Boston Blue is bringing in former Dancing With the Stars winner Xochitl Gomez for a role opposite Donnie Wahlberg‘s onscreen son after his recasting.
CBS announced on Friday, November 7, that Gomez, 19, will guest star as Penny in upcoming episodes of the Blue Bloods spinoff. Penny is described as “a quick-witted, charming young woman with a mysterious past who crashes” into Sean’s (Mika Amonsen) life. Gomez’s first episode will air on November 21.
Boston Blue premiered in October and expands upon Danny’s (Wahlberg) story after he was originally introduced on Blue Bloods, which ran from 2010 to 2024. During his arc on Blue Bloods, Danny’s son was originally played by Andrew Terraciano.
Sean was recast by the time Boston Blue reintroduced the character.
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“Sean has relocated to Boston to start a new chapter as a Boston PD patrolman,” read a description from CBS. “Sean committed himself to pursuing his family’s legacy but wanted to do so on his own terms, which meant joining a department outside of his hometown. Danny’s decision to stay in Boston gives this father and son duo a chance to reconnect on a deeper level.”
Coshowrunner Brandon Margolis later broke down the decision, telling Variety last month, “We love Andrew and the work he did over the years on Blue Bloods. Really, it came down to we’re telling a new chapter in both of their lives.”
Margolis continued: “It’s not just Sean who has joined the family business as it were and is turning over this new leaf, but it’s also now Danny Reagan is the father [of] a cop, which he’s never been before.”
The screenwriter called the switch “an organic opportunity to bring in a new performance with a new energy, to help dramatize that change.” The writers’ room was looking forward to “new storytelling lanes to explore” with the spinoff series.
“It is the same character, it’s the same relationship, but it’s also completely different,” Margolis added. “We love what Mika has brought to Sean, this vulnerability, yet this desire to prove himself. It’s just been great to watch it come to life.”
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In a separate interview with TVLine, Margolis noted that he “loved” watching Terraciano “grow up on TV,” adding, “It creatively made sense to find an actor with a different energy.”
Margolis concluded: “And to your point, yeah, it was a gamble to open the show on a new face — two new faces, actually — but the story required us to love him right away. Opening with that heroic moment that has a tragic end was the right way to pull Danny Reagan into this world.”
Before joining Boston Blue, Gomez appeared on Raven’s Home, The Baby-Sitters Club and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In 2023, she won season 32 of Dancing with the Stars.
Boston Blue airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET.
