From protecting the Blue Bloods legacy to keeping faith at the center of the CBS spinoff Boston Blue, Donnie Wahlberg is all about loyalty.
When Blue Bloods premiered in 2010, the actor was committed for the long haul, and he was rewarded with an equally dedicated fan base. The CBS show about the Reagans, a close-knit Irish-Catholic family in NYC law enforcement, was consistently among the network’s highest-rated.
Then, in 2024 after 14 seasons, it was abruptly canceled.
“I can assure every viewer out there that nobody was more disappointed than me. Nobody cried more than me. Nobody’s heart was broken more than mine,” Wahlberg, 56, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “I fought tooth and nail to save Blue Bloods. I did everything I could.”
He dreamed of a spinoff for his cop character, Danny Reagan, but never expected it to happen:
“I used to throw the idea around of Danny going somewhere totally different, far away,” he says.
Enter Boston Blue, which premiered in October 2025 and follows Danny to Wahlberg’s real-life hometown, where he relocates to look after son Sean (Mika Amonsen). The show is back post–winter break on Friday, February 27, and has already been renewed for season 2.
Wahlberg talks to Us about preserving the Blue Bloods legacy, what the series has in store and why skeptical longtime fans should get on board with Danny’s new life up north.
Was joining Boston Blue an easy yes?
I had to go through the process of saying goodbye to our crew and the cast and reconciling the fact that [Blue Bloods] could now be in my rearview mirror. I had to let go of Danny Reagan and Blue Bloods. So when this came along, I had to reevaluate. It wasn’t just a snap decision.
It became an easier decision as I got to work on the pilot script with the Brandons [creators Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier]. I found ways to make it authentic to Danny, make it plausible that he would go to Boston, and find ways to really make Danny a fish out of water.
Is it hard to play a character you know so well in a new setting?
The challenges of playing Danny in a new world help me enjoy the character more. Yeah, Danny moves to Boston and they all have different accents and everyone will root against the Yankees. It’s not just a tough New York guy who moves to Boston and argues with everyone about what’s better.
It’s [about] surrendering the driver’s seat and being in the passenger seat. He’s a guest at somebody else’s table.
It always comes back to the dinner table!
He has to learn to navigate conversations more politely. The things that Danny has had to adapt to, Donnie has had to adapt to. If I embrace those challenges, it makes for a more interesting character. If I don’t, then I probably would get bored after 15 years.
Did you always know that faith would be an aspect of the show?
Faith being part of the show was important to everyone. The faith is different than Danny’s Catholic upbringing but we still get to see his upbringing and I think that’s really important too. It’s not the Reagan family sitting around the table saying grace but the fact that it’s still there — to me — is just as important. Especially when it comes to faith, it says more to me about Danny and Sean’s faith that they’re honoring the Reagan traditions even when they’re hundreds of miles away. They didn’t abandon it. They stick to it and they respect this new family’s traditions while still honoring their own. The Reagan men are continuing it now even though they’re not in New York.
You could look at it as they’re not honoring their faith as much they did in Blue Bloods. Or you could see it how I choose to see which is they’re honoring it more.
Andrew Terraciano played Sean on Blue Bloods. Mika Amonsen took over the role on Boston Blue.
It’s a very layered conversation. Andrew is a class individual. I called him before this decision was made — and spoke to him — and he was so gracious and so kind and supportive. He was willing to do whatever it took to help find the right guy. We even joked about him changing up his look and sneaking on to Boston Blue and playing a bad guy or doing something different. He was so gracious. I truly admire his class.
It was a difficult decision — certainly for me — and it’s one of the decisions that made me uncertain about doing the show. It’s like, “How do we do this with a different character?” I have to say, Mika has the same level of grace and class that Andrew showed. Mika has great respect for Andrew. He stepped into the role very mindfully and carefully and he took his time. He was very thoughtful about how he went about playing this character.
Fans had thoughts on the recasting.
People’s disappointment in the decision tells me they haven’t watched the show or they’re also disappointed that Blue Bloods is gone. I can assure every viewer out there that nobody was more disappointed than me. Nobody cried more than me. Nobody’s heart was broken more than mine. I fought tooth and nail to save Blue Bloods. I did everything I could and now we’re on to this and I’m going to fight tooth and nail for this show the same way.
If anyone hasn’t fully embraced the change of Sean, watch the midseason premiere. It is just my favorite episode so far. I admire Mika for taking on this challenge and I admire the way he’s handled it. I love his work. I think both versions of Sean off screen are two amazing individuals and I give them both a tremendous amount of credit for how they’ve handled this change.
We’ve already seen Blue Bloods cameos, like Bridget Moynahan and Marisa Ramirez. Are there more fun surprises?
It’s so much fun to get to do this with the Blue Bloods cast members. We know this show stands on the shoulders of that show. We know that and so everyone has a great respect for the original cast and the original show. There are episodes that have great meaning like with Len Cariou’s episode. Sometimes have to stop myself from crying. I have actually cried in the scene when Len a.k.a Grandpa got to meet Mae and Lena. I cried when they said cut on the scene. It’s fun to have people come back.
There are lots more ideas that we have. Hopefully at some point we will have had everyone come pay us a visit — and sometimes multiple visits. Baez has a few more episodes this season and I know people are going to be curious about how that plays out. Most people will be very happy about how it’s going to play out going forward. There’s lots of opportunities and hopefully lots of seasons to bring people back and to try things and to come up with the right ways to do it — not just rush into it and for the sake of doing it.
What about new faces, like your wife, Jenny McCarthy?
Jenny and I have discussed it. We’ve all discussed what she could possibly do on the show. What most people don’t know is she was offered a part on Blue Bloods when we first started dating for an episode and we decided it was best not to do it. We didn’t want to distract the audience with that. But going forward, we had talked about her being Sean’s nurse and then she catches Danny’s eye. But Sean didn’t stay in the hospital too long … so Jenny’s definitely game to do something.
Her and Sonequa Martin-Green have become very close so they’re talking ideas. Every time I FaceTime with Jenny, Sonequa says something like, “Come on, we you need to a part on the show. I need you here all the time.” It makes my heart so happy. But I think my nephews are also interested in playing parts. They’re actors and we have Oscar, Jeffrey and Brandon. They are all doing very well in their own right. Is there a world where I finally twist Mark [Wahlberg]‘s arm to come do an episode? Maybe. It depends on the script but anything’s possible.
That’s the joy right now of working with this group of writers. And the Brandons specifically is … I told them on Monday that I had a phone call with [the Boston Celtics’] Jaylen Brown and he said, “Get me on the show.” I told our EPs and they wrote a scene as I sat there next to them. That’s how we’re approaching this. We can’t just do anything haphazardly at any old given time. But they are so game to try things and it’s really just about making sure we’re doing it the right way and making sure we’re giving it the most value for the audience.
It is also realizing we can take our time and we don’t have to force all these things upon the audience. We can stretch it out and keep surprising them and keep having twists and turns that they didn’t expect.
You can feel the love that is poured into the show for the fans.
There are still viewers of Blue Bloods who are grappling with the fact that it’s not on the air. Trust me, I know. But I invite them to give our show a chance and see how we bring Blue Bloods into it and look for the nods and the winks and the homages and the tributes. There’s so many of them. Pay attention when Danny is on the phone to who he might be talking to. What he’s looking at in his texts? There’s always easter eggs being sprinkled throughout. To me, it’s so much fun to put them in there. Blue Bloods fans are having fun with it. The ones who are watching our show, they’re having fun with it as well.
