CBS Fires The Men Behind Blue Bloods

It's really hard to bash CBS when the network's schedule is stacked top to bottom, but news coming out of the Blue Bloods camp is nonetheless troubling. Apparently, the Tiffany Network has jettisoned show creators Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess without even a hint of a back-up plan. Word is CBS executives were irritated over some behind the scenes decision making when it came to the Friday night hit's scripts. They wanted a more procedural feel while the creators were very against adopting a set formula. Here's a little secret of the trade. Creators wielding a truly outside the box concept always have more leverage than those handling a fairly middle of the road idea. If the network's done it before with success, they're always going to be more hands on with notes.

According to Deadline, CBS is trying to play nice, thanking Green and Burgess for their hard work on the series, but it's hard to imagine this ousting wasn't very contentious behind the scenes. As for now, Blue Bloods is without a showrunner and in need of clear direction. Don't expect this decision to in anyway hamper the show's timeslot though. Averaging well over ten million viewers on the notoriously difficult Friday night, Blue Bloods has been a surprise winner for CBS and will continue to anchor the evening, regardless of who takes over creatively.

Expect Tom Selleck and the suits to bring in a seasoned company man who will handle the show to the network's liking. After this fiasco, there's no way they bring in a wild card. It should be great for those interested in routine outputs of near equal quality but a big blow for anyone hoping Blue Bloods would morph into NYPD Blue.