Donnie Wahlberg-led ‘Blue Bloods’ Spinoff Sticks to Formula

To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the “Blue Bloods” and the end of the Reagan family are greatly exaggerated.

Despite a new cast and setting, CBS’s “Boston Blue” has all the bones of the original series. There’s no sign of family patriarchs Frank (Tom Selleck) and Henry Reagan (Len Cariou) in the first two episodes of the Donnie Wahlberg starrer, but there are enough Reagan and familiar situations to get this spinoff series off to a good start.

One change that had to happen for the show’s plot to be effective is that Danny Reagan’s son, Sean, had to grow up. The character has become a victim of television’s (slightly) rapid aging syndrome, meaning that “young” Sean played by Andrew Terraciano has moved to Boston permanently, finished the police academy, and is now a rookie officer, played by Mika Amonsen. When Sean is hospitalized after being seriously injured in a fire, Danny rushes to Boston to be by his side. There he discovers that Sean’s best friend and colleague, Jonah Silver (Troy Scribner, “Black-ish”, “Mixed-ish” and “Grown-ish” franchise), also comes from a law enforcement family.

The foundations are now laid to introduce Jonah’s family, the Silvers. Mom Mae (Gloria Reuben) is a prosecutor while her sister Sarah (Maggie Lawson, “Psych”) is a police commissioner and her other sister Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green, “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Walking Dead”) is a Boston police detective. Mae’s father is the only one not in law enforcement. This is Reverend Peters (Ernie Hudson), minister of an old and very important Baptist church. He acts as the patriarch of the family in a manner similar to Frank. Mae is a widow and loves her father’s wisdom, friendship and wise counsel, as do Erin (Bridget Moynahan) and Frank. All these “similarities” are there to make the transition to the sequel painless.

Yet a few things stand out: these family dinners. Very quickly there is a family dinner table scene. There are two in the first episode. It’s like saying, “Hey, we’re like ‘Blue Bloods,’ see how we all sit down and eat like them?” Plus, Danny’s first family dinner invitation comes while Sean is still in a contact situation at the hospital. Would a sit-down dinner be what a parent would think if their son was in the hospital? You would think it would be a kind of “No but thanks, another time” before returning to the hospital. Maybe Frank could have at least answered a call from the hospital about his son’s condition, but no.

Much like “Blue Bloods”, Danny and Lena engage in an easy relationship of banter and strong teamwork while working on a case. This relationship is where things started with Danny and Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez). By the way, what happened to Danny and Baez’s romance? Will she be forgotten and will Lena take her place as her partner and her heart? All will be revealed, but the fact is that “Boston Blue” follows the exact formula of “Blue Bloods”, for better or worse. The success of the series will depend on the emotional factor of the crimes and criminal cases that the characters will face in the course of their law enforcement work.

The casting is good. All of them were on shows that ran for a long time, except Amonson, but his characterization of Sean contains just the right amount of energy and naivety for a young person just starting a career. Meanwhile, seasoned pros Reuben and Hudson move around in their characters like trying on well-fitting shoes.

Producers/creators Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: NY,” “Cold Case,” “Without A Trace”) Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margulies (LA’s Finest), KristieAnne Reed (“Fire Country,” “Lucifer,” “LA’s Finest,” “The Real CSI: Miami”) and Wahlberg all have excellent track records, so maybe they can make “Boston Blue” more than a carbon copy.

“Boston Blue” premieres Friday, October 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams the following day on Paramount+.

The article “Boston Blue” Review: Donnie Wahlberg-Led “Blue Bloods” Spinoff Sticks to the Formula appeared first on TheWrap.