Some years back, as my Dad lay dying, I’d go visit him at the nursing home every chance I could. Heading down the corridors to his room, carrying the chocolates and ice cream he always asked for, all the patients’ battered old TVs would be blasting at maximum volume, almost always the same program resounding through the hallways. My Dad was usually blaring MSNBC, but just about everyone else was tuned into reruns of Blue Bloods.

In case you’re not familiar with the venerable procedural and multigenerational family saga headlined by Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg and haven’t seen every episode repeatedly, it’s a longtime mainstay of CBS Friday nights and generally the best thing on basic cable at any given moment. Over 13 seasons and counting, it’s become a cozy institution: the heroic yet imperfect Reagan family (no relation to Ronald) often clashing on their tireless quests for justice but always managing to gather for the iconic Sunday dinners that have anchored nearly 300 episodes since 2010.