10 Best TV Shows Like Blue Bloods

Summary

• Blue Bloods is known for its family values, but it shares common themes with other police procedurals like NYPD Blue and Criminal Minds.
• Despite its cancellation, Blue Bloods’ legacy will live on through similar shows that focus on either family dynamics or police work.
• The show’s iconic family dinner symbolizes its commitment to putting families first while tackling real issues faced by police officers.

Blue Bloods‘ emphasis on family values sets it apart from other police procedurals, but it has things in common with several other shows. The Tom Selleck-led drama focuses on a family of Irish-Catholic cops who support one another while dealing with tough situations on the job. The Blue Bloods family dinner has become an iconic part of the show, symbolizing the series’ commitment to putting families first while also centering real issues that police officers face on the job and in their personal lives.

CBS chose to cancel this popular series despite a massive fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods. The series only has a few episodes left before it wraps up, and once it departs, there will be few family-oriented dramas left on television. However, many shows center either the family aspect or cop aspect that made Blue Bloods so appealing. Thus, those fans who are heartbroken by Blue Bloods going off the air have plenty of choices to help ease the pain of losing this beloved show.

10 NYPD Blue (1993 – 2005)

This Controversial Show Was The First To Depict Cops Realistically

Like Blue Bloods, NYPD Blue centers around a group of New York City cops. Episodes feature a group of cops who work beats and solve cases in the fictional 15th Precinct in Manhattan. It starred many well-known actors, such as Jimmy Smits, Dennis Franz, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The series was both praised and critiqued for its gritty, realistic depiction of NYPD cops, and the premise was inspired by a real cop that one of the producers knew well.

Unlike
Blue Bloods
,
NYPD Blue
was filmed mostly in Los Angeles despite taking place in New York.

NYPD Blue is far less family-oriented than Blue Bloods, although it did feature plenty of relationship drama between cops. When it originally aired, it was controversial because of the language used and an episode showing star Dennis Franz’s naked butt. However, it is one of the best police procedurals in the history of the genre. Thus, it is likely that Blue Bloods would not have been made had NYPD Blue not come first, as its depiction of cops’ day-to-day lives was groundbreaking at the time.

9 Criminal Minds (2003 – 2020)

This Graphically Violent Police Procedural Nevertheless Has A Family Vibe

Criminal Minds is not for the faint of heart. The long-running procedural centers around the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), which profiles serial killers and other violent criminals. Crimes are often depicted graphically before the team gets to work, using their knowledge of psychology to predict the perpetrator’s next move and catch them in the act. Although these crimes are disturbing, the violence is never gratuitous, and the team members care deeply about justice and about preventing harm to innocent people.

This series was so popular that it ran for 17 years before spawning two spin-offs on Paramount+. While it doesn’t offer the same type of family drama that Blue Bloods does, the BAU members become a family of sorts because of the unique experiences they share as part of this elite task force. The characters are memorable, making it easy to care about them, which is something it shares with Blue Bloods.

8 Animal Kingdom (2016 – 2022)

This Series Follows A Family Of Criminals Instead Of A Family Of Cops

At first glance, Animal Kingdom may seem like Blue Bloods’ polar opposite. The series’ protagonist, J, moves in with relatives who are running a criminal enterprise after his mother’s death and gets sucked into a life of crime. Although Animal Kingdom‘s J has some redeeming traits, he becomes a hardened criminal, making this series appear to have more in common with shows such as Breaking Bad than Blue Bloods.

However, Animal Kingdom leans heavily into the idea of a family that sticks together, even if in this case, it’s a dysfunctional family that is involved in criminal acts. It offers a fascinating parallel to Blue Bloods, as family values are seen through the lens of a family of criminals instead of the people whose job it is to get them off the street. Thus, it has appeal for those fans who are hungry for shows featuring families that always have each others’ backs.

7 Rookie Blue (2010 – 2015)

This Canadian Series About Newbie Cops Has A Similar Pro-Cop Bent

Rookie Blue comes the closest of any series to matching Blue Bloods’ focus on showing cops in as positive, fair, and realistic light as possible. The show revolves around a group of rookie cops and the officers who supervise them as they go out on patrol for the first time. Its vibe is also similar to NYPD Blue without the off-color language, which might make it more compelling for those who enjoyed the wholesome family content part of Blue Bloods.

Coincidentally,
Rookie Blue’
s final season was also split into two parts, and ABC later rebranded the second half as a separate, final season.

Like many police procedurals, Rookie Blue had some soap opera-like elements, most notably the relationship between Andi and Sam. However, this is overshadowed by both the police procedural elements and the rookies’ home lives, which often included family or friends who weren’t happy with their decision to join the police force. These elements might make the series seem comfortable and familiar, as they are similar to the way Blue Bloods blends family and work.

6 Hill Street Blues (1981 – 1987)

The 1980s Police Procedural Was The First To Have Intertwined Storylines

Hill Street Blues has all the hallmarks of a great police procedural. It premiered in the early 1980s and was considered groundbreaking because it featured multiple, intertwining storylines and included personal and relationship stories instead of focusing solely on the police procedural aspects of each episode. Blue Bloods owes Hill Street Blues a debt; without the decision to blend personal and police stories, there would be no series about a family of cops.

Many episodes of
Hill Street Blues
ended with the main character discussing the day’s events with his wife before they went to bed, which could be considered a precursor to the Reagan family dinners.

Hill Street Blues was well known for starting each episode with a roll-call scene that detailed which cases the cops would be working on. However, its legacy is one of presenting ethical dilemmas that had no easy answers. Blue Bloods has continued this tradition, often presenting both sides of an issue Frank is dealing with as Commissioner of Police without writing it in a way that promotes any particular point of view over another.

5 Homicide: Life On The Streets (1993 – 1999)

The Baltimore Police Drama Set The Tone For Modern Police Shows

Homicide: Life On The Streets is a gritty, Baltimore-based police drama that set the tone for other such shows, including Blue Bloods. The series starred Andre Braugher as no-nonsense Detective Frank Pembleton, who was partnered with rookie detective TIm Bayliss; this was only one of many memorable work relationships on the series, which also was the first place that Law & Order: SVU’s John Munch appeared. The series showed the ins-and-outs of working in a homicide unit in a violent city as well as featuring complex relationships between the characters.

Homicide: Life On The Streets
is based on a book by David Simon about real-life Baltimore homicide detectives.

Pembleton’s wife and children were an occasional part of the series, especially after Pembleton survived a stroke in season 4, and there were many other personal storylines throughout the series’ seven-year run. While there wasn’t as explicit an emphasis on family, these storylines are reminiscent of Blue Bloods, and this series shared a similar goal of depicting police officers realistically.

4 Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021 – Present)

The Youngest Law & Order Spinoff Has More In Common With Blue Bloods Than It May Seem

Law & Order: Organized Crime is the grittiest of all of the spinoffs. It features SVU alum Christopher Meloni, who reprises his role as Elliot Stabler, now older, more jaded, and working for New York City’s elite Organized Crime Unit. During the first season, Stabler was shown to be a hothead who was determined to bring his wife’s killer to justice, making him similar to Blue Bloods’ Danny Reagan.

Although it was initially said that
Blue Bloods’
Linda was killed in a helicopter crash, it later was revealed that the mob sabotaged the helicopter, making Danny and Stabler’s stories perfect parallels.

Law & Order: Organized Crime is also a strong match for Blue Bloods because of its emphasis on family. Although the writers haven’t been consistent about centering Stabler’s family, seasons 2 through 4 feature Stabler’s mother to various degrees, who has dementia and bipolar disorder, as well as his rebellious teenage son. Although a running subplot involves the question of whether there is any hope for Stabler to have a romantic relationship with Law & Order: SVU’s Olivia Benson, this is a small part of the series that doesn’t detract from its Blue Bloods-like qualities.

3 East New York (2023)

This Short-Lived Series Showed Police Politics From A Different Perspective

East New York, which sadly lasted only one season, was a police procedural about a fictional precinct in a poor, mostly Black and Latino neighborhood in New York City. Newly appointed Deputy Commissioner Rita Haywood was the first Black woman given the job of overseeing this precinct; she wanted to reform the police department and improve relationships between the cops and the people who lived in the community. She dealt with a lot of political opposition to her positions and had an ally in Chief John Suarez, played by Jimmy Smits.

Smits was one of several
L.A. Law
alums to appear on
East New York.

Although East New York is more political than Blue Bloods, Regina is analogous to Frank Reagan, who is constantly squabbling with the mayor over police policy; the series also features cops going out on cases of the week and has some ongoing storylines involving their family lives. Its audience overlapped somewhat with Blue Bloods for this reason when it originally aired.

2 Yellowstone (2018 – Present)

The Modern Western Shares Some Values With Blue Bloods

Yellowstone is a modern Western starring Kevin Costner as the head of a family that owns the largest ranch in their Montana town and consequentially has a lot of power. In many ways, Costner’s John Dutton is someone that Frank Reagan would dislike. He is a ruthless business owner and politician who often butts heads with his family. However, the series does emphasize family loyalty, and some of the subplots show John’s softer side, especially with his daughter, Beth.

The Western genre often features heroes who put their moral code above societal acceptance, which Frank also does on
Blue Bloods.

Beth is a loose cannon who has serious problems because of her guilt over her mother’s death, but she is also devoted to her father, and in the early seasons she had a hard time dealing with John’s cancer diagnosis. These aspects give the series the same type of family vibe as Blue Bloods despite being a different type of series. Additionally, the Western genre often features heroes who put their moral code above societal acceptance, which Frank also does on Blue Bloods, and the Duttons’ behavior becomes more understandable when viewed this way.

1 Madam Secretary (2014 – 2019)

This Show Perfectly Blended National Politics And Family Issues

Madam Secretary features Tea Leoni as the newly appointed Secretary of State who uproots her family to take the coveted Cabinet position. Although this has little to do with the NYPD or police in general, the premise is similar to Blue Bloods because Leoni’s Elizabeth McCord must balance her responsibilities to the people she serves with the needs of her family. She has three children who are often in crisis at the same time as she is dealing with a serious problem on the world stage, and sometimes her job affects her children’s lives in unexpected ways.

During the shortened final season, Elizabeth becomes the President, but the series retains its title.

Blue Bloods is as popular as it is because of its emphasis on family, and Madam Secretary has that same emphasis even though it is about a very different type of political situation. Elizabeth McCord is similar to Frank in that she tries to live by her values, though she doesn’t have the power to make final decisions like he does, as she works for the President rather than being free to run her department as she sees fit.