Following the news that Blue Bloods was officially renewed for its 14th season, Donnie Wahlberg opened up about the support of the police procedural drama’s fans.
While promoting the fifth season of his other show Very Scary People, Wahlberg couldn’t help but gush about Blue Bloods fans. “I love Blue Bloods, and I think if there weren’t a season 14, the loyal fans of the show would be very, very outraged,” he explained to PEOPLE. “They’re part of the Reagan family. The audience is the extended family.”
Donnie Wahlberg also said that if Blue Bloods were to go away without a proper sendoff, the show’s devoted fans would be mortified. “So I suspect [we’ll] have at least another season,” he continued.
The Blue Bloods renewal came just after Wahlberg and the rest of the show’s cast reportedly took a 25% pay cut. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that key producers also took a pay reduction in order to keep the show going.
Speaking about the drama’s success over the years, Amy Reisenbach, CBS Entertainment president, told the media outlet, “Blue Bloods has dominated Friday nights since its premiere and remained an important anchor for CBS’ winning lineup.”
Reisenbach also said that the CBS team can’t wait to “pull a chair up” to the Reagan family dinner for another season.
Blue Bloods co-creator Shawn Ryan said there were other factors to the show getting a 14th season as well. “Right now, it’s up in the air whether SWAT will get picked up for a seventh season,” Ryan told THR podcast TV’s Top 5. “And that has nothing to do with ratings.”
Donnie Wahlberg Says ‘Blue Bloods’ Helped Him Prepare For His Hosting Duties on ‘Very Scary People’
Meanwhile, Donnie Wahlberg gave credit to Blue Bloods and said his role in the drama helped him prepare for his hosting duties on Very Scary People.
“If it weren’t for Blue Bloods, I probably never would’ve done Very Scary People,” he explained to PEOPLE. “I think in some ways Blue Bloods prepared the audience for me to be the host of Very Scary People. Because of the role I play on Blue Bloods, it lent a sort of credibility, I think, to me being the host of this show.”
Donnie Wahlberg said that the Blue Bloods also informed him a lot about the world around him. “I’ve hunted down serial killers in Blue Bloods. I’ve spoken to real-life detectives about the process and death with a lot of stuff.”
The actor went on to add that even though Blue Bloods is in a scripted world, he was still able to form a connection with real-life detective work.