The 2024 TV season is winding down, and so is Blue Bloods‘ final season. The beloved CBS procedural is set to air its series finale in mid-December, marking the end of the Reagan familyβs journey after 14 years. Although filming wrapped earlier in the summer, Len Cariou recently shared that the final moments were more emotional than he expected, making the farewell even harder to process.
Wrapping up a show after such a long run is never easy, especially when itβs a series like Blue Bloods. It was officially announced late last year that Blue Bloods would be joining the list of shows ending in 2024, despite protests from fans and the cast. While everyone had been anticipating the conclusion and the goodbyes, Cariou, who portrayed Henry Reagan, shared with TV Insider that filming the finale felt surprisingly normal for the most part.
βIt was pretty bittersweet. The last scene, of course, was at a funeral, so we werenβt even filming in the house when we wrapped. I finished that day, along with several othersβTom [Selleck], Bridget, Steve [Schirripa], and a few others were done too, before the rest of the episode was completed,β Cariou recalled. βIt felt like any other day, any other week. We had gotten used to saying our goodbyes, and then, well, we moved on. We said, βOkay, thatβs over,β and figured weβd keep in touch if we could.β
However, a few weeks later, the cast reunited for a wrap-up event ahead of the final eight episodes, and that moment made the farewell feel even more real. βIt was bittersweet,β Cariou admitted. βI had just gotten used to the fact that weβd said our goodbyes, and then we were all back together again. That made it a little bit more difficult for me.β