If ever a cop drama was written by people with hearts and souls, Blue Bloods would be the result. Starring the one and only Tom Selleck of Magnum P.I. fame as New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, Blue Bloods takes a beautiful look at the world of NYC through the eyes of a family of police officers and lawyers. While dealing with the regrettable results and impacts of sin in the world, the Reagan family leans on their faith in God and on each other to find their way in a world tinted grey and confusing.
Five Shields out of Five. Recommended age: 10 and up, with the understanding that you will need to discuss sin and crime with your younger watchers.
Cop dramas are a hard genre to watch in many cases. Blood, death, prominent displays of the impact of sin as seen through the eye of the magistrate; all lead to a very emotionally fraught and often shocking show to watch. Blue Bloods rises above the genre by focusing on a family of Irish cops who fight crime and defend the weak, then join each other at the family dinner table on Sunday and pray together on screen. And unlike most modern depictions of Christianity, the Reagan family faith is presented not as hypocrisy or a goody-goody facade, but rather as sincerely held belief and moral comfort that guides their actions.
There are depictions of traumatic events, as well as deaths and shootings on screen, which is to be expected when watching a show about cops. However, foul language is kept to a minimum, far less than one might expect from the Irish cop stereotype. Also, there is very little crude and vulgar content, occasionally hinted at by characters but no on-screen nudity or other x rated material in the season and a half that I have deeply enjoyed over the last two weeks.