“Look at that sunshine,” Donnie Wahlberg grins from a towering Toronto high-rise. The musician, actor and producer’s gearing up for the premiere of his Blue Bloods spinoff Boston Blue, followed by New Kids on the Block’s Las Vegas residency return. But rather than indulge in the relaxing “bed rot” prescribed by wife Jenny McCarthy, Wahlberg’s spending a rare day off chatting to The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s hardly surprising for the king of “can’t stop, won’t stop,” who regularly passes downtime sending “twugs” (virtual hugs) at a million miles per minute, breaks Guinness World Records for taking selfies and beams with the excitement of a kid while sharing weekend plans to catch his drummer son Elijah performing in Toronto — all while seamlessly juggling television, music, marriage, family and hospitality ventures.
“I thought I was used to it, but this year was really difficult — far more challenging than any time during my decade and a half doing Blue Bloods while managing my part in New Kids,” Wahlberg, 56, admits. “With Blue Bloods, I could walk on set, do my part then focus on New Kids in my dressing room, but now I’ve added so many hats to my hat collection. I already had a lot and was stretching them pretty thin!
“There was one day it was a 6 a.m. Boston Blue fitting, 10 a.m. New Kids wardrobe fitting, 12 p.m. show run-through, 4 p.m., do it again. In between, I’d watch actor auditions and give notes on the script. I haven’t come up for air yet.”
Wahlberg’s simply thrilled to keep the Blue Bloods world alive following the CBS series’ startling cancellation. With its endearing family dynamics, gripping police drama and beloved cast, the 14-season series became a Friday night tradition and one of the most-watched scripted shows on television. And while plotlines revolved around the Reagan family’s law enforcement work, it was their Sunday dinners that anchored the series — and marked Wahlberg’s first scene in 2010.
“It was the most important day in the show’s history because we had to establish our characters and take chances in a new environment,” he recalls. “To play my character, who was disruptive and argumentative, while sitting inches from Tom Selleck, I had to commit without worrying about stepping on toes or making other actors uncomfortable.”
Jumping in “full throttle” became a mantra for Wahlberg, who began acting with films like The Sixth Sense and shows like Boomtown following NKOTB’s 1994 disbandment. The boy band were basking in their 2008 reunion when Blue Bloods came along. By then, Wahlberg had been acting for 20-plus years, yet it’s the reunion that prepared him for portraying detective Danny Reagan.
Donnie Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green in Boston Blue
Michele Crowe/CBS
“Reuniting and touring from 2008 — getting into that routine of showing up every day, performing and being in the moment — definitely helped going into Blue Bloods. So much happens at a concert with connections being made or meet-and-greets, that there’s no time to think about what I could’ve done differently. I didn’t go on the bus every night thinking, ‘I could’ve sung that note better.’”
“The New Kids reunion prepared me for what I’d need to be Danny Reagan for so long. I couldn’t take the work home or leave thinking, ‘I could have done that’. It was a lot of growth because I used to perseverate on what I could’ve done differently.”
Having confidently assured crew each year that the series would be renewed, Wahlberg wallowed in denial following the cancellation. Fifteen months after shooting the finale, he’s still struggling with “accepting the reality.”
For weeks, he waited for other networks to call, wanting the series. Meanwhile, “Blockheads” launched a petition to save the show, which amassed more than 30,000 signatures.
What fans didn’t realize was Wahlberg was on his own crusade to salvage Blue Bloods. Months after filming wrapped, he approached CBS with a meticulous presentation.
“We were halfway into the first sentence, and they went, ‘It’s not happening, but we have an idea for something else,’” shares Wahlberg. “I was like, ‘Hear me out about Blue Bloods.’ They were like, ‘It’s not possible.’ I probably would’ve continued with my list of reasons to keep doing Blue Bloods, but I also knew nobody else had called. NBC didn’t call. ABC didn’t call. Netflix, Fox Nation, Disney Plus, streaming services — nobody called saying, ‘Let’s bring Blue Bloods to our world.’
“We made sacrifices to keep the show on air and I would’ve made more, because I loved it. But the industry lost zillions during COVID, then there was a strike, plus it’s an expensive show to make. Economics are a real thing. But CBS stepped up with a way to keep the Blue Bloods universe going. If I really wanted to keep Blue Bloods alive, I had to do this show.”
McCarthy encouraged Wahlberg to accept Boston Blue, which follows Danny as he heads to Beantown to check on his son Sean (played by Mika Amonsen, after being portrayed by Andrew Terraciano on Blue Bloods) then joins the Boston PD, partnering with detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), who’s from a prominent law enforcement family.
“People say, ‘It’s not believable Danny would move to Boston,’ but as a parent, it’s very believable once you find out why,” says Wahlberg. “The question is, ‘What would make him stay?’ That’s where Sonequa comes in.”
It was click, click, click between Wahlberg and Martin-Green when they met via Zoom. “I’ve never been able to play a character who’s so grounded, assured and confident,” the Star Trek: Discovery star tells THR. “I also love there’s an element of joy with her.”
Donnie Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green on the set of Boston Blue
Michele Crowe/CBS
Martin-Green also reflects the greater diversity of Boston Blue’s cast — something Blue Bloods was criticized for lacking. Wahlberg notes that ironically, the show’s audience was incredibly diverse.
“I met [fans] from all walks of life. The Reagan family was relatable to so many people, even if you weren’t Irish Catholic and from Brooklyn,” he says. “If you had a large family, you could relate. There are so many different law enforcement families, and it was wonderful to tell the Reagan story and now it’s wonderful to tell another family’s story.”
Representation was important to Martin-Green, who came straight from making history as the first Black female captain and lead of a Star Trek franchise. She’s thrilled both shows go beyond simply ticking diversity boxes.
“It wasn’t something we hit people over the head with [in Star Trek] — it was just shown,” she says. “You got to see people represent diversity, but also be fantastic versions of that. That’s the case with Boston Blue too and that’s important because it’s not just about seeing yourself, but seeing yourself in a bright light. That makes greater impact.”
From Sunday dinners and sibling drama, to wise words from the family patriarch (Reverend Peters, played by Ernie Hudson), Boston Blue incorporates many of Blue Bloods’ loved elements.
It was also a chance for Wahlberg to return to his roots. NKOTB spent their youth running around Beantown, and Wahlberg’s ties remain strong, whether it’s cheering on the New England Patriots or visiting his family’s restaurant chain, Wahlburgers. His local prominence even shifted Boston Blue’s filming to Toronto.
“Filming in Boston was the most fun I’ve ever had on set, but it was difficult because I took 10,000 selfies a day. Duck boats were driving by every 10 minutes,” he says. “I might as well have been a statue in Boston. It was wonderful for the cast to get familiar with Boston and my connection to the city, but it also became obvious that nine months filming there might not be sustainable.”
In the premiere, airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, fans will learn which Blue Bloods alum follow Danny to Boston first. Wahlberg’s also thrilled that Bridget Moynahan, who played his screen sister Erin, directed an episode.
“Just when I think I have my storyline broken down and understand what other characters are doing and I’m doing as a producer, she’s like, ‘But there’s another layer,’ and I’m like, ‘I didn’t think about that!’” he says. “She’s so thorough and comes at it from an actor’s standpoint, but also from having been part of Blue Bloods, understanding an ensemble and knowing how to mine each character.”
As for Moynahan’s TV fate, even before Boston Blue has premiered, Wahlberg’s brain’s buzzing with other potential spinoffs.
“What’s Erin gonna do? What Janko up to? I’m doing my part to answer those questions in Boston Blue, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to expand the universe beyond Boston,” he says.
Meanwhile, Blockheads remain hopeful NKOTB will also expand their universe, with many fans having seen Blue Bloods wrapping as a chance for the quintet to tour abroad. For now, their focus is New Kids On the Block: The Right Stuff Las Vegas Residency, which them flying, driving, thrusting and dancing their way through Dolby Live at Park MGM.
“There’s a want for New Kids to go around the world and the hope was after Vegas, that will be what we look at next, and Boston Blue’s not changing that,” assures Wahlberg.
In the meantime, starring in and executive producing Boston Blue is a liberating moment for the guy who questioned if he’d ever find professional fulfillment again following NKOTB’s split.
“It’s like you’re on a fast train, but one day it stops and if you’re not prepared, it’s difficult,” he told Huffington Post in 2013. “The public has an opinion of who you are and may never accept you as anything else.”
So, how does it feel to have broken beyond the “boy band” label and earned acceptance as an actor, director and producer? Wahlberg pauses.
“If I can stop and feel it for a minute? It’s surreal. Often, we set out to prove things to others, and ultimately, we’re proving it to ourselves. When the New Kids came off that high, my motivation was showing people I’m more than that guy from that band. I wanted to show the world I was a capable music producer who could make a hit record since no one took the New Kids seriously.
“And I did it. I produced my brother Mark [Wahlberg]’s record, but the morning I got the call from Jimmy Iovine saying, ‘‘Good Vibrations’ is No. 1,’ I didn’t feel like telling the world, ‘I told you so.’ I just thought, ‘You did it. I knew you could.’ It was weird because my motivation was proving people wrong, but in truth, I had to show myself.
“The best part of my career now isn’t that I’m doing what I always wanted or proving anyone wrong or right. It’s that I really like what I’m doing and the way I get to do it. I can still go to the supermarket.”
Except in Boston?
“Exactly. But I can walk down the street, take photos with fans, then say, ‘I gotta go get my monster cereals for Halloween now.’”
And if McCarthy gets her away, he’ll eat them during some well-earned bed rot.
