‘Faith, Family, Tradition.’ Donnie Wahlberg On The Cool Way The Family Dinner Scenes Are Going To Be Very Different In The Blue Bloods Spinoff

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Donnie Wahlberg has been excited about the upcoming *Blue Bloods* spinoff for months, especially since it’s set in his hometown of Boston and will feature a new story. While Wahlberg will connect the new show to the original, he recently shared that *Boston Blue* will also have other links to *Blue Bloods*. He explained that the new series will need to maintain three key themes from the original: faith, family, and tradition.

But what else does the show need? Some good, old-fashioned family dinners. Of course!

How Boston Blue’s Family Dinner Scenes Will Be Different Than The Ones Fans Have Seen In The Past

The show is moving the Reagan character to Boston so he can be near his son, Mika Amonsen. While there, he’ll be working with a new partner, Lena Silver, played by Sonequa Martin-Green. Donnie Wahlberg has been helping the new cast members get acquainted with the city, and we’ll see more family bonding through dinner scenes. However, these dinners will be different from the traditional Catholic meals Danny Reagan is accustomed to.

The Silver family is Jewish, and Danny will experience a Shabbat dinner early in the series. The actor discussed with Deadline how this new element was incorporated into a family dinner scene and how he approached it.

This is the first time Danny doesn’t know the usual routines at the dinner table. It’s a Shabbat dinner – a traditional Jewish Sabbath meal – and while he’s likely seen similar meals in New York, this is a new family with a different atmosphere. Danny typically speaks his mind freely and respectfully at the table, but now he’s in a new situation where he needs to be more mindful. It’s an interesting and fun challenge to play as him, trying to balance expressing his thoughts without blurting everything out, while still staying true to his personality.

Even though the show is changing – with a new family, set, and overall vibe – I suspect some things about those dinner scenes will stay familiar. I always loved how they used fake silverware to avoid distracting sounds on the plates. I’m sure the new production team will also have some clever techniques to make things work smoothly.

Sonequa Martin-Green acknowledged that altering something fans loved from the original show took a lot of bravery, but she feels the changes ultimately paid off.

I really appreciated how our show portrayed a family that observed the Sabbath and had a strong Christian faith, thanks to the grandfather character (Ernie Hudson as Reverend Peters). It was wonderful to see, and I think it was a brave choice to include that aspect of their lives.

Donnie Wahlberg is known for being one of the few actors who actually ate during the family dinner scenes on *Blue Bloods*. Now that the show is continuing as *Boston Blue*, I’m curious if he’ll keep that tradition going, and if his fellow cast members will join him! *Boston Blue* will premiere on CBS on Friday, October 17th, at 10 p.m. Eastern Time. I’m really looking forward to it!

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2025-10-13 23:10