Boasting such massive franchises such as NCIS and Survivor, CBS has rarely been synonymous with short-lived series, though the network has made quite a few shocking cancellations across the past year or two, with several of those big shows wrapping up this year.It’s safe to say that 2024’s biggest loss, at least in terms of length and viewership, was Blue Bloods, which the network officially canceled in 2023 before later ordering up a Donnie Wahlberg-starring spinoff.
Since that news first broke, updates about the Boston-set follow-up series have been pretty minimal, and it’s still not 100% confirmed if the working title will remain Boston Blue or not. But Wahlberg himself addressed the upcoming 2025 series in a way that longtime viewers should be pumped about. Because even though he doesn’t specifically mention the beloved Reagan family dinners, it seems pretty clear that’s what he’s referring to.
Speaking with Fox News about trying to convince CBS to give Blue Bloods another season, which is something Tom Selleck struggled with as well, Donnie Wahlberg spoke warmly about not just his co-stars, but also everyone behind the scenes who kept the show afloat from one week to the next, and said they group at large weighed heavily on his mind when approaching the sequel offer. As he put it:
They became part of our family. You know, the viewers are saying, like, ‘How do we keep going with a Blue Blood spinoff without the whole family?’ And I share that. How do we do that, right?
Given how dedicated Wahlberg is to mixing it up with fans both on social media and in the real world — the dude goes above and beyond for New Kids on the Block’s fandom in particular — he’s definitely conscious of what audiences will expect and hope for whenever Boston Blue arrives this fall. And he knows Danny isn’t the only Reagan that fans will be looking out for, especially during episodes’ final scenes.
As someone who fought for Blue Bloods’ survival, Wahlberg knew how important it was to be tasked with steering the new show in solo mode, and felt it was the right move to say yes. But he then dropped a huge tease indicating he won’t be the lone Reagan family member popping up on primetime. In his words:
It was definitely a challenge to take on this opportunity, but I kept saying to myself, you know, if I’m really sincere about wanting Blue Bloods to carry on, here’s an opportunity to do it. Now, it’s just Danny going to this new world, but I can’t say a lot about it — but I could say, if he’s a Reagan, it will never be just Danny. There’ll always be a Reagan a phone call away. And the traditions that the Reagans have, Danny wouldn’t abandon those traditions.
Now, we probably shouldn’t expect the full clan to gather, and the dinner scene in Blue Bloods’ series finale was potentially the last time that so many of the O.G. cast members will be seen breaking bread together. But it sounds like there could be some variations to that norm, to allow for the drama’s status quo endings to continue relatively unabated.
Perhaps Danny will have one or two family members stopping by from week to week to get a meal in at his new Boston digs. Or maybe Danny will put a bunch of tablets around a dinner table and have the squad pop up via Zoom calls. The options may not be endless, but the expectations that fans will have are indeed unending.
While no exact timeline has been revealed for Boston Blue, the drama will presumably begin filming this summer so that it can make a proper debut on CBS’s Fall TV schedule. Stay tuned for more updates, and leave a spot open at the table just in case.