Actors Donnie Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green sat down with Newsweek on Wednesday to go behind the scenes of Boston Blue, a new police drama that seeks to authentically represent the law enforcement community while also being relatable to viewers.
Why It Matters
Boston native Wahlberg is starring in the CBS spinoff Boston Blue, which relocates his character from the police procedural Blue Bloods, Detective Danny Reagan, from New York to Boston. Wahlberg is also the executive producer of the series. Costar Martin-Green, who plays Lena Silver, is no stranger to franchise expansions, as she previously starred in Star Trek: Discovery.
The series comes five years after Americans’ confidence in local police dipped following George Floyd’s murder, but has since been rebounding, according to a May 2025 Gallup poll. The aggregate poll found 74 percent of respondents now express confidence in their local police, and 76 percent are satisfied with their community’s relationship with police.
What To Know
The procedural drama follows Reagan, a former NYPD detective who joins the Boston Police Department, and Silver, a member of a police family with roots in the city.
Wahlberg and Martin-Green, who share a close friendship off camera, said the show, as well as the original Blue Bloods, relied on background research and input from experts, including retired police officers, to ensure its storytelling was accurate.
Wahlberg said he worked for years with retired New York Police Department (NYPD) detective James “Jim” Nuciforo, who is featured in the original series.
“We want so desperately for everything to be authentic,” Martin-Green told Newsweek, adding that “there are definitely times, because it’s a TV show, where you can’t do it exactly like they do it in real life,” but noted that the show often sticks to the book.
Martin-Green said that police officers “guide” and “shepherd” the cast on the realities of the work and situations they encounter. “So, all of that is involved in creating the authenticity, and, of course, just how we approach it,” she said, adding that the actors all “care so deeply” about telling a representative story.
In a similar vein, Wahlberg said part of telling authentic stories comes from the culture on set, saying, “hopefully you create an environment and a set and a family or a cast where people have different opinions, different concerns, different experiences and can talk about it and address it.”
Martin-Green added, “we’re telling the stories with specificity, when we’re listening to the to the cops that are consulting us, when we’re pulling from real local case history in the city of Boston, we’re making sure that these stories are specific and that they are then automatically authentic, and then I think that makes them responsible.”
In response to a question about portraying law enforcement and responsible storytelling, Wahlberg said, “I wouldn’t say it’s a responsibility to tell positive stories, per se; it’s we’re just trying to tell the stories and there are many positive stories, and there are many difficult stories.”
He said that the procedural is relatable to many, as it addresses “topical issues, real-life issues” within the justice system and emphasizes family.
“There’s so many law enforcement families,” Wahlberg said. “There are so many people with families who can relate, and these are people from all walks of life.”
The spin-off is based on a real family, which Wahlberg hopes makes it relatable for viewers, especially as they see conversations where family members “fight and disagree and love and respect each other, which is so needed right now.”
What Happens Next
Boston Blue premieres at 10 p.m. on Friday, October 17.
