment viewing for a few weeks, and then had it get cancelled and disappear forever with no way to get any of our questions answered or have intriguing storylines fully explored.
Hawk made a good point when she noted how Blue Bloods likely set itself apart from other shows immediately by successfully merging the police procedural formula with a family drama that focuses on the characters. All of us can name several procedural-based dramas (see: the two mentioned in the opening) or family dramas, but there aren't many that spring to mind and combine the two. This is particularly true when you add the fact that almost every adult in the Reagan family is involved in all that police proceduring.
So, just how long would Abigail Hawk want to lend her considerable talents to Blue Bloods? She's got an idea that most of her co-workers would probably be on board with.
I think we’re a beautiful well-oiled machine. I hope we get to continue doing it for another 200. I’m game.
Awww! Abigail Hawk doesn't want to leave Blue Bloods. I feel ya, girl. We can all see how Season 10 of Blue Bloods shakes out for her, Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg and the rest of the Reagan clan and their associates when it hits CBS on September 27 at 10 p.m. EST. You can keep up with the season's other debuts with our fall TV premiere guide.
