‘Boston Blue’s Premiere Puts a Clever Twist on the Best Part of ‘Blue Bloods’
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Boston Blue’s Season 1 PremiereThe Blue Bloods saga continues with a brand-new spin-off show, Boston Blue, which recently debuted on CBS. The series premiere, “Faith and Family,” picks up with Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) jetting to Boston, Massachusetts, as his son, Boston Police Academy graduate Sean Reagan (Mika Amonsen), is seriously injured in an arson fire. Danny’s trip eventually puts him on the path of the Silver family, the Boston equivalent of New York City’s Reagan family of Blue Bloods, but with a few interesting twists. After quickly befriending the Silvers, Danny and his visiting sister, Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan), join them for a family dinner, which puts a fun spin on one of Blue Bloods‘ most beloved traditions.
‘Boston Blue’s Danny Reagan Forms an Unlikely Partnership With Lena Silver
After visiting his injured son in the hospital, Danny learns from Sean’s best friend and academy buddy, Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner), that Sean discovered a woman who was dead via a gunshot before the fire started. Danny takes it upon himself to investigate the murder scene before running into Jonah’s older sister, Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), who is a detective in the Boston Police Department. Meanwhile, Lena’s step-sister, Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson), is the BPD Superintendent, and their mother, Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben), is the Boston District Attorney.
After some initial confusion, with Lena mistaking Danny for a suspect, the two realize their connection through Jonah and Sean. Sarah signs off on Danny partnering with Lena to investigate the fire and the murder of Andrea Decker, the CEO of an IT company that created the facial recognition software used by the BPD. After learning that Danny is in town, Mae and Jonah invite him over for their family dinner. If you think it’s another traditional Sunday dinner, just like we see in every episode of Blue Bloods, well, that is not the case, as Boston Blue presents its own spin on a classic Blue Bloods storytelling staple.
The Silver Family Invites the Reagans Over for Shabbat Dinner
While the Reagans of Blue Bloods are a family of Irish Roman Catholics, Boston Blue‘s Silvers make up a blended family of devout, practicing Jews. Rather than Sunday dinner, Danny and Erin join the Silvers for a Friday Shabbat dinner. Mae and Lena Silver converted to Judaism when Mae married her second husband, the late Ben Silver, who is Sarah’s biological father. Jonah is Mae’s child she had with Ben after they got married, making the Silvers a multi-ethnic blended family. Based on the initial casting details, it appeared that the Silver family in Boston Blue would be a blended one from marriage, which turned out to be the case. However, the family’s unconditional love and lack of acrimony, despite their differing background, come off as a nice surprise in the pilot episode, and it’s refreshing to see them proudly celebrate traditional Jewish customs for Shabbat dinner.
Seeing the Reagans in a unique setting and joining another family for one of their own religiously themed traditional family dinners provides a fantastic moment for the franchise. It is wonderful to see the Reagans respecting the traditions of the Silvers, with Danny even wearing the traditional Jewish hat, the kippah, during the dinner. It’s not often that a big-time network drama series depicts a Shabbat dinner, complete with the Shabbat dinner prayer, called the Kiddush, which is recited by the Silvers before breaking bread with the Reagans. Considering the Reagan family’s Sunday dinners were a sacrosanct tradition throughout Blue Bloods, Boston Blue, establishing the Silvers’ own family dinner tradition, showcases that the new series is forging its own familiar identity.
‘Boston Blue’ Embraces Family Traditions in Its Own Way
The Shabbat dinner sequence in Boston Blue encapsulates how the spin-off series is following in the path of Blue Bloods, depicting a multi-generational family of law enforcement officers and officials. Much like Blue Bloods, Boston Blue embraces the celebration and honoring of family traditions, but it’s doing things in a different way. Case in point, although the Silvers are devout and practicing Jews, they still respect and celebrate the religious traditions of Mae’s father, and Lena’s grandfather, Reverend Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson), a Baptist pastor and member of the BPD’s Civilian Review Board. The pilot also depicts Danny joining the Silvers for one of Reverend Peters’ Sunday services at his church in a slightly surprising, yet interesting, reveal that confuses Danny at first. Lena explains that although her family is Jewish, they attend Reverend Peters’ Sunday sermons to stay connected as a family.
Clearly, the Silvers share a special bond with Grandfather Peters, and it is nice to see the family continuing to attend the sermons out of respect for his religion and to maintain strong family connections. Although the Silvers do not share Reverend Peters’ religion, they do not allow their differences in faith to divide the family. It’s analogous to how, even though the Reagans fight and bicker sometimes, they always come together for Sunday dinner and unite as a family. The Silvers respect and celebrate each other’s differences, which presents a strength as the series moves forward and carves its own path.
- Release Date
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October 17, 2025
- Directors
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Anthony Hemingway, Randall Zisk
- Writers
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Brandon Margolis, Brandon Sonnier
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Donnie Wahlberg
Danny Reagan
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Sonequa Martin-Green
Det. Lena Silver
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Maggie Lawson
Supt. Sarah Silver
