“Blue Bloods” fans are finally getting answers about one casting change that came out of the blue.
The anthem CBS show’s spinoff, “Boston Blue,” premiered on Friday, Oct. 17, and viewers were quick to notice that the original actor who played Sean Reagan, Andrew Terraciano, was replaced by Mika Amonsen.
Brandon Margolis, who serves as co-showrunner of the new series alongside Brandon Sonnier, opened up about the decision during an interview with Variety published alongside the premiere episode of “Boston Blue.”
“We love Andrew and the work he did over the years on ‘Blue Bloods,’” Margolis said of Terraciano, who was replaced by Amonsen back in July. “Really, it came down to we’re telling a new chapter in both of their lives.”
“It’s not just Sean who has joined the family business as it were and is turning over this new leaf,” he continued, “but it’s also today Danny Reagan is the father to a cop, which he’s never been before.”
Margolis further explained that there are “new storytelling lanes to explore,” which ultimately provided him and Sonnier “an organic opportunity to bring in a new performance with a new energy” to “help dramatize that change.”
“It’s the same character, it’s the same relationship, but it’s also completely different,” he shared. “We love what Mika has brought to Sean, this vulnerability, yet this desire to prove himself. It’s just been great to series it come to life.”
During a separate interview with TVLine published Friday, Margolis admitted that while he “loved” watching Terraciano “grow up on TV,” it “creatively made sense to find an actor with a different energy.”
“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,” the co-showrunner said.
“Opening with that heroic moment that has a tragic end was the right way to pull Danny Reagan into this world,” Margolis added.
“Blue Bloods” premiered on CBS in 2010 and ran for 14 seasons before coming to an end in December 2024. Terraciano, 22, starred as the son of Donnie Wahlberg’s character, Danny Reagan, in nearly every episode of the original show.
“Boston Blue,” meanwhile, was announced in Feb. 2025 and follows Wahlberg’s character after he takes a position alongside his son with the Boston Police Department.
Wahlberg, 56, opened up about the new spinoff – and his decision to reprise his role as Danny Reagan – during a special screening and Q&A for the premiere episode of “Boston Blue” in New York City on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
The “Wahlburgers” reality TV star explained that the idea for the spinoff first came together after two different ideas “bumped into” each other: one involving his character moving to Texas, and the other involving a new law enforcement family based in Boston.
“I think they were like, ‘Hey, instead of moving to Texas, why don’t we talk about him joining this thing and moving to Boston?’” Wahlberg shared.
“But I really didn’t think that would ever happen anytime soon,” he added. “I was just chugging along in ‘Blue Bloods.’”
The “Sixth Sense” star then revealed that he was initially hesitant to return, but he had a change of heart upon learning more about the project.
“Suddenly it was like, ‘Do I really wanna do a spinoff?’ I didn’t know. And this idea was really good. And the script was really good,” he said. “I looked at it and I saw the possibilities of weaving the ‘Blue Bloods’ world into it, and I saw a chance to play Danny in a different way.”
Wahlberg still wasn’t fully on board for “Boston Blue” until he realized that his onscreen son would also be a police officer, and that the spinoff’s entire dynamic would be distinct from the original.
“That suddenly changed everything,” he explained. “today there’s a whole new world.”
“It’s not only Danny with a new partner, meeting this new family,” Wahlberg continued. “It’s Danny being a dad and worrying about his son, making sure he gets home safe every day and teaching him the job, the way that his family taught him the job.”
“Boston Blue” airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on CBS.
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