[Warning: The below contains major spoilers for the Boston Blue series premiere.]
It wasn’t just Donnie Wahlberg who reprised his Blue Bloods role on the series premiere of the spinoff Boston Blue on Friday night. That episode, “Faith and Family,” featured cameos by Marisa Ramirez (Det. Maria Baez) and Bridget Moynahan (Erin Reagan), too. Blue Bloods alum Tom Selleck didn’t come back to play Frank Reagan, however — although viewers did see Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan on the phone with his dad. So, is there any chance we’ll see Frank this season on Boston Blue?
Unfortunately, there’s no official word about Selleck joining the new show. But fans have reason to hope Frank Reagan will make the trip to New York City to Boston at some point in Season 1.
For starters, the series premiere referenced Frank a few times. Danny calls his dad to update him on Danny’s son Sean’s condition after Sean (Mika Amonsen) was injured rescuing victims from a fire.
Then, Police Superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson) said that she phoned Frank, who’s still NYPD commissioner, and he vouched for him enough for Sarah to authorize Danny to consult with Boston PD on the case. “Your dad’s voice counts for a lot, even this far from home,” she tells Danny.
“Danny Reagan, son of Frank, commissioner of all the land,” Danny quipped.
And later, Det. Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green) brought up Frank when she cited Danny’s reputation for going rogue. “You’re a great detective,” she said. “But how many times did your dad, the NYPD commissioner, look the other way when you crossed the line?”
“I hear you. And when it comes to my old man, nothin’ made him happier than to make an example out of me for the rank and file,” Danny responded. “But he also knew that sometimes dotting I’s and crossing T’s has to come second to right and wrong.”
So the stage might be set for Frank to show up on Boston Blue. Selleck, for his part, has been keeping a low profile recently. His IMDb filmography shows nothing else in the pipeline, aside from a rumored continuation of his Jesse Stone TV movies, so his schedule might be wide open.
The actor told TV Insider last year he was “kind of frustrated” that Blue Bloods was ending. “During those last eight shows, I haven’t wanted to talk about an ending for Blue Bloods but about it still being wildly successful,” he said. “I don’t believe in holding grudges, but if you were to say to the television network, ‘Here’s a show you can program in the worst time slot you got, and it is going to guarantee you winning Friday night for the next 15 years,’ it would be almost impossible to believe. My frustration is, the show was always taken for granted because it performed from the get-go. So how do I feel? It’s going to take a long time to sort all of this out.”
And the stars of Boston Blue would love to see Selleck join their ranks. “That would be great,” Ernie Hudson, who plays Rev. Edwin Peters on the spinoff, told Us Weekly recently. “I’d love to work with Tom. I never have. Over the years, I’ve certainly admired his work. I admire his work, and he’s still ready to do whatever.”
And as he weighed in on Selleck’s possible comeback as Frank, Wahlberg pointed out to Parade this June that “New York and Boston are really close.”
Boston Blue, Fridays, 10/9c, CBS