Blue Bloods‘ spinoff Boston Blue concluded its first season with a possible cast exit — but there could be more surprises coming in season 2.
During the season 1 finale on Friday, May 22, Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green) started the day off worried about meeting her biological father. It got worse when she found out that her boyfriend, Brian (Ryan Broussard), was thinking of taking a job in another state and then she got shot.
Lena pulled through — but suffered nerve damage that kept her briefly wheelchair bound — before gathering for a family dinner. She was waiting for Brian to arrive when the audience saw his car get hit intentionally by someone. That knocked Brian out just before his car ended up in the ocean.
“There is a little bit of a time jump when we come into the season, which gets us past the medical leave that Lena faces to heal from her injuries,” showrunner Brandon Sonnier exclusively told Us Weekly in a joint interview with executive producer Brandon Margolis. “It also pushes us a little bit further down the road of who was driving the car, what was what was the inciting incident for that event and we unravel what happened right after.”
He continued: “That does become a driving force in Lena and Danny’s life — and the rest of the Reagans and the Silvers. They want to get to the bottom of what that was all about and who was behind it. We do find that person at some point and we do unravel that there is something larger going on and it is a driving force to the season.”
Elsewhere in the finale, Will Hochman reprised his role as Danny’s (Donnie Wahlberg) nephew while Danny’s girlfriend, Baez (Marisa Ramirez), returned and the couple reconciled — and discussed moving in together — just before season 1 came to an end.
Looking ahead at season 2, Sonnier teased what is still to come, adding, “There’s certainly more Boston that we want to explore. There’s certainly exploring the relationships in this new found family that we’ve built in different ways. What crossover relationships are there now that we’ve established the families and where everyone is and what can we do to build even greater relationship dynamics between the players?”
Keep scrolling for answers to the biggest burning questions about possible cast exits, spinoff ideas and future Blue Bloods cameos:
Is Ryan Broussard Leaving the Show After Brian Was Seemingly Killed?
While Margolis and Sonnier wouldn’t confirm or deny Brian’s future on the show, they referred to the actor as a “lovely” addition to the cast.
“We’ve enjoyed working with him this season. If the opportunity for him to be on season 2 is there, we would jump at it,” Margolis noted. “But it’s called a cliffhanger for a reason. You got to come back — that’s what you got to tune in for.”
Margolis noted that the numerous roadblocks thrown Lena’s way would be addressed in season 2, adding, “We love opportunities for her and Danny to grow closer as a result. So that’s what we’re looking forward to in season 2 is resolving the aftermath of the accident. It is about finding out who was behind the wheel of that car and getting justice for Rodgers.”
How Did the Will Hochman Cameo Happen?
Blue Bloods fans got a surprise when Hochman’s character Joe made an appearance. Margolis told Us, “There’s invitations to the whole Reagan clan” to return, but Hochman’s appearance came to be after Wahlberg found out his former costar was already in town filming another project.
“It made sense — honestly — for the story we were telling about discovering new family members and what it meant for Joe Hill and how he learned about the Reagans later in his life,” he continued. “It was a nice parallel to what Lena was going through. It was fate that he was in town when we were telling this story. It made all the sense in the world to get him there and we would love to have him back.”
What About Other ‘Blue Bloods’ Alums?
The screenwriting duo made it clear that anyone and everyone from the OG series was welcome. When asked specifically about Tom Selleck, Sonnier clarified that the “story has got to be right” for Frank to come back.
“It’s a big move and we want to make sure we’re telling the right story,” he noted. “It has to be the right story for Frank and that it’s the right story for Danny and for Sean. When that time is right, maybe we [already] know and maybe we don’t.”
Regardless, the goal is to have all the Reagans in and out of Boston Blue.
“It enriches our lives to get to continue their stories,” Margolis added. “So we would love to extend that invitation and have you know new Reagans appear and Reagans who were there last year to come back.”
What Does the Finale Mean for Danny and Baez?
“We love that relationship and there are ups and downs to any relationship. There are certainly struggles in trying to figure out how things are going to work,” Sonnier told Us about Danny and Baez getting back together. “Two adults who are coming together and who now live in different cities have peaks and valleys in that relationship. There is always something that we wanted to explore — knowing that at the end of the day this is a relationship that we do truly love.”
Sonnier poked fun at the public “outcry,” adding, “It was that much sweeter when we got to bring her back in and have her be that shining light that says, ‘Everything’s going to be OK.’ Ending on that note of how they’re gonna push through this and this relationship is for real.”
As for what that invitation for Baez to move to Boston means for Ramirez’s appearances in season 2?
“All we can say is Baez will be back in season 2,” Margolis teased. “That’s literally all we can tell you. We enjoy Marisa and the two of them as a couple light up the screen. We love getting to tell stories about those two and we’re always looking for opportunities to do that.”
Could There Be a Boston Blue Spinoff?
The pair didn’t rule it out when Us suggested a medical drama set in the same area, saying, “If the opportunity presents itself and there’s the right story to tell .. absolutely. We love it.”
