Boston Blue: Donnie Wahlberg Says He Offered To Take 50% Pay Cut To Shoot Blue Bloods Spin-Off In Boston

Don't let the title fool you: "Boston Blue" rarely films in Boston.

Though CBS' "Blue Bloods" spin-off is set in Massachusetts, it primarily shoots up north, in Toronto. During a recent interview on SiriusXM's "Andy Cohen Live," series star Donnie Wahlberg revealed how he was first sold on a Danny Reagan-led drama set in his hometown.

"When I got offered the job, I'm like, 'This is a dream come true,' because I thought I'll do a spinoff in L.A. or Vegas or Texas, somewhere hot," he recalled. "And they were like, 'How about Boston?' I was like, 'Oh. They hooked me,' and I was like, 'Let's do it in Boston,' and they said, 'But we can't afford to shoot it in Boston. We're gonna shoot it in Toronto.'"

Wahlberg didn't give up easily. Determined to bring the show to Boston, he even offered to forfeit a significant chunk of his salary: "I said, 'Listen, I'll give back 50% of my paycheck if we can go to Boston'... and they said, 'You can give back 100% and so can the rest of the cast. We cannot film this show in Boston, but we'll do a couple.' It's so expensive."

Second only to finances, Wahlberg says the biggest obstacle to filming full-time in Boston is the city itself — and the constant distractions that come with it.

"We couldn't film it in Boston full-time because it's nonstop. It's literally the duck boats are going by and the duck boat tour guides have on these headsets with speakers and it's literally in the background of a scene," he explains. "You hear, 'Oh my God, there's Donnie Wahlberg right over there on the corner. I grew up near Donnie. Everyone get your cameras out,' and then I gotta run over to the duck boat and pose for pictures with everyone and my cousins, my uncles, my aunts, my nieces, my nephews, my nephew's nephew's nephew's nephew comes. Everybody's there and we wouldn't get any work done. Literally. The dailies is just, you're literally hearing cars honking as I'm doing my dialogue. 'Donnie, how's your father?' 'He's in heaven.'"

"Boston Blue," which premiered Oct. 17, 2025, stars Donnie Wahlberg reprising his "Blue Bloods" role as NYPD Detective Danny Reagan. This time around, he's taken a position with the Boston Police Department to be closer to his son, rookie patrol officer Sean (now played by Mika Amonsen).

There, Danny is paired with Detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family — one that includes Boston District Attorney Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben), Police Superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson), Sean's partner Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner), and Mae's father, Baptist pastor Reverend Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson).

On December 3, 2025, "Boston Blue" was renewed for Season 2. New Season 1 episodes continue to air Fridays at 10 p.m. on CBS (and stream on Paramount+) through May 24.