Blue Bloods: 5 Reasons Why Donnie Wahlberg's Danny Reagan Spin-Off Is A Bad Idea

After first swearing that it would never pull the trigger on a spin-off, then declaring that maybe the adventures of the much-beloved Reagans didn't need to end after all, CBS has finally said yes to an expansion of its "Blue Bloods" universe. In spite of one failed Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) spin-off attempt, the loosely-titled "Boston Blue" will be all about him. Danny will be moving away from his beloved clan and fighting crime in the City by the Bay. It might be a natural move for Boston native Wahlberg, but for Danny, who's as New York City as cheesecake, it's quite a switch.

This change in setting means that Danny's going it alone — no Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez), no family to turn to, just an officer with his new colleagues for back up. This spells out all kinds of trouble for "Blue Bloods" fans who just want more Reagan antics and aren't really interested in a fish-out-of-water show. Here are five reasons why this solo outing for Danny might not stick.

The Big Apple is just as much of a character in "Blue Bloods" as any member of the Reagan clan. What would each episode be without a peek at city living, the pulsing culture of the street, the rhythm and rhyme of the way the place and its politics work? Sure, Boston will provide a completely different place for Danny to roam, but it is not New York City, and it might not draw the same sense of wonder, familiarity, or joy from fans who are totally obsessed with the world in which the Reagans inhabit. It's not that it's a crazy idea to bring the show to a new city and see how Danny adapts to it — many a drama has dealt with such a topic before — but there's a uniquely New York rhyme and reason to all of Danny's previous adventures, and this new backdrop may end up being too jarring for viewers.

"Blue Bloods" did an awful lot of leg work during its series finale to get Danny and Maria Baez together — or, at least, leave viewers with a smattering of hope that they'll end up dating. After Danny's grandpa Henry (Len Cariou) forces him to deal with his loneliness head on, he finally asks Baez out for pizza — and while she's not there during the final Reagan family dinner, the implication is that they will at least try to be together in the near future.

Naturally, Maria won't be there with Danny in Boston for "Boston Blue," or so it seems (the only characters mentioned in the plot breakdown are Danny and the as of yet uncast Detective Lena Peters). Like Danny, Lena belongs to a close-knit policing clan, and they will be partners. Of course, Baez could show up one day (perhaps after Danny and Lena get close, causing some friction), but choosing not to keep them together is a betrayal for all those fans who have been hoping for a big romantic moment between them. That alone might be enough to keep viewers away from the spin-off.

A big part of the appeal of "Blue Bloods" is that the Reagan clan is a strong family unit. They work together and sometimes fight over what's best for the city. Then they come home and end up buried deep in each other's business. This is exemplified by the show's once-per-episode family dinner scenes, which became the best part of the series with every passing season. The Reagans rarely hesitated to back one another, but this time Danny will be out there all alone — a good two hours from backup and the security of the family nest. 

Family dynamics completely rule "Blue Bloods," which is why the notion of Danny working solo without his clan makes little to no sense. In moving him away to Boston, he has no family unit at his disposal. Sure, the family dynamic is imported to the story via Lena's family's presence, but will viewers get on board with this? The creators will be hoping that the Peters clan become the new Reagans, but can Danny stand on his own two feet as a character? And will audiences care enough to follow his journey every week?

The premise for "Boston Blue" is simple: Danny moves from New York to Boston, becomes a detective on the BPD, and meets Lena, who has a family much like his own. In spite of any hope that they might do something entirely original with him, this is the same fish-out-of-water story that's created a foundation for many crime shows over the years. It's not unique or interesting enough to stand out among the crowd, and that's worrisome. 

The fact that Lena is supposed to represent ordered and regular life in Boston is also risky. The show will have to get audiences to like her right away, and that might be tough to do if she ends up being portrayed as an unsmiling stickler. "Blue Bloods" may have been comfort food TV, but the portrait of a sprawling family it gave us was actually unique when framed within a police procedural. The upcoming spin-off is shaping up to be just another bog-standard crime show.

It turns out there may be a reason why Danny's new adventure feels so ill-suited for him. The truth about "Boston Blue" is that it wasn't created as a "Blue Bloods" spin-off at all. Per Deadline, the show got its start as a pilot called "Jamaica Plain," which centered on the mutt-and-jeff pairing of Lena and a new officer imported from Los Angeles. Danny and the "Blue Bloods" angle were added later on, when the first script for the show had already sold. Since Donnie Wahlberg is a Boston native and CBS has been promising a "Blue Bloods" universe to fans upset by the show's cancellation, the pilot's appearance seemed quite fortuitous.

The risk here is the show falling victim to being unmoored from the "Blue Bloods" world and thus losing its grip on Danny as a character. The lead in the original script was from California and that's quite literally the opposite of Danny, geographically speaking. It's a different way of life on the West Coast, so it's safe to assume that this LAPD transfer was nothing at all like Danny Reagan. Seeing as it wasn't initially created to be a "Blue Bloods" show, it could be quite easy for the spin-off to lose its way. Hopefully that won't happen, but "Boston Blue" is facing an uphill battle when it comes to living up to "Blue Bloods."