Boston Blue’s Recasting of Donnie Wahlberg’s Son From ‘Blue Bloods’ Explained

Boston Blue has gone to extreme lengths to appeal to the Blue Bloods fans but some viewers still have questions about the decision to recast Donnie Wahlberg‘s onscreen son. Wahlberg’s character Danny was introduced to Us on Blue Bloods, which premiered on CBS in 2010. Blue Bloods found a strong fanbase, which was not happy when speculation started that the show could end amid the cast and producers agreeing to take a 25 percent pay cut. Wahlberg exclusively told NewsPlop in April 2023 that he hoped to see Blue Bloods achieve the same level of success as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. “I mean, Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay have been going for gosh, so many years, and we hope to last as long as they have,” he shared at the time. “One of the things I’ve done is I try to just stay very present in each episode and take each script that comes my way and say, ‘OK, what’s gonna happen now? You know, what am I doing this week?’ And kind of find the journey in that particular episode and not get caught up in what’s gonna happen next year, what’s gonna happen in two years.” Which 'Blue Bloods' Stars Have Reprised Their Roles on 'Boston Blue' So Far? Wahlberg noted that he wasn’t opposed to the idea of a Blue Bloods spinoff, joking, “Danny and Erin become private investigators and move to Hawaii, but that was too close to Magnum, P.I., so we didn’t want to do that one.” After Blue Bloods came to an end in December 2024, Wahlberg scored a continuation with CBS’ Boston Blue. The spinoff, which also stars Marcus Scribner, Gloria Reuben, Ernie Hudson and Maggie Lawson, features many familiar faces except for Danny’s son Sean, who went from being played by Andrew Terraciano to Mika Amonsen. Coshowrunner Brandon Margolis defended the decision while noting that he “loved” watching Terraciano “grow up on TV,” telling TV Insider in October, “It creatively made sense to find an actor with a different energy.” He concluded: “And to your point, yeah, it was a gamble to open the show on a new face — two new faces, actually — but the story required us to love him right away. Opening with that heroic moment that has a tragic end was the right way to pull Danny Reagan into this world.” Amonsen made his debut as Sean three months after news broke that the role of Wahlberg’s youngest son was recast. “Sean has relocated to Boston to start a new chapter as a Boston PD patrolman,” read a description from CBS at the time. “Sean committed himself to pursuing his family’s legacy but wanted to do so on his own terms, which meant joining a department outside of his hometown. Danny’s decision to stay in Boston gives this father and son duo a chance to reconnect on a deeper level.” Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the surprising recast news — and what it means for Blue Bloods‘ spinoff Boston Blue: The Key Players Blue Bloods, which premiered in 2010, followed the lives of the Reagan family, many of whom work for the NYPD under the leadership of NYC police commissioner Frank Reagan (Selleck). Frank’s father, Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), has also been central to the show alongside Frank’s children: daughter Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) and sons Danny (Wahlberg) and Jamie Reagan (Will Estes). Danny was previously married to Linda Rose Reagan (Amy Carlson), with whom he shared sons Jack and Sean, before her death. The role of Danny’s youngest son was played by Terraciano for the entirety of the show’s 14 seasons. The Gist After Blue Bloods came to an end in 2024, CBS announced a spinoff titled Boston Blue. Wahlberg’s character is at the center of the spinoff, which picks up as the former NYPD officer takes on a position” with the Boston P.D. He is then paired with detective Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green), who is the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family. In July, Amonsen was added to the cast as Sean but no reason was given for the recasting. Meet the Cast of CBS Spinoff 'Boston Blue' — Including 'Blue Bloods' Alums What Has Been Said Christos Kalohoridis/CBS “We love Andrew and the work he did over the years on Blue Bloods. Really, it came down to we’re telling a new chapter in both of their lives,” Margolis told Variety in October about the decision. “It’s not just Sean who has joined the family business as it were and is turning over this new leaf, but it’s also now Danny Reagan is the father a cop, which he’s never been before.” Margolis called the switch “an organic opportunity to bring in a new performance with a new energy, to help dramatize that change.” The writers’ room was looking forward to “new storytelling lanes to explore” with the spinoff series. “It is the same character, it’s the same relationship, but it’s also completely different,” he continued. “We love what Mika has brought to Sean, this vulnerability, yet this desire to prove himself. It’s just been great to watch it come to life.” What’s Next Amonsen’s version of Sean is leading the cast of Boston Blue. The new series will focus on Sean’s attempt to rise the ranks alongside friend and coworker Jonah (Marcus Scribner). He will receive help from Danny, who chose to stay in Boston to look after his son and continue working with Lena for the Boston PD. “There’s been some negativity, for sure,” Amonsen exclusively told NewsPlop about taking over the role. “But when I look under those posts that have the negativity, there’s a lot of fans rallying for Sean and people saying that they really enjoyed this character that I’ve created — or my version of character.” Amonsen noted that he wanted to make Blue Bloods fans happy with his performance, saying, “They’re really enjoying the show and they love where it’s going in terms of Sean and that makes me happy.” The actor recalled feeling “a ton of pressure” over the situation. “I felt the pressure to respect an actor before me because I wanted to respect Andrew the best I could. There were even certain visual choices that I made that I wanted to keep in terms of hair styling and certain ways of being ,” he continued. “I really want to maintain Sean as close as I can in the ways that I do it out of respect for this character that everyone loves — but also the character Andrew built.” He continued: “When I booked the show, it all happened really quickly. It was within about a week’s time and I was really thrown into it quickly. I did binge watch as much as I could and I found doing the later seasons was more helpful. I wanted to get a sense of who Sean was toward the end of the show. I really wanted to get a sense of his character at that point into adulthood and his relationship with Danny.” Terraciano, meanwhile, broke his silence to Us about the shakeup. “I had somebody call me — actually the day that I was graduating — and they had spoken to my mom and she called me . They were like, ‘They might be looking for a different Sean,'” Terraciano shared with Us in December about the onscreen change. “Shortly after we got the news, Donnie called me. It was a really beautiful moment of getting to hear from an old friend but also somebody that you respect so much and have learned so much from.” Terraciano expressed gratitude for his time on Blue Bloods. “It’s beautiful because you’ll always remember every single line and every day that you had the opportunity to be that character,” he shared. “It doesn’t mean for even a second that somebody else can’t go and do something beautiful with it.” Terraciano continued: “I got the joy of playing Sean, and I got to send him off into the world. Now somebody else gets that joy. We’re both getting to show what we do and then send Sean off into the world.”

Boston Blue’s Recasting of Donnie Wahlberg’s Son From ‘Blue Bloods’ Explained

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