‘Boston Blue’s New Cast Additions Finally Fix a Long-Standing ‘Blue Bloods’ Problem

Blue Bloods‘ new spinoff series, Boston Blue, is building a terrific ensemble cast around holdover Donnie Wahlberg. So far, the diverse and high-quality actors added to the series are precisely what the series needs, as the previous show was often too focused on the Reagan family. Remember, Danny Reagan (Wahlberg) and seemingly every single relative, including Frank, Erin, Henry, Jamie, Linda, and Nicky, were part of the NYPD law enforcement family, often playing more as a domestic drama than a riveting police procedural.

With the recent additions of Gloria Reuben and Marcus Scribner, Boston Blue promises to portray a more accurate representation of the metropolitan population, better reflecting contemporary society than Blue Bloods. The fresh casting also ensures that Danny will not have his family to bail him out of trouble, as seen countless times before. This will inevitably stir up a different kind of drama for Danny to deal with as he adjusts to his new surroundings and coworkers.

Gloria Reuben Brings a Wealth of Experience to ‘Boston Blue’

Krista sits in a recliner in Mr. Robot — USA Network

Longtime movie and TV veteran Gloria Reuben has been cast in a major role in Boston Blue. She will portray Mae Silver, Boston’s District Attorney, whose family has strong ties to the city. Mae’s father, Reverend Peters (Hudson), is a pillar in Boston’s religious community, serving as a pastor in a historic Baptist church. Mae also has three children: a biological daughter named Lena (Martin-Green), a biological son named Jonah (Scribner), and a step-daughter named Sarah (Lawson).

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Reuben is a supremely talented actress who many will recognize from her twice Primetime Emmy-nominated role on ER as Jeanie Boulet, a character she portrayed for 13 years and 102 episodes. Whether playing a bit role in Steven Spielberg’s star-studded Lincoln or a recurring part in a hit sci-fi series like Mr. Robot, Reuben always delivers credible performances and lifts those around her to do the same.

Interestingly enough, Reuben played a completely different role in two episodes of Blue Bloods in 2021, portraying an ATF agent named Rachel Weber. Given her familiarity with the showrunner and Donnie Wahlberg, fans can expect Reuben to slip right into the role of Mae Silver without missing a beat.

As far as holding fictional positions of power, Reuben has excelled at playing Mayor Pamela Clayborne in Saints & Sinners and head of the Department of Scientific Intelligence, Captain Jane Hollister, in the 2022 remake of Firestarter. With commanding gravitas to hold the highest authority, Reuben has credibly played an FBI agent in The Happyface Killer, and U.S. Special Forces Commander, Col. Tannon McCarthy, in NCIS: Hawaii.

Marcus Scribner’s Role as Jonah Silver Adds More Diversity to ‘Boston Blue’

Junior wears a pink sweater in Grown-ish — Freeform

Marcus Scribner has been cast to play Mae Silver’s youngest child, Jonah Silver. Jonah is a rookie patrol officer in the Boston Police Department, furthering the family’s ties to law enforcement and the community at large. Network TV watchers will remember Scribner for his long-running role as Junior Johnson in the hit sitcom Black-ish and its popular spinoff, Grown-ish. Scribner portrayed Junior for 176 episodes between 2014 and 2022 in Black-ish, giving him immense TV experience that will pay dividends in Boston Blue.

For his excellent performance as Junior Johnson in Black-ish, Scribner won two NAACP Image Awards: one for Outstanding Performance by a Youth and another for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition to his memorable live-action performances, Scribner is a talented vocal performer who has lent his voice to various projects, including She-Ra and the Princess of Power, Dragons: The Nine Realms, and most recently, Young Jedi Adventures.

In Boston Blue, Scribner’s Jonah Silver will be part of a mixed-race family, a theme previously explored in the Black-ish franchise spinoff Mixed-ish. Reverend Peters (Hudson) is the patriarch of the blended family, with Jonah being the youngest sibling; his biological sister, Lena, is Black, and his stepsister, Sarah, is white. This is precisely the casting Boston Blue requires to accurately represent a big-city demographic.

‘Boston Blue’ Reflects a More Accurate Portion of the Populace

A still of the Reagan family in Blue Bloods — CBS

Beyond finding sublime actors to play major roles in Boston Blue, Reuben and Scribner’s addition ensures that the spinoff will represent more diverse characters than focusing on Danny Reagan’s large Irish family of law enforcement professionals. After running its course for 14 years, Blue Bloods needed to shake up its homogenous formula and reflect the real world as it is, rather than simply focusing on one person’s family and how their home life is affected by their profession.

Facing facts, Blue Blood suffered from a lack of diversity far too often, prompting Reddit threads complaining about the long-running cop show’s poor representation, unsettling racial profiling, and depiction of deep-seated systemic prejudice. Of course, the grand irony is that New York (home of Blue Bloods) is more ethnically diverse than Boston in real life. Although Reagan should feel more at home among the large Irish population in Boston, he’s the fish-out-of-water who must adjust to his new environment.

Part of Reagan’s adjustment will undoubtedly involve working outside his blood-related family and adapting to a population that looks and lives differently from what he has known all his life. Danny had benefited from having his family embedded within the police community in Blue Bloods. In Boston Blue, the shoe is on the other foot. It’s Mae Silver who has her family members appointed to powerful positions of authority, with Danny now in an unfamiliar and vulnerable position as he learns the protocols of his new police department.

Frankly, that’s exactly the kind of change needed to keep Boston Blue credible, relevant, and more realistic. Far too long has Blue Bloods skated on its unbalanced power dynamics, pretending to be a show about family when it baldly perpetuated racial stereotypes and advanced what Slate Magazine criticized as “White-Privilege Lullaby,” easing white guilt by minimizing and marginalizing institutional prejudices within the police community.

With Reuben playing Boston DA Mae Silver, Boston Blue rightly strives for a more accurate representation of the city in 2025. For example, Boston’s Attorney General, Andrea Campbell, is a highly accomplished Black woman, reflecting the kind of leadership the city embraces today. With Reuben playing D.A. Silver and Scribner playing her son and newbie officer Jonah, Boston Blue‘s casting is far more reflective of modern-day society. Blue Bloods is available to stream on Paramount+.

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