The showrunners behind the Blue Bloods spinoff Boston Blue shed more light on what’s going on with Danny Reagan’s (Donnie Wahlberg) other son, Jack.
In an interview with TVLine, co-creator Brandon Sonnier explained why they brought Jack up in the episode. He explained that it wasn’t just a random afterthought. It was actually very deliberate. He wanted to make sure that the audience was aware that Danny had another child. He also wanted to reassure fans of the flagship show that he had not forgotten about him either. Sonnier added that he wanted the character to stay relevant in the franchise.
He also mentioned that there was a solid reason why he placed Jack in Africa instead of somewhere closer to his family. The creator explained that a big plot point in Boston Blue is the relationship between Danny and Sean (Mika Amonsen). He stated that he wanted to make sure that they could focus on their story without making Wahlberg’s character seem like he was playing favorites with his own children.
We really try to keep track of where the rest of the family is within the “Blue Bloods” universe, because we are an expansion of that world. It’s a big deal that Jack is overseas and that he’s in medical school.
We never want to lose sight of the fact that Danny has two sons. Part of placing Jack so far away was logistical — it gives Danny the space to fully focus on Sean right now, because there’s not a lot he can do for Jack. Jack’s doing fine. He’s thriving. This family has a duty to serve, a calling to service, and this felt like a way for Jack to follow that calling — while being far enough away, for now, to serve the story we’re telling.
When asked about whether Jack would make an appearance in Boston Blue, the show’s other creator, Brandon Margolis, said that they currently had no plans to bring him in. However, he didn’t completely shut down the idea of having the character show up somewhere down the line. Margolis stated that if it made sense for any future storylines, he would be more than happy to have Jack return. He did reveal that more members of the Reagan family will make appearances in the spinoff.
We can say there will be more Reagans appearing in the back half of the season. It won’t be Jack. We love the idea, and we’re open to it if it makes sense storytelling-wise. We’re never closing the door on any of the Reagans or any possibility of bringing pieces from the larger universe into our bubble in Boston.
Sonnier chimed in and said that they wanted to focus on establishing the Silvers, the family of Danny’s new partner, Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), before adding any more characters into the mix. He also stated that he didn’t want to give away any spoilers, but he teased that audiences would see members of the Reagan family who haven’t appeared on the show yet.
We really wanted to establish the Silvers first. But now, especially coming out of the midseason finale, we’re fully embracing the Reagans as part of the larger Silver family. I don’t know that we should say which Reagans are coming, but there will be more — including some you haven’t seen on the show yet. And there are other branches of this family tree we’re excited to explore.
The first half of Boston Blue season 1 is available to stream on Paramount+. The show will return in February 2026.
