Danny Reagan’s move to Boston brought more than a new badge — it brought a dinner table with its own traditions and a few behind-the-scenes surprises.
“You need faith, family and tradition,” BOSTON BLUE star and executive producer Donnie Wahlberg told Deadline. From a very different destination for Danny to the food on the cast’s plates, here are 11 things you might not know about the BLUE BLOODS spinoff.
- Boston wasn’t Wahlberg’s only idea for Danny’s next chapter: he considered Texas, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. At a premiere screening Q&A covered by Woman’s World, he described wanting to push the familiar detective outside his comfort zone—even onto a horse.“I had this idea, maybe Danny goes to Texas and he’s a fish out of water,” Wahlberg said.
- The original pitch didn’t feature Danny Reagan at all. Cocreators and coshowrunners Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis initially envisioned a Los Angeles detective heading to Boston to find his estranged son, also a cop. CBS suggested making that detective Danny, turning the idea into a continuation of the Reagan story.
- The Silver family draws on Sonnier’s own home life, not just the Reagans’ example. He told the Television Academy that his family includes his Jewish wife and their mixed-race children, whom they are raising Jewish. Those experiences helped shape the new family’s dinner-table conversations.
- Lena’s first name has a personal connection to the show’s creator: Wahlberg revealed that the writers named her after Sonnier’s daughter. Actress Sonequa Martin-Green plays Detective Lena Silver, making that small family detail part of the series every time someone calls Danny’s partner by name.
- The Silvers’ weekly dinner is a Friday-night Shabbat meal, rather than the Reagans’ Sunday gathering. The family also includes a Christian influence through actor Ernie Hudson’s Reverend Edwin Peters, a Baptist pastor, as Martin-Green explained to Deadline. That gives Danny a familiar ritual in an unfamiliar household.
- The cast actually eats during the dinner scenes. Those plates aren’t merely something to gesture toward while delivering dialogue; Martin-Green said the actors believe they should eat when there’s food in front of them.“What’s funny is that we all eat for real,” she said.
- Much of the first season’s production took place in Toronto, despite the Boston setting. Margolis told PopCulture.com that the team also traveled to Boston for recognizable locations and city shots. The result combines Canadian production facilities with the real city Danny now calls home.
- Wahlberg wore a Mets jersey at Fenway Park during an actual Red Sox game for the show. Danny’s New York loyalties won that wardrobe decision, even with Boston native Wahlberg wearing the shirt. Between takes, the actor posed for photos and hugged fans, Margolis recalled.
- The Dunkin’ behind Sean and Jonah in the premiere’s opening scene was deliberate. Sonnier confirmed to TVLine that the location scouts looked for that detail, giving the scene a little extra Boston flavor.“And, man, Dunkin’ is just part of Boston,” he said.
- The theme reworks the BLUE BLOODS theme, keeping a musical connection between the two shows. Sonnier told TVLine that the choice honored the earlier series while giving BOSTON BLUE room to establish its own identity.“It feels like home,” he said.
- Danny and Lena’s partnership reflects the creators’ own working relationship. Margolis said he and Sonnier come from different backgrounds but look for common ground, just as their detectives do. Rather than building an oil-and-water pairing, they emphasized shared duty and a desire for justice.
Related: BOSTON BLUE Returns for Season 2 This Fall—Here’s What to Expect
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