There is no replacing Tom Selleck’s Frank Reagan, but it seems CBS’s Blue Bloods spinoff has just found his successor in a sense.
As first reported by Deadline, CBS has cast legendary actor Ernie Hudson in the series regular role as Reverend Peters, the patriarch of the Silver family who will be taking over for the Reagans as the central focus in Boston Blue. Interestingly, Hudson is not playing a prominent law enforcement officer, which is sure to bring about a unique shift to the show; however, it’s clear he’s set to be the Frank Reagan, and the pair share many similarities in being respected figures within the communities.
Reverend Peters is a renowned pastor at a historic Baptist church in Boston who is described as being “an open-minded, welcoming man that is comfortable in all traditions, he is happy to preside at his church’s traditional Sunday Baptist service.” He’s the father of Boston’s District Attorney Mae Silver, and grandfather of Detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), Superintendent Ashley Silver, and rookie patrol cop Isaac Silver.
Honestly, we truly love that the show is shaking things up by having the family patriarch not be in law enforcement. This is sure to unlock some unique storylines for the show to explore in having the family patriarch not be the highest member of law enforcement, but rather be a member of the church. It’ll also open the door for the show to continue to weave faith into the family dynamics and storylines, which was always something we loved about Blue Bloods.
Hudson is the perfect selection for the role as he’s an actor who, much like Selleck, has a commanding screen presence needed to play a well-regarded family patriarch. He also has a warmth to him that will undoubtedly come shining through in the familial aspects of the show, and we cannot wait to see Hudson back on primetime after the cancellation of Quantum Leap!
Between the casting of Hudson and Sonequa Martin-Green, CBS is assembling quite an incredible cast for its Blue Bloods spinoff! There are several key members of the Peters family still to be cast, so it’ll be exciting to see who might round out the cast, which, of course, also includes Donnie Wahlberg, who will be back to reprise his role as Danny Reagan in the new series.
The action will see Danny taking a job with the Boston PD and relocating to the city where he’ll work alongside Detective Silver. The focus of the show will be shifting to the Silver family, but we’re hoping the door will be open for the occasional Blue Bloods cameo to occur throughout the series as well!
We'll meet the Silver family and see which members of the Reagan family might pop up in the show, when Boston Blue arrives Fridays this fall on CBS!