Boston Blue has revealed the first photos from the Blue Bloods spinoff, including the first look at Bridget Moynahan reprising her role as Erin Reagan with Donnie Wahlberg‘s Danny Reagan in the series premiere. And while the photos share similarities to the look of its predecessor, there’s a much different tone to the look of Boston Blue than fans may have expected.
TV Insider revealed the first photos of Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green in Boston Blue on the morning of Monday, August 25. CBS shared more new photos from the series later in the day. See Danny and Erin Reagan back together in the photo above, along with Martin-Green’s Detective Lena Silver, and get a first look at the Silver family in more episodic images below.
Here’s the official storyline for the Boston Blue pilot: “NYPD detective Danny Reagan teams up with Boston detective Lena Silver to investigate a deadly fire at a tech company. As they dig deeper, they uncover a complex web of secrets involving facial recognition technology, family ties, and a search for justice that brings the Silver and Reagan families closer together.”
Wahlberg will reprise his role as Danny Reagan in Boston Blue alongside Martin-Green as Detective Lena Silver. Gloria Reuben, Ernie Hudson, Black-ish alum Marcus Scribner, Mika Amonsen, and Maggie Lawson also star.
Here’s everything there is to know about Boston Blue so far.
When does Boston Blue premiere?
Boston Blue will air during Blue Bloods‘ former time slot starting on Friday, October 17, at 10/9c on CBS. Next-day streaming will be available on Paramount+.
What is Boston Blue about?
Boston Blue stars Wahlberg as he reprises his role as NYPD Detective Danny Reagan. In this new series, Danny takes a position with the Boston Police Department and is paired with Detective Lena Silver (Martin-Green), the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family. The Silver family is comprised of Boston District Attorney Mae Silver (Reuben), Boston PD Detective Lena Silver, Police Superintendent Sarah Silver (Lawson), rookie cop Jonah Silver (Scribner), and renowned Baptist pastor Reverend Edwin Peters (Hudson). As Danny settles into his new city, he also hopes to reconnect with his younger son, Sean (Amonsen), who is beginning his own career in Boston.
Who is in the Boston Blue cast?
Wahlberg — who is also an executive producer on the series — was the first star announced. Martin-Green was the second.
Wahlberg said in a statement on May 7 that when it came to Detective Silver’s casting, Martin-Green was “not the first choice — the only choice.” His statement also implies that new Reagan family members from Boston are going to be prominent in this new series.
“One thing about Blue Bloods and how beloved it was is because there are so many law enforcement families in this country. There’s not just the Reagans,” Wahlberg said, per Variety. “They’re in every state, every city, every town, everywhere, and there are other families around that have stories to tell too. Danny’s story will continue the Reagan family. You can’t have Danny without Reagans — there’ll be connective tissue. But we’re also going to get to discover a new family and carry on the tradition of telling their stories.”
Martin-Green said that the Silver family will be featured as well. She said: “We love the Reagans. We have all loved the Reagans for so long. And I feel that we’ll love the [Silvers] too. I’m super excited for this partnership, and to be back in a CBS family — and in this family, your family. It means a lot, and I’m grateful for it. I think we’re going to have a good time.”
Ernie Hudson’s casting as the Silver family patriarch, Reverend Peters, a renowned pastor of an historic Baptist church in Boston, was revealed on May 16 (via Deadline). He’s described as “an open-minded, welcoming man that is comfortable in all traditions [who] is happy to preside at his church’s traditional Sunday Baptist service. Reverend Peters is the father of Mae Silver, Boston’s District Attorney, and grandfather of Det. Lena Silver (Martin-Green), Superintendent Ashley Silver, and rookie patrol cop, Isaac Silver.”
Deadline, on June 2, also reported that Maggie Lawson will star in the series as Sarah Silver, the Boston Police Department’s superintendent who is also Lena and Jonah’s stepsister.
Gloria Reuben, who previously appeared as an ATF agent in two episodes of Blue Bloods, is set to star in the series regular role of “Mae Silver, Boston’s District Attorney and the matriarch of a blended family of law enforcement professionals,” according to Deadline. “The widow of a judge who was murdered on the courthouse steps, Mae endeavors to put family ahead of work whenever possible. Her daughter Lena is a Boston Police Department Detective, and her stepdaughter Sarah is the Police Superintendent. Her son Jonah is a rookie cop; her father is Reverend Peters. Mae is accustomed to making decisions and standing by them.”
Marcus Scribner plays Jonah Silver. “Jonah is the youngest member of the Silver family and is in law enforcement like his mother and sisters — each of whom are formidable in their own ways,” Jonah’s character description reads, per Variety. “Always the cool kid growing up, Jonah carries himself with confidence and swagger in all situations, so he’s naturally frustrated at being a rookie cop on the sidelines of the city’s biggest investigations.”
Is Maria Baez in Boston Blue?
Baez is not a confirmed character for Boston Blue as of the time of publication, but Wahlberg hinted at the possibility of Baez appearing along with other Blue Bloods stars.
After years of fans thinking there was a romantic spark between partners Danny and Baez, Danny finally asked Baez out in the series finale. He was making good on a promise to his grandfather, Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), who wanted to see his widowed grandson find love again. Wahlberg himself advocated for this romantic ending for Danny and Baez.
“I think that was a lot of me really pushing,” Wahlberg told Variety following the series finale. “I pushed a lot for some closure with that. I went to [writer] Siobhan O’Connor, and I was like, ‘Listen, you’ve got to do something. They don’t need to go get married, but something would be nice, just to show that there may be a future for them, or that their relationship has really evolved.’”
Boston Blue is produced by CBS Studios in association with JBTV. Sonnier and Margolis will showrun and executive produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, KristieAnne Reed, and Wahlberg will also serve as executive producers.
Sonnier and Margolis hail from The Blacklist and S.W.A.T. They started in the NBC Writers on the Verge program (now NBCU LAUNCH). After five seasons on The Blacklist, they developed and showran L.A.’s Finest, the Sony and JBTV-produced Bad Boys spinoff starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, which ran for two seasons on Spectrum before subsequent successful runs on Fox and Netflix. “The Brandons” are currently executive producers on the upcoming third season of Fox’s missing persons procedural Alert: Missing Persons Unit.
