How Many Episodes Will There Be In Blue Bloods Season 12?
CBS' "Blue Bloods" is nearing the end of its 12th season with no word yet from the network on whether it will return for a 13th. The police drama follows the lives of the Reagan family, who hold various positions in the New York law enforcement community. Tom Selleck stars as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan and Donnie Wahlberg as his son Danny, an NYPD detective. Frank's daughter, Erin (Bridget Moynahan), is an assistant district attorney, and his other son, Jamie (Will Estes), is a patrolman.
The Reagans have had an eventful Season 12, with Frank battling Mayor Peter Chase (Dylan Walsh), a gang putting a hit out on Danny, and tension in Jamie's marriage. Ratings this season have been erratic but mostly disappointing, although reviewers on IMDb have given its 17 episodes an average score of 8.0.
Eight of the first nine seasons of "Blue Bloods" ran for 22 episodes — Season 3 included one extra installment — but COVID-related production issues cut Season 10 down to 19 episodes and Season 11 to just 16. Although Wahlberg recently posted to Instagram that shooting for Season 12 had wrapped, it remained unclear exactly how many more episodes are coming — but CBS recently cleared that up with an announcement.
Blue Bloods Season 12 will come to an end after 20 episodes
In a recent press release, Viacom announced the season finale dates for CBS' current schedule, placing the "Blue Bloods" Season 12 finale on Friday, May 6, in its standard 10:00–11:00 p.m. time slot. It will be the 20th episode of the season and is yet unnamed.
After tomorrow's Episode 17, "Long Lost," the show will take a two-week break until returning on April 29 for the penultimate installment, "Tangled Up in Blue." As usual, "Blue Bloods" has multiple storylines to resolve as the season winds down, like the shooting of Detective Angela Reddick (Ilfenesh Hadera) and Frank's ongoing feud with Mayor Chase.
While CBS still hasn't made it known whether "Blue Bloods" will return in the fall, we know now that there are at least a few more Reagan family dinners coming our way this spring. With ratings sliding steadily in recent seasons, it's possible we've seen the last of the show, but with a willing cast and loyal (although shrinking) audience (via The Hollywood Reporter), perhaps CBS will see fit to bring it back for at least one more season.