The announcement of a Blue Bloods “universe expansion” that transplants Danny Reagan to Boston instantly raised a lot of questions — above and beyond, “Will Danny pahk his cah in Hahvahd Yahd?”
Ordered to series by CBS on Feb. 18 and on track to debut during the 2025-26 TV season, Boston Blue, as the spinoff is tentatively titled, finds Blue Bloods vet Donnie Wahlberg’s Detective Danny Reagan taking a position with the Boston PD. There, he will be partnered with Detective Lena Peters, the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family.
Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis (both of The Blacklist and L.A.’s Finest, as well as Alert: MPU) will serve as showrunners on the series — which as originally conceived, transplanted an LAPD cop to Boston — and executive-produce it alongside Wahlberg, Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed.
What does Danny’s big move mean for the outcome of his series-ending pizza date with Baez? Will Boston Blue be the rare scripted series to actually film in Boston? Those are among the many questions we have below. Review our queries, and weigh in/chime in with your own!
Why Would Danny Leave New York — and His Family — for Boston?
Why Would Danny Leave New York — and His Family — for Boston?
Perhaps the biggest nut that Boston Blue has to crack is explaining to us — nay, convincing us — why Detective Danny Reagan, who’s about a New York as you can get, would uproot himself after decades to pursue a job with the Boston PD. Especially if it’s only a lateral move (to be partnered with Lena Peters), and not in the name of a promotion.
Will it be one of those things where a cherished, never-before-mentioned friend or buddy from the Marines dies in the line of duty in Boston, and Danny feels compelled to take the guy’s place?
Will it be one of those things where a cherished, never-before-mentioned friend or buddy from the Marines dies in the line of duty in Boston, and Danny feels compelled to take the guy’s place?
Will it be in the name of a good ol’ “multi-jurisdictional task force”?
Or is Danny (gulp) putting a yet-to-be-revealed tragedy back in the Big Apple behind him?
Plus, Danny would not only be bidding New York adieu, but also his family — which was famously intact and near-bulletproof across 14 seasons of Blue Bloods.
He’s gotta have a damn compelling reason to move to Boston.
Did Things Not Work Out With Baez?
Did Things Not Work Out With Baez?
When last we tuned into Blue Bloods, Danny — nudged along by advice from Pops (Lou Cariou) — had invited longtime partner Maria Baez (played by Marisa Ramirez) to (a casual) dinner.
“Do you want to get a pizza?”
It was a fleeting but incredibly meaningful moment, capping years of increasingly warm bonding between the partners. Baez’s reaction, a knowing and distinctly affectionate smile, seemed to affirm that this “pizza” date was the onset of something more, or at least could be.
Will This Show Actually Film in Boston?
Will This Show Actually Film in Boston?
“Of course it will!” you may say.
Ehhh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Hell, it might not even film in New England.
Fact is, precious few scripted TV series have ever filmed in Boston, with Robert Urich’s mid-1980s crime drama, Spenser: For Hire, being one of the exceptions. ABC’ A Million Little Things (see photo above) was famously set in Boston, however devoid as it was of any accents, but filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Even Blue Bloods patriarch Tom Selleck’s Massachusetts-based Jesse Stone TV movies were filmed in Nova Scotia.
I doubt that Wahlberg, with all he has going on, signed on for a series that’d film up in Canada. Plus, his Emmy-nominated reality series, A&E’s Wahlburgers, did shoot in Boston, where Wahlberg and his siblings all hail from. It’s not unprecedented that a network drama would set up shop in Beantown, but maybe it was a dealbreaker.
What Will Detective Lena Peters Be Like? (And Will She Have a Boston Accent?)
Danny Reagan’s partners at the NYPD included Detective Jackie Curatola (played by Jennifer Esposito), Detective Kate Lansing (played for a hot minute by Megan Ketch) and Detective Maria Baez (played from 2013-2024 by Marisa Ramirez).
At this very early stage (Boston Blue was only announced in Feb. 18), little is known about Danny’s next partner, Lena Peters, other than she is 1) a detective with the Boston PD and 2) “the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family” — akin to how Danny is the eldest son of a prominent law enforcement family.
As a member of a well-entrenched Boston family, will Lena rock one of TV’s all-too-rare Boston accents? And if so, is the role Sonya Cassidy’s to lose? (That reference will make sense once Reacher Season 3 starts streaming.)
No other character details for Detective Lena Peters have been shared yet, nor has the role been cast, but you can count on TVLine to keep you apprised of each and every development in this offshoot of the well-watched Blue Bloods.
Will Other Blue Bloods Characters Appear?
Will Other Blue Bloods Characters Appear?
Short of a Season 15 they will never get, many Blue Bloods fans surely will welcome a spinoff universe expansion that allows for other members of the Reagan clan to pay Danny a visit up in Boston, which is not even a four-hour drive from New York (depending on big a brat I-95 wants to be on any given day).
Obviously, Boston Blue will want to stand on its own at first, but you just know that the occasional Blue Bloods character cameo will get promoted.
Will Boston Blue Claim Blue Bloods’ Old Time Slot?
Will Boston Blue Claim Blue Bloods’ Old Time Slot?
First of all, CBS has a lot of inventory to make room for next TV season, with anywhere from four to five new spinoffs alone bidding for a slot.
One scheduling scenario pitched by TVLine senior editor Ryan Schwartz would pair Fire Country and its own, Morena Baccarin-led spinoff, Sheriff Country, on Friday nights, leading into Boston Blue at 10/9c. S.W.A.T. is in turn held for midseason, provided it ekes out another renewal after dodging cancellation twice.
Regardless, slotting a Blue Bloods spinoff in the same Friday closer spot where the original drama steadily delivered the night’s biggest audience, week in, week out, seems the smart play.
Will Danny and Lena Ever Eat at Wahlburgers?
Will Danny and Lena Ever Eat at Wahlburgers?
The aforementioned A&E series, Wahlburgers, revolved around the burger chain that the Wahlberg family launched in the Greater Boston town of Hingham, Mass., and which is owned by chef Paul Wahlberg in partnership with two of his brothers, Donnie and Mark.
How many episodes will Boston Blue run before Danny and Lena grab a bite at Wahlburgers’ Hingham location?
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