It’s always fun when guest stars cross paths with actors they’ve worked closely with before.
Longtime Gloria Reuben fans know she worked with veteran actor Harry Lennix on ER. Now he will be playing a judge on an upcoming episode of Boston Blue.
TV Fanatic had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Lennix, discussing everything from his reunion with Reuben to the state of the TV industry. Check out his thoughts below!
Lennix’s Reunion with Reuben on Boston Blue Was the Icing On The Cake For Him
He and Reuben may have last acted together over two decades ago, but the two have maintained a friendship, and Lennix actually crossed paths with Reuben shortly before he got the Boston Blue gig.
Lennix explained that she had come to see him in a play he was doing on Broadway, and the two briefly discussed getting together soon — something that came true when he got the job on Boston Blue.
“As it turned out,” he said, “The next time we saw each other was when I got the job on Boston Blue.”
He went on to enthusiastically describe the experience of working with her again, saying that she was “very welcoming and warm” and that working with her was like “seeing an old friend at her place of work.”
Working with her again in a different context might sound challenging, but Lennix explained that for him, the fun part of acting is getting on the set and seeing how you bounce off the other actors.
For that reason, he didn’t need to do extensive preparation for this role, as it didn’t require much research — just showing up on set and doing the work.
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Lennix Will Play a Judge on Boston Blue
He said that he “didn’t think there was much” he could say in terms of spoilers, even if he wanted to, but that his character and Reuben’s Mae Silver might have been involved in the past.
“The implication was that Gloria and I were something in the past,” he explains. “I think we were young at the time, and I wasn’t ready to commit.”
As with many Boston Blue stories, this one will blend the personal and the political, as Mae will presumably be standing before this judge for professional reasons.
We didn’t get a chance to discuss specifics of the case Mae will be trying, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it has something to do with her husband’s death.
Boston Blue Season 1 has already established that the case against Ben’s murderer will have to be retried because of the revelation that the ADA involved with it was involved in unethical behavior, and it’ll be even more dramatic if Mae’s ex-boyfriend has to make decisions about the next steps!
Playing a Judge Was An Exciting Challenge For Lennix Because of His Previous Role
If you were a The Blacklist fan, you already know that Lennix played FBI agent Harold Cooper on that series.
For that reason, he enjoyed playing this judge.
Lennix explained that he had “played a lot of cops in his time, and some robbers, but not a lot of judges.” So after playing “an FBI guy, [on Blacklist]” he was excited about “getting to explore the other side of law enforcement on a show that is quite frankly so standard, so American.”
His comment, of course, refers to the fact that Boston Blue is the sequel to Blue Bloods, which set the gold standard for depicting cops and judges in a fair and positive light.
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Hopefully, this judge’s past relationship with Mae will leave him struggling to be objective or to recuse himself.
This will not only be more realistic but also true to the ethos of Boston Blue and its parent show. Neither show embraces standard cop-show tropes that prioritize drama over realism (though some of Jonah and Sean’s scenes have been debatable in that regard).
How Far Will The Personal Go In This Episode?
When Lennix and I talked about the challenges inherent in this role, he didn’t reveal how far things go between his character and Mae, but he did mention something interesting: there is currently a debate in the TV industry about how to depict intimate scenes.
“This is a difficult thing to navigate,” he explains, “because of the state of the industry.”
Lennix mentioned that there are questions about how far to go, and sometimes producers have to find creative ways to imply sexual content without being too explicit.
I don’t know what this means for Boston Blue, but if any intimate content is implied rather than shown outright, that’s fine with me. I prefer these types of scenes to be left to the imagination, and I get bored when they go on for too long.
So What’s Next for Lennix?
The veteran actor shared that, outside his Boston Blue guest shot, he has returned to acting in plays, something he did more of earlier in his career.
He has lots of exciting news on that front.
“I’m going to do a play next month in Chicago. I’m on my way to do that now. [It is called] Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and I have been co-directing with the musical director,” he said.
He added that he will be doing another play in Los Angeles after that, and most excitedly, in April, he will go to Portugal to star in a production of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
He added that he was “enjoying these theatrical days, something which I did earlier in my career and which has reemerged in the last two and a half years.”
Lennix’s upcoming projects are not only great news for Lennix and his fans, but continue one of my favorite traditions from Blue Bloods.
Because the series was New York-based, it often employed Broadway actors between plays, providing them with additional work when they weren’t actively working in theatre.
It is also always interesting to see how theatre skills transfer to the small screen, especially in well-written shows like Boston Blue.
Lennix’s Message for Fans: The Creative Arts Aren’t Going Anywhere
Lennix is grateful for the opportunity to act on well-written network shows like Boston Blue.
“I am happy that the fans get to enjoy network television, especially a show like Boston Blue,” he said. “It is well written, has a stellar cast…”
He also went a bit deeper, adding that high-quality entertainment is “still out there. Despite all of the A.I. and everyone afraid they’re about to be replaced, there are some things only humans can do.”
Here at TV Fanatic, we have often discussed the problems in the modern TV industry, so it is refreshing to hear a veteran actor affirm that human creativity is not at risk of being swallowed up forever.
What do you think about everything Lennix had to say?
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If you enjoyed this article, check out our other interviews with guest stars, main cast, and showrunners of your favorite shows. Be sure to check back soon for our upcoming interview with Marcus Scribner, who plays Boston Blue’s Jonah Silver.
Harry Lennix will appear on Boston Blue on March 6, 2026. The episode airs on CBS at 10/9c and will stream on Paramount+ starting on March 7, 2026.
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