Amid the 2025 TV schedule, the Blue Bloods universe is continuing with a new spinoff series, Boston Blue. The show follows Donnie Wahlberg’s Detective Danny Reagan in the titular city as he takes a job with the Boston PD, while his son Sean is a rookie cop. While the parent ended in December 2024, Boston Blue hasn’t quite made it so clear as to how much time has passed between then Now, however, one of the showrunners is providing thoughts.
Even though it’s not directly stated in Boston Blue just how long it’s been since the events of the Blue Bloods series finale, it’s arguably easy to assume it’s been quite some time. One of the biggest things that happened at the end of BB was Danny and Baez finally getting together, and they are still very much an item in Boston, as Marisa Ramirez has already appeared a couple of times. Co-showrunner Brandon Margolis told Soaps.com their relationship is an indicator of how much time has passed, and it’s not nearly as much as people may think:
Our intention is that the pilot of Boston Blue is as close to real-time as we can make it to the date that Blue Bloods ended. So in our world, it’s just been over a year since we last saw all the Reagans, which is enough time for Sean to have joined the [police] academy in Boston and put in the time required to become a rookie patrol cop who’s about to start his first tour. So for us, they’ve been together a year, and it’s been going well.
Continuity is definitely important to fans, so it’s great when producers manage to provide some clarity on that. It’s cool that the Regan/Baez romance serves as the indicator of time when it comes to the links between the shows set in the Blue Bloods universe. As for the romance itself, Margolis also said:
They’re obviously still together, and though they don’t live together yet — as he mentioned in the pilot, when they stay at his place, they turn their ringers off — but they are still together and exploring just how far this relationship can go.
Considering how long fans waited for Danny and Baez to get together, skipping through major milestones in their relationship, such as them officially moving in together, would be harsh. However, having some time pass not only to account for their relationship moving forward but also to show that Sean went through the academy and is now a rookie cop makes it easier to match the timeline from the Blue Bloods finale. So it all makes sense.
Another way Boston Blue has indicated the time jump from the Blue Bloods finale is through Sean. As mentioned, Danny’s youngest, played by Andrew Terraciano on all 14 seasons of Blue Bloods, is now played by Mika Amonsen. Brandon Margolis previously shared that they wanted an actor who resembled the character “that we watched grow up,” but he’s made some life changes. He and co-showrunner Brandon Sonnier felt it was a better way to join the story in progress.
Since a lot of shows are told in real time, when able, it’s not surprising that this was the route the Boston Blue team took. Whether or not the series will ever actually reveal how long it’s been is unknown, but at least fans know for sure that at least a year has passed, which isn’t surprising since Sean is fresh out of the academy and a rookie cop when the spinoff premieres.
Meanwhile, Boston Blue has proven its worth only a few episodes in. Even though the family dinners are different, there is still a lot of love and tradition flowing from the show. I’m excited to see how the season continues, and new episodes air on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.