'Blue Bloods' Season 9 Air Date, Spoilers: Here's What New Fans Need to Know to Catch Up

CBS's long-running crime procedural “Blue Bloods” is one of those rare shows that have definitely aged well. With 10 million viewers on average watching the show well into its eighth season, there is enough material for a new fan to digest about the series before catching up when “Blue Bloods” season 9 comes out in September.

For a show about police officers and their challenges at work, the storytelling format that the creators have chosen – the Sunday family dinner setting – has created an environment that allows the discussion of morally complex issues without bogging down the action. What will definitely hook viewers into watching “Blue Bloods” isn't necessarily its police procedural moments, but the added flavor that the family setting gives the drama.

Focused on the Reagan family of police officers, the dinners are presided over by the Reagan patriarch, Commissioner Francis Reagan, played by Tom Selleck of “Magnum PI” fame. This setting also gives the viewers a chance to get to know the characters outside of their day jobs without having to split the time too much compared to other crime shows with a large cast.

Soon to be nine years old, the “Blue Bloods'” cast has actually grown over the years rather than shrinking compared to a lot of other procedural dramas even from CBS itself. Aside from Jennifer Esposito, who used to play Detective Jackie Curatola but was put on a leave of absence due to health issues after season 3, and Amy Carlson, who played Linda Reagan – a main cast character who left the show by the seventh season due to spoiler-worthy reasons, – the show has had two additions to the main cast by season 5, with two more in “also starring” roles.

Fans of the cop series will be glad to know that “Blue Bloods” season 9 will air its premiere episode on Sept. 28.