With the 2025 TV schedule underway, the Blue Bloods universe is moving full speed ahead with its newest chapter: Boston Blue. The spinoff follows Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan as he transfers to the Boston Police Department, where his son Sean has just begun his career as a rookie officer. While Blue Bloods concluded in December 2024, viewers noticed that Boston Blue didn’t immediately spell out how much time had passed until now.
Co-showrunner Brandon Margolis recently offered clarity. Even though the spinoff never specifies a timeframe, several clues including Danny’s relationship with Maria Baez hint that not much time has passed at all. Baez has already appeared in multiple episodes, and the show confirms that she and Danny are still together. According to Margolis, that detail is one of the clearest timeline markers:
“Our intention is that the pilot of Boston Blue is as close to real time as we can make it to the date Blue Bloods ended. So in our world, it’s just been over a year since we last saw all the Reagans.”
That timeline allows enough space for Sean to have joined the police academy and completed the necessary training to begin his first patrol. It also means Danny and Baez have been officially dating for a year and things are going well. Margolis continued:
“They’re obviously still together. They don’t live together yet, but they’re exploring how far this relationship can go.”
Given how long fans waited for Danny and Baez to get together, skipping past major relationship milestones would feel rushed. Letting a year pass keeps the romance believable while explaining Sean’s new career, making the transition between shows feel seamless.
Another major sign of the time jump comes from Sean himself. Formerly played by Andrew Terraciano for all 14 seasons of Blue Bloods, the character is now portrayed by Mika Amonsen. Margolis and co-showrunner Brandon Sonnier wanted someone who resembled the Sean fans grew up with just older and further along in life making the recast a natural fit for the story.
Like many series that operate in near real-time, Boston Blue uses the passing year to bridge both shows without heavy exposition. And while there’s no guarantee the timeline will ever be explicitly stated on-screen, fans now have a definitive answer: at least one year has passed since the Reagan family’s final dinner.
So far, Boston Blue is proving itself only a few episodes in. The family dinners may look different, but the heart of the Reagan legacy tradition, connection, and loyalty 
continues to anchor the series.