Boston Blue, the new Blue Bloods spinoff, will reclaim a signature trait that CBS tried and failed to replicate with another show. For 14 years, Blue Bloods was one of the network’s most popular shows, yet it was one of the first TV shows CBS canceled in 2025. The cancellation led to a mass fan-led movement to save Blue Bloods. Although that movement was ultimately unsuccessful, the network developed a spinoff for the 2025-2026 season, again starring Donnie Wahlberg as Danny Reagan.
Not much is known about Boston Blue yet, other than it will be set in Boston rather than New York City. The news that Sonequa Martin Green has been cast as Danny’s new partner in Boston Blue has led to increased speculation about whether Baez (Marisa Ramirez) will be part of the new series, as she and Danny agreed to go on a date during the Blue Bloods series finale. CBS also recently announced where the new show fits into its fall lineup.
Danny’s Boston Blue Spinoff Takes Over Blue Bloods’ Timeslot
This Is Unsurprising, Considering Blue Bloods Dominated That Spot For Over A Decade
An Instagram post confirms CBS’ entire Friday night schedule, including that Boston Blue will air in Blue Bloods’ old time slot at 10 PM ET. This is not a surprising decision on CBS’ part, considering that Blue Bloods was in that timeslot for most of its run. During its first season, Blue Bloods temporarily aired on Wednesdays, but was moved back to Fridays after a four-week trial of its new timeslot, and remained in that slot for the rest of its time.
Blue Bloods dominated the Friday night timeslot, often winning the evening. This is an especially impressive feat considering that this timeslot is notoriously bad for scripted television. Many people are out enjoying the beginning of their weekend on Friday nights rather than watching TV, but Blue Bloods received high ratings. This demonstrates how passionate its audience was about the show. Having Boston Blue return to that timeslot is a smart way for CBS to signal to the audience that this show is part of the same franchise as well as recapture the ratings lost since Blue Bloods’ cancellation.
CBS Failed To Replicate Blue Bloods Success During Friday Nights After Its Cancellation
Putting S.W.A.T. In That Timeslot Didn’t Work
After Blue Bloods ended its run in December 2024, CBS put S.W.A.T. into that timeslot. S.W.A.T. had been canceled twice before and given a reprieve by CBS, so the network’s logic was clear: execs thought that the show would do better in a timeslot that had formerly won the night. However, it’s unsurprising that this strategy didn’t work as intended. S.W.A.T. is more similar to traditional police procedurals, while Blue Bloods was unique in its focus on a family of cops rather than only on cases. Thus, there was not likely to be much overlap between the two audiences.
Blue Bloods was the sixth highest rated show on CBS, with an average of almost 8 million viewers watching Blue Bloods season 14. Conversely, S.W.A.T was only the 16th highest rated show on TV, drawing only an average of about 5 million viewers (via TVLine). Moving S.W.A.T to Blue Bloods’ old timeslot did little to help this situation, and the S.W.A.T. series finale only drew 4.5 million viewers, while the final episode of Blue Bloods drew 6.5 million.
What To Expect From Danny’s Blue Bloods Spinoff
It Will Be More Than Danny Being In A New City
There isn’t a lot of information yet about the new Blue Bloods spinoff, beyond Danny moving to Boston and working with a cop named Lena Peters, who is the daughter of a prominent Boston police family. It’s likely that the Peters family will replicate the family dinners and other family traditions that made Blue Bloods popular, though these will likely be with a different family rather than with the Reagans. It’s also possible the Peters family will have their own, unique traditions that set them apart from the Reagans.
That said, it’s possible that there will be more Reagans making cameos or joining Boston Blue. The writers have not finalized the plans for the first season yet, and Donnie Wahlberg has made it clear in the past that he would not sign onto a spinoff that didn’t preserve the family values that were central to the Blue Bloods brand. Additionally, since Wahlberg is one of the executive producers of Boston Blue, he will likely use his influence to move the series in this direction.
The change in writing teams suggests there may be differences from the original Blue Bloods.
However, the series is written by a different creative team than Blue Bloods was. The showrunners are Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis, who are best known for shows such as The Blacklist and Alert: Missing Persons Unit. The change in writing teams suggests there may be differences from the original Blue Bloods. However, it won’t be possible to evaluate how similar Boston Blue will be to Blue Bloods until there is a trailer or pilot episode available for the audience to evaluate.
Can Boston Blue Fill The Void That Blue Bloods Left?
It Depends On Several Factors
It’s hard to tell whether Boston Blue will make up for Blue Bloods’ cancellation. There are currently few family-oriented dramas on television, so it’s possible that audiences hungry for this type of programming will be excited about Boston Blue. Additionally, Danny was one of the best characters in Blue Bloods, and that part of the audience that is a fan of the character or of Donnie Wahlberg may want to watch this new show, as long as the explanation for Danny being in Boston rather than New York makes sense.
That said, it may be a better strategy for Boston Blue to try to attract new audiences rather than focusing solely on people who miss Blue Bloods. The original procedural’s audience is unusually loyal to the show, and there may be some people who don’t want to give Boston Blue a chance because CBS canceled Blue Bloods. However, that could change if more Reagans are added to the main cast.
It will be important for the new series to explain why Danny is in Boston, especially if Baez isn’t part of the series, and not try to be a replacement for its parent show.
Boston Blue will likely be entertaining regardless of whether it addresses the loss created by Blue Bloods’ cancellation. However, it will be important for the new series to explain why Danny is in Boston, especially if Baez isn’t part of the series, and not try to be a replacement for its parent show. Otherwise, CBS risks making the same mistake it did with S.W.A.T., which could lead to another ratings failure and canceled series.