Boston Blue puts the spotlight on the Silver family in the new CBS police procedural.
After 14 seasons on the air, Blue Bloods concluded in December 2024. While the long-running drama didn’t return for another installment, its spinoff, Boston Blue, premiered on the network on October 17.
Donnie Wahlberg reprised his character, Danny Reagan, a former NYPD detective who makes the move to the Boston Police Department. There, he’s partnered up with Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), the oldest daughter in a local police dynasty.
In Boston Blue, Wahlberg’s character is a dad. In real life, the New Kids on the Block singer is also a father to two sons, Xavier and Elijah, and a stepfather to his wife Jenny McCarthy‘s son, Evan.
Here’s everything to know about the kids of the Boston Blue cast.
Donnie Wahlberg’s 3 Kids
Donnie Wahlberg/Instagram
Wahlberg reprised his character Danny in Boston Blue after portraying the part for all 14 seasons of Blue Bloods.
On-screen, his character is a father of two sons, Jack and Sean. In real life, the actor welcomed two sons with his ex, Kimberly Fey: Xavier and Elijah. He is also a stepfather to his wife McCarthy’s son Evan.
Wahlberg and Fey welcomed their older son, Xavier, in 1993. They went on to welcome their second child, son Elijah, in 2001. McCarthy and her ex, John Asher, had their son Evan in 2002.
Wahlberg has been candid about how becoming a father affected his life. Speaking to The Mercury News in March 2013 about the birth of his older son, he explained, “It sounds cliche, but I stopped living for me and started living for him.”
“It stopped being about my legacy and became about my ability to provide for him,” he added. “I was 23. I was terrified.”
It’s rare for Wahlberg to appear in public with his children or to post about them on social media. During an appearance on Rachael Ray’s talk show, Wahlberg said that he is “not supposed to” talk about Xavier on TV.
At the time, he explained, “My older son— I’m not going to say his name because he’ll get mad at me if he happens to see this — but he’s in a band.”
Despite their shared passion for music, Wahlberg emphasized that Xavier prefers to remain out of the spotlight.
Sonequa Martin-Green’s 2 Kids
Sonequa Martin-Green/Instagram
Sonequa Martin-Green joined the Boston Blue cast as Lena Silver.
Martin-Green and her husband, fellow actor Kenric Green, are parents to two children: son Kenric Justin II, born in 2015, and daughter Saraiyah, who arrived in 2020.
Martin-Green has a lot to look forward to when it comes to sharing moments from her career with her children.
Speaking to PEOPLE in February 2024, she revealed that while Kenric Justin II hadn’t watched Star Trek: Discovery yet, he was curious about its plot.
“But he’s like, ‘Oh, why are they doing that to you, Mommy?’ ” the actress said. “We’re still there at that point, so I’m excited for the day that I can show him the show. And I’m very excited to show it to my daughter who was not even here with us when we first started.”
Martin-Green also shared the significance of her work as the franchise’s first Black female captain, Michael Burnham.
“I mean, I could really cry talking about what I might be able to lead by example, what I might be able to show them by example and teach them from what I’ve experienced and how they might benefit from it,” she said. “That’s everything right there.”
Ernie Hudson’s 4 Kids
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Ernie Hudson plays Boston Blue as Reverend Edwin Peter, Lena’s grandfather.
Off-screen, Hudson is a father of four sons: Ernest Jr., Rocky (also referred to as Rahi over the years), Andrew and Ross.
He welcomed his two older sons, Ernest and Rocky, with his first wife, Jeannie Moore, and his younger sons Andrew and Ross with his second wife, Linda Kingsberg.
After his separation from his first wife, Hudson’s two sons went to live with him, a decision that “surprised” him, the actor told PEOPLE in April 2024.
Hudson later told Life of Dad that when he raised his older children as a single father, he wouldn’t let his career get in the way of his parenting.
“So a lot of the times when we finished shooting, we would wrap and everyone went to hang out and party. I had to go home to my sons,” he said in March 2015. “I didn’t want to look up one day and lose connection with them. I had to be there as a single dad.”
He took his presence seriously when he welcomed his two younger sons as well. Hudson said, “It was important for me to do the work because that is a part of me and is who I am, but it was more important for me to stay connected with my family and to my kids.”
“My boys until they were grown, there was never a week where I wouldn’t communicate or talk to them. It was important to be there,” Hudson added. “It was important to do the job. I grew up without a dad. I knew that emptiness that nobody else could quite fill. It was so important to me to try and do the best job I could.”
Not much is known about his children. Ernest Jr. was set to graduate from LIU Post (formerly known as C.W. Post) while Rocky was studying film at Columbia University, per an interview with PEOPLE in 1992.
More recently, Hudson appeared alongside his four sons during a June 2016 appearance on Celebrity Family Feud.
