Donnie Wahlberg Reveals the Tough Part of Filming “Boston Blue” in His Hometown

The real-life Bostonian, who plays a New Yorker on the series, said there's plenty of fanfare when he's on location

NEED TO KNOW

• Donnie Wahlberg is sharing one of the more difficult parts about filming Boston Blue in his hometown
• The Blue Bloods alum revealed on Live with Kelly and Mark that filming in Boston means things can get “crazy”
• “We don’t get anything shot,” he joked

Donnie Wahlberg knows things can get rowdy when its time to film in Boston.

The Boston Blue star, who reprises his role of Blue Bloods' Danny Reagan in the CBS procedural, is sharing what its really like to film scenes in his hometown of Boston.

While speaking with Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa during the Wednesday, April 22 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Wahlberg said "it's crazy" when he and his costars film in Beantown. "We don't get anything shot. Every take, I'm literally saying, 'Give me your hand, sir, you're under arrest,' and it's like, 'Donnie! Donnie,'" Wahlberg, 56, said.

"The duck boat tours, which are very famous in Boston, they drive by and have a headset on with a speaker," he added. "And it's literally like, 'Over there, you'll see Donnie Wahlberg in the wild. He grew up three doors down from me, I knew his mother, God rest her soul.'"

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Ripa, who said she once got an earful about the Wahlbergs on a boat tour, recommended the family get "their own" duck boat.

In Boston Blue, Wahlberg plays an NYPD vet who winds up working for the Boston Police Department in an effort to be closer to his son Sean (Mika Amonsen). During Blue Bloods' 14 seasons from 2010 until 2024, Wahlberg got some experience ridding himself of his Boston accent to play a Brooklynite. Still, the "accent does sneak out at times."

"The good news is I filmed Blue Bloods here in New York for 14 years and the New Yorkers never let up on me," Wahlberg said on Live. "If the Patriots lost to the Giants, I'd show up to work the next day, [there'd be] posters, newspaper clippings plastered all over. They'd never let up on me."

He added, "So they taught me how to bring that to Boston and tease Bostonians, even though I am one."

Speaking with PEOPLE at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March, the actor and New Kids on the Block member revealed he had "the pleasure of calling all my castmates and telling them" the show had been renewed for a second season. Boston Blue, which is still in its first season, premiered on CBS in October.

“I did it, and every cast member got tears in their eyes, every single one of them, and so did I,” he said. “And when I called Jenny [McCarthy] and told her about that, we shared a nice cry.”

“Well, I’m an EP too, so I said as one of the EPs, I’d like to be the one to tell them. And everyone agreed,” Wahlberg added.

Boston Blue airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Paramount+.

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