“Blue Bloods: When Justice Runs in the Family”

Although Boston Blue has begun announcing some supporting cast, the Blue Bloods spinoff still has no replacement for Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck). Frank’s refusal to compromise his values was a large part of the original cop and family drama, and he was a fixture in Blue Bloods‘ Reagan family dinners, which were the centerpiece of each episode and contributed to the procedural’s enduring popularity. Blue Bloods’ biggest selling point was its unique focus on a family of cops who prayed and ate together, setting it apart from most other police procedurals.

Despite continuing to be popular after 14 seasons, Blue Bloods was one of the shows CBS canceled in 2025. However, the network announced in March 2025 that a Blue Bloods spinoff was on its way that would feature Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) moving to Boston and working with the daughter of a prominent cop family there. So far, Danny is the only Reagan expected to appear in the spinoff, but there has been widespread speculation about how the new show will preserve the family elements without the other Reagans.

Ernie Hudson Will Play Sonequa Martin-Green’s Grandfather, Reverend Peters

Ernie Hudson has joined Boston Blue as the patriarch of the Silver family (via Entertainment Weekly). Not much is known about his character other than that he is a Baptist pastor and the head of a prominent law enforcement family in Boston. Although casting is still underway, Reverend Peters is known to have at least one daughter and two granddaughters. Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green) will be Danny’s partner, while her stepsister Sarah (Maggie Lawson) is the Boston PD supervisor. There will also be a male character who is a rookie cop, and one of Peters’ daughters will be the district attorney.

Interestingly, this makes him similar to several Blue Bloods characters, although Frank Reagan is not one of them. His status as a pastor gives him a calling and job in common with Frank’s friend, Archbishop Kevin Kearns (Stacy Keach). That said, he comes from a different religious background than the Archbishop. In a more direct sense, the grandfather role makes Peters a strong analog for Len Cariou’s Henry Reagan.

Boston Blue’s Reverend Peters Sounds More Like Henry Reagan Than Tom Selleck’s Frank

He Is A Beloved Grandfather Who Is Not An Active CopWhile the family patriarch role is reminiscent of Frank Reagan, Reverend Peters has more in common with Henry. Like Henry, he is a grandfather who is considered the head of a prominent cop family. However, while Henry was a retired former commissioner who still longed to be involved in law enforcement, it’s unclear whether Peters ever served as a cop like his New York counterpart, and his work as a pastor suggests that he has had little involvement with the daily operations of the Boston PD beyond his ties to his family members in the force