Faith, family and tradition remain at the forefront in “Boston Blue,” CBS’ “Blue Bloods” spinoff that follows Donnie Wahlberg’s Det. Danny Reagan to Beantown, where he looks after Sean. There, father and (newly recast) son encounter the Silvers, a mixed-race, interfaith family whose members occupy nearly every corner of Boston’s justice system.
When a heroic act leaves rookie cop Sean (Mika Amonsen, “The Republic of Sarah”) hospitalized, Danny heads to Massachusetts to care for him — and because he can’t help himself, investigate the crime that put his son in harm’s way. The episode also features a guest appearance by Bridget Moynahan, whose Erin Reagan makes the trip from New York to check in on her brother and comatose nephew.
The premiere introduces viewers to the Silvers — a family as rooted in public service as the Reagans. Danny’s new partner, Detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green, “Star Trek: Discovery”), works cases alongside him; her sister, Police Superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson, “Psych”), oversees the department; and their younger brother, Officer Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner, “black-ish”), happens to be Sean’s friend and colleague. Their mother, Boston District Attorney Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben, “ER”), rounds out the immediate family, while Mae’s father, Rev. Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson, “Quantum Leap”) — a Baptist minister — serves as the family’s patriarch, a role that carries even greater weight following the death of Sarah and Jonah’s father (and Lena’s stepfather), Ben, a circuit judge who was gunned down outside his courthouse a year before the events of the pilot.
But the moment that is sure to get fans talking comes in Wahlberg’s very first scene, when “Blue Bloods” alum Marisa Ramirez makes a surprise cameo as Danny’s girlfriend (!), Detective Maria Baez — confirming that they did more than just go out for pizza.
Below, “Boston Blue” co-creators Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis discuss that “wow” moment, the decision to recast Sean, the show’s familiar family dynamic, and which “Blue Bloods” characters did — and didn’t — make cameos in the spinoff’s first episode.
