Boston Blue premiered with two permanent members of the Blue Bloods Reagan clan as series regulars: Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) and son, Sean Reagan (Mika Amonsen). But more cast members from the hit CBS series have shown up in guest star roles.
We learned that in the series finale of Blue Bloods, when Danny and his partner Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) went out for pizza, they finally become a romantic couple, so we saw the two of them together for a brief moment in the premiere. And then when Danny went to Boston to check on Sean’s condition after Sean was seriously injured in a fire, Danny’s sister Erin (Bridget Moynahan) wasn’t far behind, coming to check on how they both were doing.
But the big question on everyone’s mind is whether Tom Selleck, who plays Danny’s father, Commissioner Frank Reagan, will make the journey. And more importantly, how does he feel about the spinoff series?
“Of course, I spoke to Tom the minute I was deciding if this was something I was going to do. And I can’t really get into the details of those conversations, but he’s been very supportive,” Wahlberg told Parade. “I can say, would I love for Tom to come up to Boston? Sure. Or would I love Danny to go to New York and visit Frank? Absolutely, yes. Tom’s always going to base his decisions on the work and material, and so yes, of course, I’d love to work with him on the show, and when the time comes, we will hopefully craft an idea that moves his heart and makes him want to do it.”
And it isn’t just Selleck that’s been supportive, according to Wahlberg. It’s everyone he worked with on the New York-based series, even though their hearts were broken by the cancellation.
“So many [fans] were like, ‘Oh, Blue Bloods is gone. Blue Bloods is gone, we’re upset,’ That was our job, that was our life, that was my offscreen family. I got to know Tom and his wife and Bridget and her son, all these people have become part of my life and that ended, and it was very difficult for all of us. So sometimes when people are like, ‘Oh, we’re upset.’ It’s like, ‘Well, our hearts were broken, too.’”
In addition to Moynahan and Ramirez, Wahlberg says he’s been able to also work with several directors from Blue Bloods, who have come up to Toronto, where the Boston Blue stages are, and directed episodes of Boston Blue.
“Of course, we’re looking for opportunities to incorporate other Reagans and other characters from Blue Bloods in this show when the time is right,” Wahlberg adds.
That said, it was Wahlberg who was responsible for giving fans that highly anticipated moment of Danny and Maria together in her apartment in the season premiere. And she will be returning to play out that storyline to see if a long-distance relationship is possible.
“There are elements in the pilot that I worked very hard for in ways that would connect to Blue Bloods directly, that being one of them,” Wahlberg says. “In the original draft of the script, Danny gets a call, and I said, ‘Well, if it’s that time of night, where is he and what’s he doing and who’s he with?’ Everybody was like, ‘What do you mean?’ I was like, ‘Well, let’s go back and watch the finale of Blue Bloods.’ I thought it was important to answer some questions, and they will continue to be answered.”
