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Sonequa Martin-Green as Det. Lena Silver on new CBS series `Boston Blue.` (Photo credit: Christos Kalohoridis/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved.)

Q&A: Sonequa Martin-Green on 'Boston Blue' continuing 'Blue Bloods' legacy

by jmaloni

Tue, Oct 14th 2025 10:00 am

New CBS series starts Friday

Behind the Screens with Joshua Maloni

For some actors, stepping into a well-oiled franchise – one with a passionate fanbase and high ratings expectations – is a daunting challenge, often fraught with sleepless nights and hair-pulling stress.

For Sonequa Martin-Green, it’s kinda’ just like a Tuesday.

Over the course of her two-decade, on-screen career, the Alabama native has seamlessly joined the casts of established mega-hits “The Good Wife,” “Once Upon a Time” and “The Walking Dead.”

Most notably, Martin-Green played Michael Burnham on five seasons of “Star Trek: Discovery,” becoming just the second female actor to lead the iconic property’s ensemble cast in a series.

Martin-Green was exceptional on the Paramount+ show as the human half-sister of Spock, a xenoanthropologist who overcomes a disastrous start and demotion following a Klingon confrontation to rise back up the Starfleet ranks and become a beacon of hope. Martin-Green also showed her proficiency in the action-sci-fi genre, adeptly handing both the captain’s chair and the phaser fights.

Now, Martin-Green is one of the leads on “Boston Blue,” a new CBS series that continues the “Blue Bloods” storyline. Her co-star is Donnie Wahlberg, who played New York Police Department Det. Danny Reagan across 14 seasons of the original hit procedural.

Danny is brought to Boston under dire family circumstances involving his son, BPD officer Sean Reagan (Mika Amonsen). He quickly meets the Silvers, Boston’s first family of crime-fighting and soul-saving, led by Det. Lena Silver (Martin-Green); her mother, DA Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben); her half-sister, Police Superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson); her brother, officer Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner); and her grandfather, the Rev. Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson).

“Boston Blue” is poised to have a long run on network television, bringing the best parts of “Blue Bloods” to Beantown, while not making it so “insider-baseball” that new fans can’t follow along.

The show debuts at 10 p.m. Friday on CBS, and will be available to stream on Paramount+.

Martin-Green shared more in this edited Q&A.

••••••••

BTS: It was a really good first episode of “Boston Blue.” So much running (for Lena)! It certainly looks like a hit to me. What did you like about this opportunity to be on the show, and about this character?

Sonequa Martin-Green: Oh, my goodness, so many things. I love the family dynamic: Family, faith, tradition – those are the cornerstones of “Blue Bloods.” They are why “Blue Bloods” was as successful as it is, and was, in my opinion. And so, the Brandons (writers, executive directors and showrunners Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier) knew that we needed to make sure family, faith and tradition were still the cornerstones of this iteration, and that's what they've done. It's all three of those things that I love so very much.

I also love this blended family – this multiracial, multifaith family finding a way to all stay connected and be together. I love how Christianity is represented. I love how Judaism is represented. I also love how precise and detail-oriented and confident and competent and self-assured Det. Lena Silver is. I love the relationships in the family.

And I also really love the partnership between Danny and Lena. I love that, even though they are so different, they are so similar, as well. I love that there are so many parallels between the two of them. I love that they see each other, that they understand each other – it’s kind of unspoken – and I like all the other relationship dynamics as well: the sibling bonds, the father-son bond, the mother-daughter bond.

It's kind of like an embarrassment of riches, in my humble opinion (laughs).

••••••••

BTS: The Silver family: It's you; it's Gloria Reuben, Maggie Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Ernie Hudson. I'm wondering: Can I come to Thanksgiving dinner? Is that on the table?

Sonequa Martin-Green: We got a seat waiting for you (laughs), and we know how to throw down! You're going to have a lot of fun.

BTS: It sounds delightful. I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to pencil it in.

Talk about some really, really talented actors that you get to play with. What has it been like working with them so far?

Sonequa Martin-Green: It's been a dream. It really has. It has also been an embarrassment of riches, being able to work with these people. Because Ernie Hudson – I mean, the legendary Ernie Hudson, himself – who just couldn't be more down to earth; who is so warm and welcoming and funny.

And Gloria Reuben, who now has played my mother twice. This is a much better relationship this time around than the first time in “My Dead Friend Zoe,” that came out earlier this year. I was so thrilled to be her daughter again on screen. And I have watched her for so long, loved her for so long, and I just think that she's just such a brilliant artist and human being.

And then Maggie and Marcus and Mika (Amonsen), as well – and, of course, Donnie. We really are bonding and establishing ourselves as a show family behind the scenes; and we really, truly enjoy each other, and it's just been so wonderful to build with these people. Everybody brings it. Everybody's heart is in it. We're all aligned. It's really amazing.

••••••••

BTS: Speaking of famous families, I'm wondering how much did you know – and how much does the audience need to know – about “Blue Bloods” coming into this series?

Sonequa Martin-Green: That is a really good question. I'll bring up the Brandons again, as well as the writers and the executive producers, including Donnie: I think that they've done a fabulous job of making it so that either you could come in having seen every single episode of “Blue Bloods” and be in a really good position, or you could come in having seen none of them and be in a really good position.

I think that people will actually, for those that haven't seen “Blue Bloods” – and I think that there's few who haven't – I think that they will be piqued. I think that they will want to go back and see, “Well, what was this based on? What is this springing off of? What are the shoulders that this show is standing on?” And, of course, I know a thing or two about standing on shoulders and being a part of a new iteration of a beloved franchise.

And so, I think that this is a great way to play it, where you can have seen it, but, if you haven't, you're not left out. It's not exclusive in that way. You can still get to know Danny Reagan. You can get to know him anew, if necessary, if that's your situation, and you'll get to know the Silvers anew, anyway.

I love that that is the way it all plays out – either or.

BTS: I think that that's the absolute right answer. I really appreciated the way the first episode sort of threaded that needle. I’ve seen “Blue Bloods,” so I appreciated the nods to it. But like you said, you can easily get caught up on the mythology, where it doesn’t take away from the unique storyline of “Boston Blue.”

Sonequa Martin-Green: Thank you for saying that. I agree.

WATCH:

BTS: We just saw you on “Star Trek,” doing a great job in the action genre, and a great job of showing how well you can handle yourself on screen. We know you're a capable action star. But trying to weigh that with the reality of what we would see from the Boston Police, how do you sort of juxtapose those two things to capitalize on all opportunities?

Sonequa Martin-Green: That is another great question, and I think that sometimes it can feel like a bit of a moving target, right?

Thank you for that – everything that you said. I really appreciate that. And I did have a really good time, and I was very action-oriented for a long time on TV.

I am excited to be in this position, playing a detective in the Boston Police Department. I'm excited for the police work – the detecting, if you will – putting things together, because I do appreciate when we can be as authentic as possible. And there is an element of fighting that is different for a detective than it is when you're patrolling, when you're a cop on the beat, right? And, of course, detectives start that way – or at least most of them do, from what I understand – but I think that we are doing whatever we can – because you can't always do everything exactly as is it really is in real life when you're doing a TV show. But we try to do it whenever we can.

And so, even just with that in mind, there are not going to be as many opportunities to fight, let's say, than there would if I were playing a cop on patrol. So, we see a lot more action with, let's say, Sean and Jonah, right, who are rookie cops, and they end up getting into a lot of those kinds of things – shenanigans, I'll call them – because they are dealing with a lot of people doing crazy things, as we'll see.

And so, I think that, wherever we can, it's fun to do it. It is certainly something I am so familiar with, and so comfortable with, and that I enjoy. And so, we'll find all the opportunities that we can to get it in there, because it is something that I enjoy and I appreciate it.

But then I also appreciate being able to roll up and do the detective work, just putting things together; you know, being precise and detail-oriented. I'm finding that to be really fun, as well.

“Boston Blue” stars Donnie Wahlberg as he reprises his role as NYPD Det. Danny Reagan in a universe expansion of the long-running top drama “Blue Bloods.” In this new series, Reagan takes a position with the Boston Police Department and is paired with Det. Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family. The Silver family is comprised of Boston District Attorney Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben), Police Superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson), rookie cop Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner) and renowned Baptist pastor the Rev. Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson). As Reagan settles into his new city, he also hopes to reconnect with his younger son, Sean (Mika Amonsen), who is beginning his own career in Boston. Pictured, from left: Martin-Green and Wahlberg. (Photo credit: Michele Crowe/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved.)

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