Donnie Wahlberg got candid about why Boston Blue is filming primarily in Toronto instead of Boston in a new interview. This comes after fan backlash about the filming location spurred by footage of Wahlberg and Mika Amonsen emerged in Toronto in late July. According to the New Kids on the Block star, the Blue Bloods offshoot has to film in Toronto because of the “dire straits” the TV industry is currently in financially. On a more positive note, he said that the first episode of Boston Blue “is going to blow people’s minds” when it comes to guest appearances in the series premiere.
The comments came in an appearance on the Billy & Lisa in the Morning podcast on August 7. Wahlberg, a Boston native, assured that they’re still filming Boston Blue in Boston, saying that he played a big part in making sure that happened. Wahlberg said in Instagram comments in July that they were headed to Boston for filming the following week, and they did recently film a scene in Fenway Park, as Wahlberg details on Billy & Lisa in the Morning. But he did admit on the podcast that because of budget constraints, filming in Toronto will continue.
“I think we’ll be filming in Boston a lot,” Wahlberg said. “People think it’s a personal choice or that I didn’t want to film in Boston. I had the best time in my life filming in Boston. I have the best time in my life every time I go to Boston … The industry has really been beat up from COVID and the strike. CBS, for example, used to make, like, 20 shows a year. They’re making two this year — new shows — and I’m on one of them. It’s really dire straits financially in the industry, so I’m really fortunate to be making a show. I’m really fortunate to be able to go to Boston and work at all. But you know, when I initially was offered the job, I said, ‘We got to go to Boston.’ They said, ‘We can’t afford it.’”
“It’s basically thirty cents on a dollar to film in Canada right now, compared to eighty cents on a dollar, ninety cents from a dollar even with tax breaks,” he continued. “But I said, ‘We have to go to Boston. I can’t not go to Boston.’ And so the plan right now is to do the interiors up here [in Toronto] and go to Boston every couple of weeks and do what we did and put a crew together, a Boston crew, and go down and film all over the city. You can’t fake what Boston looks like. And you know, we’re bringing Boston actors up here to guest [star] in the show. We’re doing everything we can, and hopefully, in success, we can be in Boston more. The goal is, let’s compromise to get the show made. We’ll work outside and do exteriors in Boston, and then you know, in success, perhaps we can come down there and be there full time. That would be a dream of all dreams.”
Wahlberg detailed the Boston Blue scene they filmed in Fenway Park and what it was like to be a real-life Red Sox fan acting like a New York Mets fan underneath the Green Monster. He said that it’s true that he told production that he refuses to let Danny Reagan be a Yankees fan (he can’t betray his real-life Boston roots like that). While it’s not worked into his contract, he said that he told production that Danny could only be a Mets fan, and they agreed.
Speaking about the first episode and the possibility of seeing some Blue Bloods stars in it, Wahlberg said it’s “going to blow people’s minds.”
“I think people are going to be like, ‘Oh my god, Like there’s some twists and turns in the first episode, and then we’re going to continue that,” Wahlberg shared. “We want to pay respect and honor Blue Bloods, but also there are thousands and thousands of police families in America, and we want to tell some of those stories, too. And we want to let Danny explore, you know, be a fish out of water.”
Boston Blue, Series Premiere Friday, October 17, 10/9c, CBS