Behind-the-Scenes Tom Selleck Drama That Made Blue Bloods Showrunner Leave
Blue Bloods has long become the procedural that keeps people glued to their screens.
It began airing on CBS in 2010 and has had almost no behind-the-scenes scandals in its 13 seasons, probably due to the dedicated cast that feels and acts like a close-knit family. However, even the least scandalous show has a few blemishes in its past.
The scandal that every fan will remember is, of course, the firing of Jennifer Esposito in 2012. The actress, who played Detective Curatola, left the show because she had differences with CBS about her limited availability for work after being diagnosed with celiac disease.
But few fans know that another drama occurred at the very beginning of Season 1 production, when Tom Selleck couldn't find common ground with the show's CBS-appointed showrunner.
After the pilot of Blue Bloods passed the test screening, CBS hired an experienced showrunner, Ken Sanzel, who had a lot of experience with police procedurals and was supposed to set Blue Bloods up. This is a common thing for the network to do when a writer for a new show is inexperienced.
According to Deadline, Ken Sanzel was professional, tough, had the full support of the network and his own vision for the show. He pushed for a compelling crime procedural. But his ideas were not met with enthusiasm by Tom Selleck.
The lead actor reportedly had his own vision and was not afraid to push for it. He was adamant that the show should go for softer character exploration and was apparently not crazy about the new showrunner being forced on the cast.
He refused to accept the scripts that Sanzel gave him and voiced his displeasure with the overall direction of the show. This inevitably led to creative differences between the two men, and soon Sanzel left the show.
It didn't turn into a huge scandal, though, but was handled in the most civilized way possible. The showrunner did not abandon the cast and crew, he just waited for Tom Selleck to find "his guy" who would also be accepted by the network. And the new showrunner was soon found.
Writer-producer Kevin Wade had worked with Tom Selleck on the set of the 1992 film Mr. Baseball, and the two apparently hit it off, as the showrunner stayed with Blue Bloods for all of its seasons.