BOSTON BLUE star and executive producer Donnie Wahlberg wants actor Tom Selleck back as Frank Reagan, but he said their reunion needs a story worthy of his television father.
“It’s going to require the most thoughtful, elegant episode that the Brandons [co-creators Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis] and I can pull together,” Wahlberg told PEOPLE.
That is a higher bar than finding an opening in the guest-star schedule. Wahlberg said Selleck cares deeply about his work, the original show’s legacy and the character he played across 14 seasons of BLUE BLOODS.
“He takes Frank Reagan seriously,” Wahlberg said, explaining why a return would need more than the chance to see an old friend.
For fans hoping to see Frank and Danny Reagan together again, the comments offer encouragement, but not a confirmed casting announcement.
“…when the time is right, we will, hopefully, have something exceptional enough for him,” Wahlberg said.
Related: Donnie Wahlberg Recalls Meeting ‘Dad’ Tom Selleck on BLUE BLOODS
His affection for his former costar comes through just as clearly as his respect for that standard. Wahlberg told PEOPLE he learned a great deal from Selleck, misses him and wants him on the spinoff at some point, while describing him as a perfectionist on set.
BOSTON BLUE has given Danny a different city and a new police partner without cutting him off from the family viewers already know. CBS’ second-season series description pairs him with Detective Lena Silver, played by actress Sonequa Martin-Green, whose relatives span several generations of law enforcement and include a Baptist pastor.
Danny’s son Sean also works in Boston policing, so the new setting still puts fatherhood alongside the cases. A visit from Frank would bring Danny’s own father into that changing family picture, though Wahlberg has not outlined what their story would involve.
There is a concrete Reagan reunion coming sooner for viewers to put on the calendar. Actor Will Estes will reprise Danny’s brother Jamie in the Nov. 6 episode, TVLine reported, alongside first-look photos.
Jamie’s visit draws the brothers into a diamond heist connected to a violent family feud, with tensions of their own to confront. That gives the reunion a case to solve and a relationship to explore, rather than simply a familiar face stopping by.
“That willingness for the old cast to come and be part of the new cast is wonderful,” Wahlberg told Entertainment Weekly about the returning BLUE BLOODS performers.
For Selleck, the invitation remains a hope Wahlberg wants to turn into the right episode. Fans can look forward to Jamie’s scheduled visit while waiting to learn whether Frank will get a story of his own on BOSTON BLUE.
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