Between 2005 and 2015, CBS (and later Hallmark) produced nine Jesse Stone movies. The films, based around the Jesse Stone book series, began with Stone Cold and ran through to Lost in Paradise.

Each entry in the series centred around Stone, as played by actor Tom Selleck, and each proved very popular with audiences. So, popular in fact that since the release of the ninth movie back in 2015, fans have been clamouring for more Jesse Stone movies.

But what gives? Was Lost in Paradise the final Jesse Stone movie, or are more movies likely to crop up in the near future?

Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, Tom Selleck is interested in making a new Jesse Stone movie. The bad news is, he has been interested in making a new Jesse Stone movie for a few years now, and so far, nothing has happened.

In 2017 (yep, 2017!), Selleck was interviewed by Parade to talk about his work on the TV series, Blue Bloods. In the show, Selleck plays the role of Commissioner Frank Reagan, and has done since the show began airing in 2010.

During the interview, the actor was asked about the status of Jesse Stone and whether there would be another movie? At that point in time, Selleck provided some very positive news.

He said: “I plan to work on writing another Jesse Stone. We have a deal for a tenth. They are hard. The big thing for me is it is such a thrill to have the creative control we have in the television scenario because that usually doesn’t happen. I just want to be true to the character. I think there is still plenty of room for him to grow and change. I don’t want to rip off the franchise. I am not going to do it for a payday, so I have been thinking about it.”

So, in 2017, a deal was in place for a new Jesse Stone movie, with Selleck set to pen the script. Hurrah! But it’s now 2021 and (so far) there has been no new movie, and yet there is still an appetite from fans; so, what’s the hold-up?

Image: ©Hallmark
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The possible reason for the movie’s no-show is due to the actor’s commitment to Blue Bloods. Since 2017, Blue Bloods has remained on air, and Selleck has remained with the series – something which takes up a lot of his time.

In fact, during the same interview with Parade, Selleck mentioned the difficulty in balancing the two projects. He said: “It is hard to concentrate on both. Twenty-two episodes of Blue Bloods (per season) is pretty compelling.”

At the time, Selleck did mention that he planned to pen the next Jesse Stone movie during the Season Seven hiatus for Blue Bloods, but it is unclear if he found the time. Sure, there have been a number of hiatuses since Season Seven (the show is currently on to its 11th season), but shooting so many episodes a year does take its toll.

However, from what Selleck said about believing “there is still plenty of room for (Jesse) to grow” and about being in a unique position of having “creative control” over the character, it would seem unlikely that he isn’t actively working on the project. But that said, any work in the last year would have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that means even if a script was near completion, it might take a while to film and/or air.

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Image: ©Hallmark

The positive slant on all this is that the ninth movie, was produced by Hallmark. Hallmark has had great success with various properties over the years, especially crime/mystery movies, and the network is unlikely to let a popular series such as this one sit idle for too long.

For now, Jesse Stone fans should keep their fingers crossed. Tom Selleck has proved that he is committed to the character and he has made it clear that he does want to make another movie, so it’s really only a matter of time before Jesse returns to the screen.

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If you’re a fan of the Jesse Stone movies, or you are just getting into the Jesse Stone movie series, then you may wish to know that a boxset of the movies is currently available.

The boxset – The Jesse Stone 9-Movie Collection – includes all of the movies to date, on Region 1 DVD.

The Jesse Stone 9-Movie Collection is available from all good entertainment stockists, although I find Amazon US very competitively priced.

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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Jesse Stone movies. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.

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