In the latest installment of Boston Blue, Donnie Wahlberg’s portrayal of Danny takes an emotional turn as he grapples with his relationship with his son, Sean.

On the December 12 episode of the CBS drama, Danny (Wahlberg) and Lena (played by Sonequa Martin-Green) investigate a case involving a young boy who witnesses his father’s murder. The case strikes a personal chord with Danny, visibly affecting him as he draws parallels to his own life.

By the episode’s conclusion, Danny solves the case, which intensifies his desire to reach out to his son Sean (Mika Amonsen) and father Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). The series has been exploring Danny’s efforts to heal and strengthen his previously rocky relationship with Sean.

Before his journey in Boston, Danny’s story unfolded in CBS’s Blue Bloods, which aired from 2010 to 2024. The spin-off, which debuted in October, begins with Danny traveling to Boston after Sean ends up in a coma. Notably, Sean’s role is now played by Mika Amonsen, replacing Andrew Terraciano from the original series.

Boston Blue has made significant efforts to win over fans of Blue Bloods, yet some viewers remain curious about the decision to recast Danny’s son. Donnie Wahlberg’s character, Danny, first captured audiences when Blue Bloods launched on CBS in 2010, garnering a devoted following that remains invested in the show’s development.

“There’s been some negativity, for sure,” Amonsen exclusively told Us Weekly last month about taking over the role. “But when I look under those posts that have the negativity, there’s a lot of fans rallying for Sean and people saying that they really enjoyed this character that I’ve created — or my version of character.”

Amonsen noted that he wanted to make Blue Bloods fans happy with his performance, saying, “They’re really enjoying the show and they love where it’s going in terms of Sean and that makes me happy.”

The actor recalled feeling “a ton of pressure” over the situation.

“I felt the pressure to respect an actor before me because I wanted to respect Andrew the best I could. There were even certain visual choices that I made that I wanted to keep in terms of hair styling and certain ways of being [as Sean],” he continued. “I really want to maintain Sean as close as I can in the ways that I do it out of respect for this character that everyone loves — but also the character Andrew built.”

He continued: “When I booked the show, it all happened really quickly. It was within about a week’s time and I was really thrown into it quickly. I did binge watch as much as I could and I found doing the later seasons was more helpful. I wanted to get a sense of who Sean was toward the end of the show. I really wanted to get a sense of his character at that point into adulthood and his relationship with Danny.”

Terraciano, meanwhile, broke his silence to Us about the shakeup.

Blue Bloods got viewers invested in the Reagan family — but how are the characters related to each other? The CBS series, which premiered in 2010, followed the lives of the Reagan family, many of whom worked for the NYPD under the leadership of NYC police commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). Frank’s father, Henry Reagan […]

“I had somebody call me — actually the day that I was graduating — and they had spoken to my mom and she called me [crying]. They were like, ‘They might be looking for a different Sean,’” Terraciano shared with Us in December about the onscreen change. “Shortly after we got the news, Donnie called me. It was a really beautiful moment of getting to hear from an old friend but also somebody that you respect so much and have learned so much from.”

Terraciano expressed gratitude for his time on Blue Bloods.

“It’s beautiful because you’ll always remember every single line and every day that you had the opportunity to be that character,” he shared. “It doesn’t mean for even a second that somebody else can’t go and do something beautiful with it.”

Terraciano continued: “I got the joy of playing Sean, and I got to send him off into the world. Now somebody else gets that joy. We’re both getting to show what we do and then send Sean off into the world.”

Boston Blue airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET.