‘Boston Blue’ premieres on Friday, Oct. 17 on CBS and Paramount+

Donnie Wahlberg wasn’t set on continuing Danny Reagan’s story at first — but then he read the Boston Blue script.

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Blue Bloods alum appeared at a special screening and Q&A for his first episode of Boston Blue — the show’s forthcoming spinoff — when he detailed how the project came to be and why it took some convincing for him to be on board.

During the discussion, which took place in New York City alongside Boston Blue costar Sonequa Martin-Green, Wahlberg explained that the show eventually came together when two ideas “bumped into” each other: One idea about Danny moving to Texas and another about a law-enforcement family based in Boston. Ultimately, Boston Blue follows Danny as he makes the move to Boston and rubs shoulders — and shares dinner — with another law enforcement family, the Silvers.

“I think they were like, ‘Hey, instead of moving to Texas, why don’t we talk about him joining this thing and moving to Boston?’ But I really didn’t think that would ever happen anytime soon. I was just chugging along in Blue Bloods,” Wahlberg, 56, said, adding that he “didn’t believe it” when Blue Bloods came to an end.

He added, “Suddenly it was like, ‘Do I really wanna do a spinoff?’ I didn’t know. And this idea was really good. And the script was really good. I looked at it and I saw the possibilities of weaving Blue Bloods‘ world into it, and I saw a chance to play Danny in a different way.”

Wahlberg said that Danny acknowledging his son, Sean (Mika Amonsen), as a police officer also added a different dynamic. “That suddenly changed everything,” he said. “Now there’s a whole new world. It’s not only Danny with a new partner, meeting this new family.”

He continued, “It’s Danny being a dad and worrying about his son, making sure he gets home safe every day and teaching him the job, the way that his family taught him the job.”

Blue Bloods, which also starred Tom Selleck and Bridget Moynahan, premiered in 2010 and ran for 14 seasons on CBS until its 2024 finale. Its spinoff was announced in February and given a straight-to-series order by the network.

PEOPLE exclusively debuted the trailer for Boston Blue on Oct. 6, sharing a glimpse of Danny’s expanded world as he navigates a new city, fatherhood and some more crime-stopping action. The series relocates the character from New York City to Boston, pairs him with Detective Lena Silver (Martin-Green) and introduces him to her law-enforcement family.

Per a synopsis, the premiere episode of Boston Blue follows the former NYPD detective and his new partner investigating 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,” the synopsis reads.

Wahlberg wrote on Instagram back in March that he was “so excited to carry on the tradition, to share so many surprises, to answer some unanswered questions and to welcome” fans to the series.

Boston Blue premieres Friday, Oct. 17, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+ and will be available the following day to watch on-demand via Paramount+.