The spinoff confirmed a romance between Maria and Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan during its premiere episode

Marisa Ramirez’s Det. Maria Baez made a surprise appearance in the Boston Blue premiere, but it isn’t the last fans will be seeing of the character.

In the second episode of the Blue Bloods spinoff, which aired on Friday, Oct. 24, Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan decides to cement his decision to stay in Boston to be there for his son, Boston PD’s Sean (Mika Amonsen). The episode wraps with the pair having a powerful chat about Danny’s choice. It’s a difficult decision for the New Yorker, and one that means his relationship with Maria would likely have to go long distance — just one episode after Boston Blue revealed the pair apparently sparked a romance following the events of Blue Bloods.

As Danny told Sean at the end of the episode, he and Maria will “figure it out,” and the wider Reagan family “understands” the choice for him to be closer to his son.

So with Danny now plotting his relocation to Beantown and Maria still back home, what does that mean for the former NYPD partners? Boston Blue‘s showrunners told TVLine that fans should get used to seeing Maria in the series still, with Brandon Margolis encouraging viewers to “tune in” to the next episode.

“Baez will return — multiple times in the first season — and it’s a story we’re going to tell,” he said. “The struggle of moving to a new place and what you leave behind is front and center, and that includes the relationship with Baez, which continues for multiple episodes this season.”

When asked if the character will be seen in episode three, co-creator Brandon Sonnier laughed and said he wasn’t “sure we’re allowed to say that.”

Margolis added, “I’d stick around till the end.”

As for what’s in store for the wider Reagan family following Danny’s latest revelation, Margolis also told TVLine that Boston Blue was “open to having as many Reagans as we can find come to this table — and vice versa.” Of course, the show has already featured Danny’s sister Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) making her return, while Amonsen took over the role of Sean Reagan from Blue Bloods alum Andrew Terraciano.

“We’re blessed that the Blue Bloods universe has so many rich characters to draw from, so there are a lot of opportunities,” Margolis added of other potential returnees. “That’s about all I’m allowed to say.”

Boston Blue follows Danny as he he navigates a new city following an unfortunate family accident — while meeting a new law-enforcement family to break bread with at the dinner table. After teaming up with Sonequa Martin-Green’s Det. Lena Silver to figure out what happened with his son Sean in the premiere, Danny eventually decides to stick around in Boston with what she calls her “one big happy, kind of confusing family.”

Margolis told Variety of the show’s romance between Danny and Maria that continuing the storyline meant looking at “what was owed” after the conclusion of Blue Bloods — including “what happened when they went out for pizza.” The series, which ran from 2010 to 2024, ended with Danny and Maria’s future up in the air after he invited his long-time partner to grab a pizza at the end of the final season.

“We really did want to feel like this show is continuing that story in fairly real time,” Margolis said. “It’s going to be about a year since the finale was off the air, so if Danny and Baez were together, where are they at, and what would that look like? How could that potentially complicate a journey going from New York to Boston?”

He added, “It was important to us we pay service to that and continue to establish that relationship.”