The third season of Blue Bloods, a police procedural drama series created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, premiered on CBS on September 28, 2012. The series debuted with pilot episode, which was viewed by 13.01 million viewers. The season ended with the finale “The Blue Templar”, which was watched by 11.79 million viewers. The season averaged 12.58 million viewers per 22 episodes. Internationally, the first season was very successful in Canada, United Kingdom and New Zealand, ranking among the top 30 most watched programs on the respective channels. The first season also garnered positive reviews from television critics, praising the performances of lead actors Donnie Wahlberg and Tom Selleck and the family dynamic among the Reagans.