I Was Worried Boston Blue Would Be A Cheap Blue Bloods Knockoff, But Donnie Wahlberg’s Updates Are Encouraging

When CBS first announced Boston Blue‘s premise, I was worried that the spinoff would be little more than a cheap imitation of its parent series. Blue Bloods‘ cancelation was disappointing because of its unique focus on the Reagan family rather than merely presenting the cases of the week, and there are few family-oriented shows left on television.

Although there was a massive fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods, the procedural remained on the list of shows CBS canceled in 2025, although the network promised a spinoff. No spinoff was going to be able to replicate Blue Bloods. The announcement made it even harder to accept the loss of the original series.

Boston Blue Borrows Blue Bloods’ Central Premise But With Promising Changes

The New Spinoff Has More Diverse Representation

At first glance, it seemed as if Boston Blue was borrowing Blue Bloods’ central premise while eliminating the Reagans. Danny is the only member of Blue Bloods‘ Reagan family who is involved with the spinoff. He will be moving to Boston, where his new partner’s family is as prominent as the Reagans are in New York.

While this means that Danny will no longer be part of the central family, later information about the Blue Bloods spinoff suggests that he is not being shoehorned into a replacement series.

Donnie Wahlberg’s latest updates reveal that Danny will be moving because Sean is becoming a cop in Boston, and Erin will guest star in the first episode, so there will still be ties to the Reagans throughout the new series.

Equally importantly, the new family improves upon the original premise. While the Reagans were a strong, relatable family, there was not much diverse representation in Blue Bloods. Conversely, Boston Blue‘s Silver family is a blended, interracial family, which offers the type of representation that Blue Bloods lacked.

Donnie Wahlberg’s New Update Establishes Boston Blue’s Connections To Blue Bloods

Danny Is Not The Only Reagan Moving To Boston

One of the most significant announcements is that Sean Reagan has been recast. While this news is disappointing because Andrew Terraciano played Sean for 14 years, it also provides a strong connection between Boston Blue and Blue Bloods. Sean’s decision to pursue police work in a different city makes the central premise make more sense.

While ordinarily, Danny would never leave New York, Sean moving away provides the perfect reason. Danny wants to keep an eye on Sean as he begins his career, and the move can be seen as Danny’s branch of the family putting down roots in a new city. Further updates establish that Erin will be appearing in the first episode.

It’s not clear exactly what Erin will be doing in Boston. However, adding another Reagan to the premiere episode establishes the connection between Blue Bloods and Boston Blue. Wahlberg also teased that Baez might be part of the new show, indicating that the spinoff doesn’t plan to ignore the fact that Danny and Baez had begun dating.

This is important not just for continuity’s sake, but because Baez was a big part of Danny’s life and the fandom was split about whether they should get together. If the relationship evaporated without explanation, that would be frustrating and make the series feel like it was capitalizing on the Reagan name without respecting its stories.

Boston Blue Needs To Balance Offering Something New & Honoring Blue Bloods’ Legacy (And That Seems To Be The Plan)

Blue Bloods’ Cancelation Makes The Spinoff’s Job Harder

Boston Blue would likely have had an easier time gaining acceptance if it had premiered while Blue Bloods was still airing. This would have given the audience a chance to get used to the new series, and Danny’s absence could have been part of Blue Bloods‘ final season.

The Blue Bloods spinoff wasn’t developed until several months after its parent series had gone off the air. At this point, audiences who loved Blue Bloods were heartbroken and angry at CBS, which made any spinoff riskier. If audiences feel they’re being given a cheap replacement, they’ll refuse to watch.

Fortunately, Boston Blue doesn’t appear to have this problem. While the new series’ premise is similar to the original idea, it is different and unique enough to stand on its own. It will be fascinating to see how Danny adjusts to being the partner of a member of a prominent police family instead of the son of the police commissioner.

Boston Blue will be able to tell different types of stories because an interracial police family in Boston will have different experiences than the Reagan family did in New York.

However, it is important for there to be enough callbacks to the Reagans to make the new series appeal to fans of the original. So far, Wahlberg’s updates suggest the series is aware of this and is striking the right balance.

As the premiere date gets closer, Boston Blue will likely release more information. It would be unsurprising if more Reagans weren’t involved, at least on a recurring basis. While CBS can’t afford to pay for every original cast member to appear regularly, well-timed guest appearances should make it clear that this series is a spinoff of Blue Bloods.

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