One of the most anticipated aspects of the premiere episode of the Blue Bloods spin-off series Boston Blue was the explanation of how and why Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan decided to leave New York, and his fabled law enforcement family, and move to Boston. With Sean Reagan’s recasting establishing him as a featured character on Boston Blue, there was a clear implication that Danny was primarily motivated to relocate to be with his son. Sean ostensibly decided to begin his career in Boston to avoid the powerful specter of the Reagan law enforcement dynasty in New York.

While this turned out to be partially correct, Danny’s decision to travel to Boston in the premiere episode is precipitated by Sean’s hospitalization after attempting to save people from an arson-related building fire. After arriving in the city, Danny quickly becomes acquainted with Boston’s well-known Silver police family. Danny partners with police detective Lena Silver to solve the arson case while tending to Sean’s recovery. However, instead of returning to New York after solving the case, Danny has decided to stay in Boston indefinitely, presumably until the end of the series.

If Danny’s presence on Boston Blue were limited to the premiere episode, followed by sporadic future appearances, Sean’s hospitalization would be a perfectly sufficient justification for Danny to visit Boston. However, as the reason for Danny’s full-time presence on the series, the premise feels contrived and illogical. With this dubious explanation for Danny’s permanent move to Boston, Boston Blue has failed to overcome its biggest challenge: validating the controversial decision by CBS to end Blue Bloods after 14 wonderful seasons to make room for Boston Blue.

Danny Reagan Has a New Family in ‘Boston Blue’

With so much speculation about when other Blue Bloods characters might join Danny Reagan, the show’s familiar model has been largely recreated in the spin-off. It has its own Frank Reagan in the form of Ernie Hudson’s Reverend Edwin Peters, a Baptist pastor who presides over an extremely diverse law enforcement family. Just as nearly every Blue Bloods episode ends with a Sunday Reagan family dinner, Boston Blue’s premiere concludes with Danny and his sister Erin joining Peters and the Silver family for a Friday Shabbat dinner. During this scene, Erin forms a kinship of sorts with Gloria Reuben’s Mae Silver, who appears on Boston Blue as Erin’s virtual counterpart, as the District Attorney.

It’s a poignant scene that nonetheless underscores the extent to which Boston Blue has been overshadowed by its inextricable association with Blue Bloods. The novelty of seeing Danny in a new city, in tandem with surprise appearances by Moynahan and other Blue Bloods cast members, will doubtlessly sustain Boston Blue during its first season, as seen with the solid ratings for the premiere episode. Unfortunately, this reliance on nostalgia will inevitably reach a point of diminishing returns. Indeed, the more Boston Blue incorporates characters and elements from Blue Bloods, the more viewers are left to wonder why Blue Bloods was canceled in the first place.

‘Boston Blue’ Must Distance Itself From ‘Blue Bloods’ To Be Successful

If Boston Blue had been introduced as a standalone series, it would be perceived as being a standard big-city cop series with some structural similarities to Blue Bloods. With Donnie Wahlberg returning as Danny Reagan, the spin-off will struggle to separate itself from Blue Bloods and build its own identity.

While there’s a clear nexus between the creation of Boston Blue and Boston native Wahlberg, Wahlberg’s continual presence creates as many problems for the series as it solves, especially given the tenuous motivation behind Danny’s seemingly inexplicable decision to permanently relocate to Boston. With Danny being the main character of Boston Blue, the series can more accurately be described as being a Blue Bloods appendage instead of a spin-off. The premiere’s most discussed moment comes when Danny, traveling to Boston to care for his hospitalized son Sean, speaks by phone with his father, New York Police Commissioner Frank Reagan, fueling speculation about Tom Selleck’s possible appearance in a future episode.

Tom Selleck Should Avoid a ‘Boston Blue’ Appearance

When CBS decided to end Blue Bloods, one of the most vocal critics of the network’s decision was series star Tom Selleck. He expressed a strong desire to continue in the role of New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan for a 15th season. With Bridget Moynahan returning as Erin Reagan in the premiere episode of Boston Blue, in which Marisa Ramirez’s Maria Baez is also revealed to be in a romantic relationship with Danny Reagan, it seems inevitable that Frank will also eventually make an appearance, especially since Donnie Wahlberg has expressed a willingness to reunite with Selleck in the new series.

While Selleck’s appearance would please Blue Bloods fans, it would also revive debate over why the original series was canceled to make room for Boston Blue. While Blue Bloods had arguably run its course, creatively speaking, the series was still functioning at a fairly high level.

Moreover, if Selleck still resents Blue Bloods’ cancellation, his appearance in the spin-off is far from certain. Selleck previously declined to make a cameo in the Magnum P.I. reboot, ostensibly because he wanted to avoid giving his tacit approval to the remake. It would be admirable and entirely appropriate if Selleck applied the same standard to Boston Blue. Boston Blue airs on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.