Fantastic news for avid fans of "Blue Bloods"! One of the beloved drama's most iconic characters, Danny Reagan portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg, is set to make a triumphant return to CBS with a fresh, thrilling cop show titled "Boston Blue" (working title), set against the backdrop of a new city. CBS has issued a straight-to-series order for this exciting universe expansion of the long-standing "Blue Bloods," slated for the highly anticipated 2025-2026 broadcast season.
In this brand-new series penned by the talented writing duo Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis (of "S.W.A.T." fame), Wahlberg reprises his role as NYPD Detective Danny Reagan, who embarks on a new journey as he transfers to the Boston PD. Once in Boston, Danny is paired with Detective Lena Peters, the eldest daughter of a prestigious law enforcement dynasty.
Produced by CBS Studios in collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer Television, "Boston Blue" promises to be a gripping watch. Sonnier and Margolis will take the helm as showrunners and executive producers, joined by Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed of JBTV, as well as Wahlberg himself.
While CBS and CBS Studios had previously explored potential spinoffs from the highly popular procedural drama "Blue Bloods," including concepts that would have seen Danny Reagan relocate to Texas or feature Tom Selleck, "Boston Blue" was conceived not as a mere offshoot but as a standalone drama with ties to the "Blue Bloods" universe.
The journey of "Boston Blue" began when Sonnier, Margolis, and JBTV pitched a drama titled "Jamaica Plain" to CBS Studios and CBS. The series follows a family of police officers in Boston, with the eldest daughter partnering with a new transfer from the LAPD. The network ordered a script based on this compelling pitch.
Both the network and studio received the script warmly, recognizing the Boston family police drama project as an opportunity to integrate it into the "Blue Bloods" universe by incorporating a character from the New York family cop drama. Given Wahlberg's profound ties to Boston, CBS and CBS Studios focused on Danny Reagan and approached the "Boston Blue" creative team about altering the LAPD transplant character to Danny, a NYPD detective.
Simultaneously, the network ordered backup scripts as discussions commenced with Wahlberg about reprising his role. By early December, "Jamaica Plain," named after a Boston neighborhood, was gaining momentum, with Wahlberg in negotiations to join the cast. With Wahlberg on board and based on the creative direction, CBS made the decision to greenlight "Boston Blue" for the 2025-2026 broadcast season.
"Boston Blue" joins the ranks of "Sheriff Country," a spinoff of "Fire Country" also from CBS Studios and JBTV, lined up for the upcoming season. Both new series, along with "Fire Country," fall under JBTV's overall deal at CBS Studios.
Furthermore, CBS is actively exploring potential spinoffs for "FBI," "The Equalizer," and "The Neighborhood" for the 2025-2026 season. Expanding the "Blue Bloods" franchise has been a top priority for the network and its parent company, Paramount Global, with hints of potential extensions teased at the company's shareholder meeting last June.
The beloved series, starring Selleck, Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, and Len Cariou, concluded its 14-season run in December, maintaining a fiercely loyal fan base. In the series finale, Danny finally mustered the courage to ask his longtime NYPD partner, Detective Maria Baez (played by Marisa Ramirez), out on a date.
Sonnier and Margolis began their careers through the NBC Writers on the Verge program. After five seasons on the hit NBC series "The Blacklist," they developed and showran "L.A.'s Finest," the Sony and JBTV-produced "Bad Boys" spinoff starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba for Spectrum. The duo serves as executive producers on the upcoming third season of Fox's procedural "Alert: Missing Persons Unit."
