The “Blue Bloods” universe expands this fall when Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan moves to Boston and encounters another law enforcement family — the Silvers — in “Boston Blue.”
Like the Reagans, they have a strong tradition and a kinship with the Reagans.
The transition, Wahlberg says, has been seamless. “It became something I couldn’t even dream of,” he says.
For good measure, folks from “Blue Bloods” will make guest appearances throughout the season. Danny’s son, Sean, provides a link between the shows. He gets dad to Boston and, while there, dad learns his son “doesn’t have another Reagan on the job … and that’s never happened in the history of the family. It’s the father-and-son bond” that gets him to stay.
The Silver family, meanwhile, represents another line in law enforcement — one that also has dinner table discussions.
“This is a new world for Danny,” Wahlberg says. “And I’ve indulged that and just allowed that to permeate through my cells when I walk on set. I am in a different place. This is a new world, and it’s a new family that I’m being welcomed into.”
The Silvers boast a detective, a police superintendent, a rookie cop and a district attorney.
Because Danny is partnered with Lena Silver (played by Sonequa Martin-Green), there’s immediately buy-in.
“They both understand that faith and family and tradition they share … they see themselves in each other,” Martin-Green says. “They understand each other and (that’s) something we haven’t really seen in partnerships. What a lovely thing to have these people immediately connect, have them immediately trust each other.”
Conflict is inevitable, she adds, but “there is this kindredness that brings them together. Speaking to all the police officers who have consulted with us, it’s very similar to the battle buddy in the military. It’s a bond that’s quite unique.”
While doing “Blue Bloods,” Wahlberg met many families who had relatives in the same line of work. Among them: the Holmes sisters in New York.
“Juanita Holmes is one of the highest-ranking females in the department right now,” Wahlberg says. “She has three sisters in the department … and their kids are in the department. I’m producing a show based on them.”
Earlier, he did “Boston’s Finest,” a reality show that looked at the men and women in Boston’s police department. Eric Merner, one of the subjects, “had to deal with the same sort of nepotism questions” faced in “Boston Blue.” “If you consider that there are 35,000 men and women in the NYPD, you can imagine the numbers of generations of families who are in law enforcement and carrying on their family traditions that way,” Wahlberg says.
That means art can imitate life, he adds. “There are so many new elements that I’m just letting (them) unfold naturally.”
In the first three episodes, Mika Amonsen, who plays Danny’s son Sean, discovers what it means to put service ahead of self.
“We’ve never told a father/son story on “Blue Bloods,” Wahlberg says. Tom Selleck’s character, Frank, “wasn’t an officer. He wasn’t out on the streets, and now Danny and Sean are there, growing together and learning the city together. It’s a really wonderful chance to grow these characters with rich and amazing characters becoming part of their life, their new family.”
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