Casting News: Ernie Hudson Joins Boston Blue, Elle Adds Van Der Beek And More

Boston Blue has found its family patriarch.

Ernie Hudson (NBC's Quantum Leap reboot) has joined CBS' Blue Bloods offshoot, which finds Donnie Wahlberg reprising his role as NYPD Officer Danny Reagan.

In the upcoming series (premiering this fall), Danny takes a position with Boston PD, where he is paired with Detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family. Per our sister site Deadline, Hudson will play Lena's grandfather, Reverend Peters, a renowned pastor of a historic Baptist church in Boston. He is described as an open-minded and welcoming man.

In other recent casting news...

* James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) will recur in Prime Video's Legally Blonde prequel series Elle as a mayoral candidate and the current school district superintendent, Deadline reports.

* Netflix's A Different World spinoff pilot has cast Chibuikem Uche (One of Us Is Lying), Maleah Joi Moon, Cornell Young (Forever), Jordan Aaron Hall (The Idea of You), Alijah Kai Higgins and Kennedi McClure, per Deadline.

* J.R. Ramirez (Manifest) has joined Prime Video's upcoming drama It's Not Like That, starring Scott Foley and Erinn Hayes, Deadline reports. Ramirez will play the ex-husband of Hayes' character.

Hit the comments with your thoughts on the above castings!