The world of CBS’ Blue Bloods isn’t staying out of primetime for too long despite the original series wrapping after nearly 300 episodes over 14 season in late 2024. Boston Blue will partner Donnie Wahlberg’s Detective Danny Reagan with Star Trek: Discovery vet Sonequa Martin-Green as Detective Lena Silver. Now, just one week after news broke that a Psych alum joined the cast for the premiere in the fall 2025 TV schedule, a former ER actress is on board… despite playing a different character not once but twice on the original Blue Bloods.
Gloria Reuben joins Boston Blue as a series regular, according to Deadline, and she’ll double as Boston’s District Attorney and the mom of Martin-Green’s character. Named Mae Silver, the character was married to a judge who was murdered while on the steps of the courtroom. Mae wants to put family ahead of work when she can, and the family is so stacked with law enforcement that I’m definitely reminded of Blue Bloods‘ Reagans.
In addition to daughter Lena (Sonequa Martin-Green) as a police detective, Mae’s stepdaughter Sarah (played by Psych‘s Maggie Lawson) is the Police Superintendent while her son is a rookie cop. Her dad, played by the iconic Ernie Hudson, seems to fall outside of the law enforcement bubble, as he’s a reverend.
But Gloria Reuben may need no introduction as an actress for any Boston Blue fans who come to the new show from Blue Bloods. The actress played Special Agent Rachel Weber in the final two episodes of Blue Bloods Season 11, both of which are available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription now.
I’d say that it’s a safe bet that Boston Blue isn’t going to drop a twist that Mae Silver and Rachel Weber are somehow the same person. After all, it’s hardly unprecedented for actors to play multiple characters within the same franchise. The count of stars who did just that is well into the double digits over in NBC’s Law & Order world!
Reuben is also a familiar face across CBS dramas, including Elsbeth, The Equalizer, NCIS: Hawai’i, and of course Blue Bloods before Boston Blue premieres in the fall. Her Blue Bloods arrival was a Jesse Stone reunion for Tom Selleck, but she’ll be more likely to share the screen with Selleck’s on-screen son in just a few months, Donnie Wahlberg leading Boston Blue as Danny Reagan.
Reuben’s casting will mark a special reunion with Sonequa Martin-Green, as the two played mother and daughter in My Dead Friend Zoe. All in all, Boston Blue is slowly but surely filling up, although questions remain about whether any Reagans other than Danny will have a part to play. Donnie Wahlberg opened about about the sense of mourning Blue Bloods while also being excited for that world to continue with Boston Blue.
The wait won’t be too long, as CBS isn’t holding Boston Blue for midseason like the situation with Watson. While the network hasn’t announced a specific premiere date yet, the new show has inherited the old Blue Bloods time slot of 10 p.m. ET on CBS Fridays. With S.W.A.T.‘s cancellation, the new Friday night on the network will be comprised of Sheriff Country, Fire Country, and Boston Blue.
