Donnie Wahlberg will reprise his role as Danny Reagan in the spinoff Boston Blue, almost a year after Blue Bloods ended its 14-year run

Donnie Wahlberg revealed that when the Blue Bloods spinoff series, Boston Blue, was pitched to him during filming, the actor was initially hesitant to take on the role and throw his character, Danny Reagan, into a whole new world. Donnie opened up about Boston Blue during a Q&A session in New York City ahead of a screening of the first episode, and shared that the series came about when two ideas “bumped into” each other. While one goal was to see Danny move to Texas, another was to follow a family in law enforcement in Boston, just like the Reagans.

“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,” he said, per People. The star added that when the series came to an end, he “didn’t believe it,” and it made him reconsider his stance on a spinoff.

“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,” he recalled.

Boston Blue will not only follow Danny’s move to a new city, but will also explore his relationship with his son, Sean, who is a police officer. “Now there’s a whole new world. It’s not only Danny with a new partner, meeting this new family,” Donnie said.

“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.” The show is set to premiere on Friday, October 17, and the first episode has the mammoth task of introducing viewers to a whole new world.

“There was a lot to get in there. There is the introduction of a new family. There’s getting Danny from New York to Boston and making sure that makes sense, and establishing new characters,” Donnie told Deadline. Danny’s new partner in the police force, Lena Silver, is portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green.

© CBS Entertainment

“To me, one of the most critical parts of it was making a believable bond between Danny and Lena. We’re planting seeds. Over the lifetime of a show, you can watch everything grow and evolve, but to make that super interesting right out of the gate, and do it in a way that sets it up going forward, was a big challenge.”

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Blue Bloods, which ran for 14 seasons and starred Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan and Will Estes, was canceled in 2024, reportedly due to budget cuts at CBS. Tom shared his frustration over the show’s cancelation with TV Insider in October 2024.

© Michael Parmelee/CBS

“I’m not going to turn into a bitter old guy saying, ‘Get off my lawn!’ I don’t believe in holding grudges,” he said. “But if you were to say to the television network, ‘Here’s a show you can program in the worst time slot you got, and it is going to guarantee you winning Friday night for the next 15 years,’ it would be almost impossible to believe.”