Jesse Stone Movies in Order: A Journey Through Crime and Character
By Abdul Aziz Mondal
09 September, 2023
Movies
Last Updated on: October 1st, 2024
Talking about the Jesse Stone movies in order is not necessarily as simple as enumerating them from the first time they aired. It’s been well over 7 years since audiences could tune in to the latest action of Tom Selleck in the series of movies based on the novels of Robert B. Parker.
Selleck plays the eponymous police officer. The movie has had nine installments in ten years, which tells you exactly how well-loved the franchise is. All the while, Selleck was also starring as a series regular on Blue Bloods.
The character is 35 in his debut novel, but the movie makers still went ahead with the 60-year-old Selleck. He has been a household name since the 80s, given his role in the widely acclaimed Magnum, P.I., and Three Men and a Baby.
His policework-packed role benefitted largely from his real-life canine companions and a notorious drinking problem.
The Jesse Stone Movies In Chronological Order
| Movie | Year | IMDb Ranking |
| Stone Cold | February 20, 2005 | 7.1 |
| Jesse Stone: Night Passage | January 15, 2006 | 7.3 |
| Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise | April 30, 2006 | 7.1 |
| Jesse Stone: Sea Change | May 22, 2007 | 7.2 |
| Jesse Stone: Thin Ice | March 1, 2009 | 7.2 |
| Jesse Stone: No Remorse | May 9, 2010 | 7.2 |
| Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost | May 22, 2011 | 7.1 |
| Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt | May 20, 2012 | 7.1 |
| Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise | October 18, 2015 | 7.2 |
Jesse Stone Movies In Order To Watch
The second film in the series, Jesse Stone: Night Passage before the events of the series pilot, Stone Cold. However, it is up to the viewer to place whichever order of chronology is appropriate for the Jesse Stone series.
This is the only point where you might feel conflicted because once you decide how to begin with the movies and series, you are pretty much set. The rest of the journey is smooth sailing.
If you want to watch Jesse Stone movies in order, you can try the following chronology.
Jesse Stone: Night Passage(2006)
After leaving his position in the LAPD due to alcohol problems, homicide detective Jesse Stone (Selleck) takes the only option he has at employment- a police chief of Paradise, Massachusetts. Stone has his loyal hound, Boomer, at his side to get him through his days. He also talks to his ex-wife regularly on the phone.
It isn’t long before Stone and his new colleagues, Luther Simpson (Kohl Suddoth), Molly Crane (Viola Davis), and Anthony D’angelo (Vito Rezza), start investigating the murder of a police official. Stone and Abby Taylor (Polly Shannon) begin getting involved (mostly physically) due to various reasons (Stone has issues).
Boomer, the dog, does not last too long as Stone puts his closest friend to sleep. This is not the last time he loses a loved one in the series, either. Viola Davies plays a background role in Stone’s life. The story is, simply put, about a loner cop who takes the law into his own hands sometimes, and women find it outlaws and attractive, against their better judgment, of course.
Stone Cold (2005)
Random serial murders are sweeping through Paradise. It has left the residents afraid, and Police Chief Stone is busier than he has been for some time.
Stone adopts a victim’s homeless golden retriever, Reggie, while investigating the first killing with Simpson. Along with the murders, Stone and Crane (Davis) also investigate the high school girl’s rape.
The serial killer trope has been a TV cop favorite, but Stone Cold does not inject too many torture or extended killing scenes into the series. Instead, the murders happen by surprise gunshots in the chest.
This is also the last time we hear Sylvia Villagran voicing his ex-wife, Jenn. Gil Anderson takes over from the rest of the franchise.
Jesse Stone: Death In Paradise (2006)
Stone begins to visit a psychiatrist, Dr. Dix (William Devane), as suggested by his ex-wife.
He also becomes busy with the murder of a teen girl whose body was found floating in a lake and a repeat domestic violence offender.
The safety of one of his teammates is also threatened, which leads him to rethink his life choices.
The first two movies are set to establish and reestablish the world of Stone. The third film gets to business. It features many police work, with new (recurring) characters such as Dr. Dix and Sister Mary John.
Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007)
With Luther still in a coma after being shot in the previous film and Crane leaving the police force to focus on family, Jesse finds himself without his support system. His work pace is going slow, too, which leaves Jesse with more time to drink and stay low with Reggie. He tends to an alleged rape of a teenager by an older man on his yacht. Jesse starts looking into a cold case involving a dead bank teller and the missing money. It makes him the target of the mafia.
The title is justified, given the number of changes Jesse and his viewers undergo. Viola Davies bids goodbye to the show. Luther gets back from the coma with a fresh cop-ly intuition. Kathy Baker joins the cast as Rose Gammon, Molly’s replacement. William Sandler also debuts as Gino Fish, who plays the character from here on out. Despite the low-stakes plot and added changes, this Jesse Stone movie is the only one to get Selleck an Emmy nomination.
Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (2009)
Jesse’s long-time friend, Captain Healy, is nearly killed in a shooting, and Stone is hell-bent on uncovering the perpetrator. The local town council advises him to take a break from his hounding, but he ignores it obviously. The tragic case of the deceased baby, who is not as dead as people think, also puts Stone at his wit’s end.
Selleck also gets writing credit for the series after his first writing in Death in Paradise. The plot continues with Deputy D’Angelo no longer being around, and Stone sleeps with the Internal Affairs investigator who is responsible for probing his actions.
Jesse Stone: No Remorse (2010)
Stone spends his days drinking ever since he was suspended in the last movie. Captain Healy, who is still recovering from the shooting, puts Stone’s name as a consultant for solving the series of murders with ties to the mafia and Gino Fish. Stone keeps Luther and Rose in the loop despite his suspension and orders to avoid contact.
Suspended or not, Stone will solve crimes nonetheless. Stone comes to terms with his relationship with Reggie. He insists that the dog isn’t his in spite of it being 5 years since he took him in. The dog and his owner have come close over time.
Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011)
Since being replaced as Chief of Police, Stone stayed busy with independent investigator work. His former colleagues are busy adjusting to a brash new Chief who has been a nepotism hire. Stone can’t help but come across murders that require solving. A former arrest of Stone re-enters his life in the most unexpected way.
At some point, Selleck started investing his own money into the movies, which had become his passion project by then. The movies had gotten too expensive for CBS. The movies may look inexpensive, but the salaries of each of the workers on set built up the number.
Jesse Stone: Benefit Of The Doubt (2012)
Stone is put back into the position of Police Chief. It is temporary, but he can help solve the murders of the previous Chief and Deputy D’Angelo. Working on a case is what makes Stone thrive, and he is resolved that this is one part of his work he can’t take lightly, chief or not chief. Luther and Rose find new employment because Stone’s replacement did not prove worthy. They are no longer involved in the proceedings. With or without allies, Stone is resolved to get to the bottom of the alleged dirty cop dealings that got the previous chief to end up dead.
This series has always been deferential to the police, but this installment insists that they always deserve the benefit of the doubt before they are presumed guilty (even if the evidence suggests guilt). This theory could rub many the wrong way. There are, although, many trustworthy movie cops who earn the privilege of such a theory being true.
This movie is also the only movie without Jesse’s ex-wife. This is the last movie that aired on CBS, as the production house could not bear the costs of the two-hour movie business.
Jesse Stone: Lost In Paradise (2015)
A few years pass after Stone gets his job as Chief back, and he and Luther are still solving crimes, although the work is slow. Stone’s animal companion, Reggie, has passed away, making Stone even more lonely and idle. A position as an unpaid consultant on cases for past flame, Lt. Greenstreet (Leslie Hope), allows Stone to learn more about a serial killer’s victim. It unearths that she may not even have been a victim of his to begin with.
After all these years on CBS, the cost finally cracked down, and Jesse Stone’s 9th installment premiered on the Hallmark Channel. Despite losing Reggie, Stone manages to adopt another stray that needs a home, as it felt wrong to end the series any other way.
Some of the long-running characters, like Rose and Captain Healy, are not featured anywhere (leaving Selleck and Suddoth to be the only characters to have stayed throughout the franchise. Some familiar faces from past films appear right before the credits roll.
The Future Of Jesse Stone Movies
Selleck said that he was in the process of working on the tenth installment of the series, saying it would be different from the previous films, although nothing has emerged so far. Whenever another adaptation does take place, it will most probably be without Selleck.
An Express article in 2022 reported Selleck to have said,
“I’m still working on it! It isn’t the same cumulative narrative anymore. As time has passed, I’m older and the Jesse Stone audience needs to account for that. He’s at a different part of his life. That’s interesting, but that’s not the script we started to do after we finished the ninth movie. We have a deal with Hallmark Channel, but they’ve moved on to [other] shows.”
There is also the feeling that to maintain the authenticity of the storyline, a younger actor to play the 32-year-old character could help fix the accuracy issue of the movie.
Hollywood has no end to its reboots and remakes. Recasting the role could offer a better representation of the novel.
Where To Watch Jesse Stone Movies?
If you are hailing from a geo-restricted location, you can try ExpressVPN. It can help you access websites that are restricted in your region. You can also avail of the Jesse Stone movies in order on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu.
Movie Marathon Sorted!
No matter what happens to the novels and movies in the future, true fans of crime drama and police shows will always support Jesse Stone, even if he is never able to quit drinking completely.
The world had come to love checking in on Jesse, his dogs, and his world-famous mustache, which was also available for viewing on Blue Bloods.
Although authorities decided to show the films strictly on television, the franchise received a lot of love, praise, and attention. The complete silence on the producers’ end has dimmed the hopes of many who have been looking forward to a tenth installment in the series.
We hope now you know how to go about the 9 films from this much-loved franchise. If you have thoughts to share or questions regarding Jesse Stone movies in order, please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!
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