Tom Selleck ‘Plans to Do a lot’ Now That He’s in His 80s: Out to ‘Prove’ He’s Still ‘Productive’

Tom Selleck drifted for a while after the sudden cancellation of his beloved show Blue Bloods, but a source exclusively tells Closer he’s excited to have signed up for his first new project since the series’ end and has no plans to retire anytime soon as he’s feeling a revived sense of optimism and positivity since recently turning 80. 

“Tom is happiest when he is working,” the insider says. “He does not view acting as a chore or something he has to do just for the money, it invigorates him.” 

The Magnum, P.I. star’s tenure on the cop drama lasted 14 seasons, during which Closer previously reported Tom became super close with his castmates, mirroring some of his on-screen relationships. He even keeps in touch with Donnie Wahlberg, who played his character’s son on Blue Bloods.

“Over the decade they worked together they formed a very tight bond, they were a family,” a second source said of their relationship. “That doesn’t just go away because the show is cancelled.”

The octogenarian actor opened up about how hard the shock cancellation hit him and the emotional toll leaving the cast and crew behind took on him. “The hardest part for me is we had the Blue Bloods family and we had the actors’ family,” he told Parade on December 6, 2024, just a week before the show’s final episode aired. “They’re all my pals. I miss them. It’s going to take a lot of getting used to.”

So it makes sense that, “Given the chance, he’d jump at doing something in [the Blue Bloods] universe again,” the first source continues, “but he’s not going to sit home twiddling his thumbs.” 

There was some talk about appearances on Donnie’s Blue Bloods spinoff, Boston Blue, but “Instead of waiting for Hollywood to come calling, he’s taking things in his own hands, and he’s stepped in as an executive producer on his next project to make sure it gets made and to have some control.” 

All that’s been revealed so far about Tom’s upcoming project is that he’s currently working on an “Untitled Jesse Stone Project.” The television film is listed as “in development” on his IMDb page. “Plot unknown. The next installment of the Jesse Stone franchise,” the description of the film said as of March 2025.

Tom played titular character Jesse Stone in nine movies based on the popular detective novel series, with the latest released in 2015. It’s clear he’ll likely be reprising his role for his next project in addition to serving as executive producer, though details beyond that are sparse.

Still, the first insider says “He’s very big on having some control going forward in all that he does,” which includes this next Jesse Stone movie. “Make no mistake, he plans to do a lot. He wants to prove 80 isn’t past the point of being productive, he actually feels very full of vigor and he’s ready to show the world age is just a number.”