Blue Bloods is so closely associated with family dinners that it’s easy to overlook its other legacy.
The Reagans weren’t just a family sitting around the dinner table. They were a family of cops — and that’s an important distinction.
One of Blue Bloods’ other missions was to portray what life is like for cops, both on and off duty, and it’s exciting that Boston Blue is continuing that legacy.
Blue Bloods was very different than other cop shows because it was committed to showing cops’ perspectives and let people make up their own minds whether they agreed.
I wasn’t sure that Boston Blue would follow suit. It’s a new show with new writers, and I was worried that it would shoehorn Danny into a foreign concept that didn’t feel like it belonged to the same franchise.
Fortunately, Donnie Wahlberg put that fear to rest during a recent press event promoting the fall schedule.
The beloved star explained that he’d spoken with many police officers around the United States over the past 14 years who appreciated seeing families like his own on TV, and that he wanted to do the same thing with Boston Blue.
That excites me even more than the return of family dinners (without spoiling anything, I’ve seen the premiere and can confirm that there is a family dinner that is both different and the same as what the Reagans did every week).
I’ve seen some comments that Boston Blue being too similar to Blue Bloods means it’s trying to copy the magic without the Reagan family, but I disagree.
Blue Bloods‘ family dinners were intertwined with the fact that this was a family of cops that we all saw as being like us.
That same message is infused into Boston Blue’s DNA, and that’s a good thing.
Boston Blue Also Relies on Consultants and Real Police
If the new writers were making up cop interactions out of whole cloth, I’d be annoyed enough to skip Boston Blue.
But that’s not what’s happening here.
Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Danny’s partner, talked at the press day about consulting with real detectives and learning to shoot a gun properly as part of her preparation for the role of Lena.
Her description felt both reassuring and comforting to me.
I read articles about Blue Bloods using a retired NYPD officer as a full-time consultant, and it sounded like Boston Blue is doing the same thing.
I was skeptical about Boston Blue for all the reasons that many Blue Bloods fans are.
And no, it will never be Blue Bloods 2.0. You can’t just send Danny to another city and substitute another family for the Reagans.
Fortunately, that’s not what this show is doing.
Blue Bloods Had a Fantastic Legacy
Instead, the offshoot has taken the best of the mothership and combined it with their own ideas.
It’s an interesting experiment, and one that I’m getting more and more behind now that I know what it’s actually about and how the show will explore its Blue Bloods connection.
What about you? Are you eager to watch or still skeptical?
Either way, I want to hear your thoughts!
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If you’re interested in more procedurals, check out our coverage of Elsbeth, High Potential, and Matlock.
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