CBS‘ decision to greenlight a Blue Bloods spin-off was Donnie Wahlberg‘s “dream come true” – until the network revealed production would be in Toronto, Canada, not Donnie’s hometown of Boston. But Donnie has now revealed that he offered to take a 50% pay cut in an effort to encourage CBS to reconsider.

“I got offered the job, I’m like, ‘This is a dream come true,'” Donnie, who reprised his role of Danny Reagan in the 2025 spin-off Boston Blue, said. Admitting he would have gone anywhere to continue playing in this world, when they revealed it would be set in Boston, he said he was “hooked”.

© Michele Crowe/CBS

Unfortunately, then came the kicker – CBS could not afford to shoot in Boston, and would instead take the show to Toronto.

In response, Donnie offered to “give back 50% of my paycheck if we can go to Boston,” but it wasn’t enough. “They said, ‘You can give back 100% and so can the rest of the cast, we cannot film this show in Boston,'” Donnie revealed during an appearance on Andy Cohen Live.

© CBS

However, the Boston native recognizes that the decision was for the best because the Massachusetts city is “non-stop” and the filming crew would have never been able to finish a scene.

“Honestly, Andy, we can’t film it in Boston full-time because it’s nonstop,” he said of the fan reaction. “Literally, the duck boats are going by, and the tour guides have on these headsets with speakers. And it’s literally in the background of a scene you hear, ‘Oh my God, there’s Donnie Wahlberg right over there on the corner.’ And then I have to run over to the duck boat and pose for pictures with everyone.”

© Getty Images

One other issue? Donnie’s entire family – “my cousins, my uncles, my aunts, my nieces, my nephews” –  live in Boston, and he said he “wouldn’t get any work done”.

Donnie was born in Dorchester, a neighborhood in Boston, the son of Alma and Donald Wahlberg, who are also parents to Mark Wahlbergand seven other children.

He has been starring as Danny Reagan since 2010, when Blue Bloods, which also starred Tom Selleck as his on-screen father, first premiered; it was canceled in 2024.

Thanks to fan demands and the passion of the cast and crew, the spin-off was confirmed in 2025 and follows Danny as he leaves New York City for Boston.

Donnie was adamant, however, that the show would need to protect the legacy of the long-running series’ legacy. Speaking on CBS Sunday Mornings in October, he emphasized: “I love Blue Bloods. I fought tooth and nail to keep it on the air, and here’s an opportunity to keep this character alive,” before noting: “And suddenly when I started to look at it through that lens it was like, ‘How do I not do this?'”