By India McCarty
Donnie Wahlberg cleared up the rumors about why upcoming BLUE BLOODS spin-off BOSTON BLUE isn’t filming in the title city.
“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,” the actor said while appearing on podcast “Billy & Lisa in the Morning.”
Wahlberg continued, “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.”
He explained that it’s “dire straits financially in the industry,” and he considers himself “fortunate” just to be working on a show right now.
Wahlberg also assured any disappointed Bostonian fans that BOSTON BLUE will “be filming in Boston a lot.”
“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,” he said. “You can’t fake what Boston looks like.”
The actor added that the show will bring “Boston actors” into the cast and do “everything we can” to give BOSTON BLUE the right feel and look.
“The goal is, let’s compromise to get the show made,” Wahlberg said. “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.”
BOSTON BLUE’s cast and crew have shot a few scenes in the city. According to The Patriot Ledger, Wahlberg has been “seen filming near the Park Street T station on Monday, Aug. 4. Specifically, Wahlberg walked past the Granary Burying Ground and through the Boston Common, at one point running through the Common for a foot chase scene.”
Wahlberg has spoken a lot about his vision for BOSTON BLUE and his character, Danny Reagan.
He told Entertainment Weekly, “I would have Danny Reagan walk right into his next chapter of his life, maybe in a different place doing a similar job and perhaps with someone from the current cast. But I want him to not be too far from the family so that he could still see them and spend time with them, but maybe to see what life has in store for him now that his boys have gone off and he’s empty-nesting and his wife’s gone.”
“Maybe he can see what the future holds for him on his own. As long as he can visit the family sometimes,” Wahlberg said, then joked, “Does that sound like a tease for a spinoff?”
While Boston BLUE BLOODS fans might be disappointed to hear that much of the show will be shot in Toronto, BOSTON BLUE still promises to be an exciting new chapter for Danny Reagan!
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