As Reagan relocates from New York to Boston and meets his new Boston PD colleagues, he butts heads with his new partner, the eldest child in a proud family of Boston cops who know much more about the city and its criminals than Reagan does. Between the premise, casting, development, and potential release date, it’s high time to pull out the magnifying glass and inspect all there is to know about Boston Blue thus far.
‘Boston Blue’s Premise & Development
Boston Blue did not begin as a conceived Blue Bloods spin-off. According to Deadline, a project titled Jamaica Plain was pitched by writers Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier, named after the Boston neighborhood. The premise involved an LAPD officer transferring to BPD and the ensuing culture clash.
For Danny, who spent years in New York with the comfort of his blood kin as his co-workers, the brash Boston native will witness how Lena operates within her family of lifelong law enforcers. The shoe is on the other foot for Danny, a clear focus of Boston Blue‘s narrative. With far less agency than he had back home, navigating the new BPD and its geopolitical machinations will further complicate Danny’s transfer.
In Blue Bloods‘ finale, Danny worked up the nerve to ask Maria Baez out for pizza, something his grandfather had urged since the death of Danny’s wife in Season 8. Without trafficking in too much conjecture, Maria may venture to Beantown to be close to Danny in Boston Blue.
Discussing Danny’s arc moving forward, Wahlberg told Entertainment Weekly:
“I would say I would have Danny Reagan walk right into his next chapter of his life, maybe in a different place doing a similar job and perhaps with someone from the current cast.
But I want him to not be too far from the family so that he could still see them and spend time with them, but maybe to see what life has in store for him now that his boys have gone off and he’s empty nesting and his wife’s gone. Maybe he can see what the future holds for him on his own. As long as he can visit the family sometimes. Does that sound like a tease for a spinoff?”
Visiting family is a priority for Wahlberg, begging the question of which Blue Bloods characters will return for Boston Blue.
‘Boston Blue’ Casting & Release Details
Boston Blue is shaping up to be quite the spinoff, as the series has cast five new characters to join Danny Reagan as he attempts to keep the streets of Boston safe. The Walking Dead alum Sonequa Martin-Green will be co-leading the drama as the city’s “rising star,” Lena Silver, Danny’s new partner in the BPD and the eldest child of Boston’s district attorney, Mae Silver; ER staple Gloria Reuben will be taking on the role of matriarch Mae.
Maggie Lawson portrayed Detective Juliet “Jules” O’Hara in the fan-favorite comedy Psych and is returning to her law enforcement roots by playing Lena’s Superintendent step-sister Sarah, while Black-ish‘s Marcus Scribner will be assuming the role of the youngest Silver sibling, Jonah, a rookie patrol cop. Finally, Hollywood veteran Ernie Hudson will be appearing as Reverend Peters, Mae’s father, and the open-minded patriarch and a respected pastor of a historic Baptist church in Boston. Hudson will reunite with Lawson after sharing the screen in the second season of Psych.
As for Maria Baez, actress Marisa Ramirez beamed about the chance to reprise the role, stating:
“[I] would love to continue giving life to Maria [Baez] for another 15 years…I would never turn down something like that. It would be a blessing, which I would accept with open arms.”
Meanwhile, Vanessa Ray and Steve Schirripa have voiced their desire to reprise their characters in Boston Blue, but nothing has been made official.
