TV's preeminent cop family, the Reagans, are going out with one last fight. "Blue Bloods" Season 14, currently airing on CBS, will mark the end of the Tom Selleck-led drama. But the series will live on as one of the best and longest-running police procedurals in broadcast history. So whether you're planning a rewatch or diving in for the first time, we've rounded up every season of "Blue Bloods" and ranked them from worst to best.
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The below list shines a police-grade spotlight on the highest highs and lowest lows of "Blue Bloods" since its 2010 debut. Donnie Wahlberg's various tragedies and triumphs as Danny Reagan are beat only by Tom Selleck's magnetism as the tough-as-nails patriarch Frank Reagan, who lords over his progeny at the dinner table and in the field. (Remember when Frank put his son on house arrest? The man honors the badge, always.)
Even when "Blue Bloods" isn't worth the fine china on the Reagan family table, it's still pretty good. A mixed-bag thirteenth season stuck the landing when Jennifer Esposito returned as the fan-favorite character, Jackie. So, strap in, take it slow in ice and snow, etc. Here's all 13 completed seasons of "Blue Bloods," ranked from worst to best.
#13. Season 12
CBS
The air was let out of the "Blue Bloods" balloon in Season 12. Police procedurals are inherently rote, but the sheer amount of hashed-and-rehashed plotlines turned many viewers away from the show. Danny becomes the target of the gang he was investigating (again), the question of Frank's retirement keeps popping up with no new insight into his character and, as ever, Jamie and Eddie face relationship troubles. The season finale, "Silver Linings," is just that, though: The Reagan clan unites to crack a sex trafficking case, and Erin announces her political ambitions.
#12. Season 7
CBS
Viewers were left feeling cold after "Blue Bloods" failed to provide compelling drama in its seventh season, which could have been a series-best installment. The Reagan clan face a raft of cases dealing with organized religion and the social fabric of New York City more broadly, but the show shies away from interrogating these big, urgent themes with any real point-of-view. On the sunnier side, we get a gripping B-plot as Danny takes the stand to claim self-defense in a shooting.
#11. Season 11
CBS
"Blue Bloods" Season 11 was truncated due to COVID, with 16 episodes rather than the usual 20 or so. You can't shake the feeling that pandemic production delays hurt the storytelling, too. As the sun rises in the east, Frank Reagan is in danger of losing his job when a new mayor comes to town. Meanwhile, Joe Hill's ATF troubles come to a satisfying conclusion in the season finale, when the Reagans band together to maintain his cover.
#10. Season 9
CBS
Season 9 is a lower-tier installment of "Blue Bloods," but it cracks our top 10 because it finishes with Jamie and Eddie's long-awaited nuptials. The lovers and partners-in-crime finally tie the knot after Eddie is implicated in a murder case. The only other worthwhile plotline is Danny's continued investigation into his wife's death, which allows Donnie Wahlberg to do some deep and endlessly watchable character work.
#9. Season 13
CBS
Okay, so the show's more political leanings turned many viewers against Season 13, but Jennifer Esposito's return as Danny's partner, Jackie, has to be worth something on this list. Her role reprisal was a bright spot in a mixed-bag season that saw most of the Reagans step back from case work and Erin drop her campaign for D.A. almost as soon as she announced it.
#8. Season 8
CBS
After a forgettable seventh season, "Blue Bloods" found its footing again in Season 8 by focusing on character and emotion. The installment begins with a tragedy—Linda's offscreen death in a helicopter crash—and continues with Danny's tender and often gut-wrenching evolution as a single father with even more reason to stay out of harm's way. We also get some well-written character beats from Eddie, who revisits her father's criminal past and ends the season engaged to Jamie.
#7. Season 10
CBS
"Blue Bloods" had been on the air for a decade when Season 10 rolled around in 2019, and the show used all that compounded goodwill to delve into pressing political issues with surprising tenacity. Frank's hand-wave stance on police brutality is challenged by new ethical standards at the department, and Nicky ages up into a more adult role on the show. In the bombshell season finale, Sean searches for a long-lost relative.
#6. Season 4
John P. Filo/CBS
"Blue Bloods" Season 4 is *Vin Diesel voice* all about family. Amidst the widest array of cases to-date, each Reagan kiddo's strength and weakness is on full display. A series highlight is Episode 3, in which Erin is held hostage by an informant and Danny takes the reins as head negotiator. The family gains a new appreciation for one another (and their clashing investigative methods) in one of the show's most heartfelt installments.
#5. Season 6
Giovanni Rufino/CBS
Like Season 4, "Blue Bloods" zeroed in on parenthood and the lengths to which the Reagans will go to protect their own in Season 6. Erin, a high-powered attorney, is forced to confront her own vulnerability when Nicky is kidnapped by a serial killer. With the intensity of any great ticking-clock story, the family pounds the pavement to find her. But beyond the more exciting elements, the season plays like a metaphor for the challenges of single motherhood.
#4. Season 3
CBS
Season 3 marks the introduction of fan-favorite character Detective Maria Baez, who becomes Danny's partner. Elsewhere, we get a Bonnie and Clyde-type couple of bank robbers, the wide-ranging effects of gang violence in a community and a sobering look at how drug abuse shatters relationships. It's one of the most pressing, impactful seasons of "Blue Bloods."
#3. Season 2
CBS
The debut season of "Blue Bloods" is a near-perfect introduction to the Reagan cop dynasty, while Season 2 digs a little deeper into, well, work-life balance. The high drama of Henry's heart attack is matched only by Frank putting his own son under house arrest — a pivotal character moment for one of TV's greatest patriarchs. He may be proud of his kids for following in his footsteps, but Frank Reagan is always prepared to throw the book at anyone...his progeny included.
#2. Season 5
Giovanni Rufino/CBS
"Blue Bloods" hit new highs in Season 5, which had shock, awe and close calls in spades. The danger of police work takes center stage as Linda is shot in the finale, "The Art of War," which continuously ranks as one of the show's best episodes. Torn between worry and bloodlust, Danny goes on a rampage to apprehend his wife's assailant. It offers both soapy TV excellence and that white-knuckle feeling you get from the best feature-length thrillers.
#1. Season 1
Craig Blankenhorn/CBS
Nothing like your first time — at a Reagan family dinner, that is. Season 1 is our "Blue Bloods" apex for its incredibly effective world-building and tight storyline. Tom Selleck's patriarch immediately feels lived-in, and the entire Reagan clan is dynamite onscreen as TV's foremost loving, but dysfunctional brood. The death of Joe Reagan—a foundational part of the Reagan family's identity and motivations—is finally solved in the knockout season finale, "The Blue Templar." It's razor-sharp storytelling with watercooler urgency and an enduring comfort-watch quality. In other words, "Blue Bloods" Season 1 is perfect TV.
