To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of “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 Reagans and familiar situations to get this spinoff series off to a decent 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 TV’s (slightly) rapid aging syndrome meaning that the “younger” Sean played by Andrew Terraciano, has moved to Boston permanently, completed the police academy and is now a rookie officer, played by Mika Amonsen. When Sean is hospitalized after being critically injured in a fire, Danny rushes to Boston to be by his side. There he finds that Sean’s best friend and fellow officer Jonah Silver (Troy Scribner, “Black-ish,” “Mixed-ish” and “Grown-ish,” franchise) also comes from a family of law enforcers.
The groundwork is now laid to introduce Jonah’s family, the Silvers. Mom Mae (Gloria Reuben) is the district attorney while his sister Sarah (Maggie Lawson, “Psych”) is police superintendent and his other sister Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green, “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Walking Dead”) is a Boston PD detective. Mae’s father is the only one not in law enforcement. He is the Reverend Peters (Ernie Hudson), minister of an old and very prominent Baptist church. He acts as patriarch of the family in ways similar to Frank. Mae is a widow and dotes on her dad’s wisdom, friendship and sage advice in ways similar to Erin (Bridget Moynahan) and Frank. All these “similarities” are there to make the sequel transition painless.
Yet a few small things stick out: those family dinners. Very quickly there’s a family dinner table scene. There are two in the first episode. It’s as if to say, “Hey we are just like ‘Blue Bloods,’ see how we all sit down to eat just like they did?” Plus, the first family dinner invite to Danny comes while Sean is still in a touch-and-go situation in the hospital. Would a sit-down dinner be what was on the mind of a parent if their son was in the hospital? One would think it would be a kind “No but thank you, another time,” before heading back to the hospital. Perhaps Frank could have at least taken a call from the hospital regarding the condition of his son, but no.
Also like “Blue Bloods,” Danny and Lena fall into an easy rapport of banter and strong teamwork while working on a case. This rapport is how 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 his partner and his heart? All will be revealed but the point is that “Boston Blue” is following the exact formula as “Blue Bloods,” for better or worse. Whether the show has the success of its predecessor will depend on the emotional factor of the crimes and criminal cases the characters face in their law enforcement work.
The cast is good. All have been on shows that lasted a long time except for Amonson, but his characterization of Sean carries just the right amount of energy and naiveté for a young person starting a career. Meanwhile, seasoned pros Reuben and Hudson move around in their characters like trying on well-fitting shoes.
Producer/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 great track records so maybe they can grow “Boston Blue” into more than a carbon copy.
“Boston Blue” premieres Friday, Oct. 17, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.