Blue Bloods solely has three episodes left earlier than it leaves the airwaves ceaselessly.
That is heartbreaking for lots of causes, however the cause that hurts essentially the most is that we’ll lose the household side.
The Blue Bloods phenomenon is partially because of its give attention to a household of cops relatively than simply the case of the week. Ought to extra police procedurals observe the development it set?
Blue Bloods Was Distinctive, However Different Procedurals Can Study From It
Each police procedural needs to be slightly totally 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. A variety of reveals have facet tales involving the cops’ private lives, however for Blue Bloods, it was greater than that.
Household and work had 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 aside from the youngest, who had been nonetheless youngsters when the sequence started, everybody was largely made up of cops.
That premise is what made the household scenes that adopted so pure. Household and police work had been inseparable from one another for the Reagans.
Moreover, they had been an Irish Catholic household whose spiritual religion demanded they do public service, making it much more clear that work and household had been two sides of the identical coin for them.
This premise opened the door to the sorts of tales you’ll be able to’t discover on every other 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 essential 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 bought 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 reveals can’t be taught from the Blue Bloods phenomenon.
Individuals are hungry for household dramas.
They wish to see people who find themselves like them, and those that don’t have sturdy household ties wish to turn 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 need, even when no different present does it to such a exceptional diploma.
Early SVU Additionally Received The Household Stuff Proper
The unique format for SVU was just like Blue Bloods in that there have been two storylines: the case of the week and Stabler’s issues together with his teenage daughters.
Essentially the most memorable SVU episodes aren’t essentially those with sturdy 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 had been highly effective tales about household points that Stabler needed to cope with alongside placing folks 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 appearing out had been extra standard than the lengthy circumstances, although folks beloved these too.
So what did Organized Crime do? It removed all of the household tales in Season 3.
Discuss going within the unsuitable course!
Regulation & Order: Organized Crime has since taken steps to rectify that mistake. Including Stabler’s brothers was a fantastic 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 assume this present ought to be canceled when it has the same household dynamic.
Hopefully, this time, the adjustments will stick, and the writers is not going to determine to remove Stabler’s household once more, which is the alternative of what they should do.
FBI Season 7 Episode 5 Was On The Proper Observe
The FBI reveals 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 virtually completely, with Jubal entering into bother 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 sturdy 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 cope with, 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 rationalization.
After all, this isn’t totally the present’s fault; if actors wish to depart, they should be written out. Nonetheless, the FBI reveals might make extra of an effort to switch 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 sequence so beloved that thousands and thousands of persons are indignant about its cancelation.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply each police procedural has to have household tales to succeed.
The style used to require impersonal, almost interchangeable detectives. Have a look at Dragnet, probably the most basic police reveals in TV historical past.
Certain, Invoice Gannon talked about his spouse typically, often jokingly, and there have been an limitless variety of suspects, witnesses, and different law enforcement officials who thought it was a rattling disgrace that Joe Friday didn’t have a girlfriend.
However these facet conversations had been so far as it went. The cops had a job to do and so they did it, and it was solely on uncommon events that they had been even seen exterior of working a case.
The unique Regulation & Order adopted the same system for over 20 years. (Enjoyable truth: Dick Wolf tried to reboot Dragnet shortly earlier than hitting tv gold with Regulation & Order.)
The sequence centered totally on the cops and prosecutors doing their jobs, and it was solely towards the tip of its authentic run that it started incorporating extra private storylines.
There’s an viewers for that kind of impersonal police drama, however the Blue Bloods phenomenon makes it clear that trendy audiences choose their drama with a facet of household tales.
The extra trendy episodes of Regulation & Order appear to acknowledge that; probably the most 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 assume extra reveals ought to take their cues from the Blue Bloods phenomenon, or would you relatively the tales give attention to 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 sequence finale airs on December 13, 2024.
