‘Blue Bloods’ Spin-Off Calls for Backup as Donnie Wahlberg Series Adds ‘ER’ Favorite

There are a few things a spin-off can do to make the series as popular as the original show. One of those things is adding stellar talent to its cast, which includes fan-favorite actors from some of the most popular shows in television history. Blue Bloods‘ spin-off, Boston Blue, is going this route by adding an ER favorite to its cast. Gloria Reuben is the latest to join Boston Blue‘s growing cast, which is expected to premiere on CBS this fall starring Donnie Wahlberg, Ernie Hudson, Sonequa Martin-Green, Maggie Lawson, and more. The final episode of the original series aired on Dec. 13, 2024, and news of the spin-off was revealed on Feb. 18, 2025.

According to Variety, Gloria Reuben will portray a Boston district attorney named Mae Silver. The character’s description reads: “The widow of a judge who was murdered on the courthouse steps, Mae is the matriarch of a blended family of law enforcement professionals: her daughter Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green) is a Boston Police Department detective, and her stepdaughter Sarah (Maggie Lawson) is the police superintendent. Her son, Jonah, is a rookie cop. Mae is accustomed to making decisions and standing by them.” In the upcoming series, Wahlberg reprises his role as Danny Reagan. He takes a new position at the Boston Police Department and is partnered with Martin-Green’s character, the eldest daughter of a highly respectable and notable police family in the city.

Reuben’s television credits include Elsbeth (2024) as Claudia Payne, The Equalizer as Trish, Falling Skies as Marina Peralta, and more, but her most notable part came as Jeanie Boulet in the popular 1994 medical drama ER. She earned two Emmy nominations back-to-back (1997,1998) for her performance. ER follows a fictionalized version of the real Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. In the series, it’s named Cook County General Hospital and viewers see the inner life of the emergency room, and the ethical and personal issues faced by the department’s physicians, nurses, and staff.

The series also starred George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross, Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene, Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis, Noah Wyle as medical student John Carter, and Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton. Reuben loved her character and revealed to TV Insider that real ER doctors were on set every day. “Actual ER doctors were on set every day. We had the real people there, [to say something] if we were handing something over that we shouldn’t be in one of the emergency rooms or saying a medicine wrong or whatever it may be. Everything technically was right. It was as if you were walking into an actual ER. There was groundbreaking camera work, no question about it, for sure.”

Gloria Reuben Appeared on Two Episodes of ‘Blue Bloods’ in 2021

Although Reuben is the newest cast member of Boston Blue, she isn’t a stranger to the Blue Bloods universe. In 2021, the actress appeared in two episodes of the series as ATF Agent Rachel Weber. In Season 11, her character appeared in the popular episode “The End.” The plot reads: “Shockwaves ripple through the Reagan family when Danny discovers that their newest family member, Joe Hill, is working undercover for the ATF to bring down a gunrunning organization.”