Donnie Wahlberg returns to hometown to film intense second season of "Boston Blue"

Donnie Wahlberg is back on familiar streets as the cast and crew of "Boston Blue" returned to the city to film the show's "intense" second season, airing on CBS and Paramount+ Friday at 10 p.m.

The Dorchester native received a warm welcome from fans as production got underway in downtown Boston, bringing the cast back to the city that inspired the "Blue Bloods" spinoff.

"Well, first things first. It always feels great to be in the city," Wahlberg told WBZ-TV. "It's always going to be home, no matter where I go, no matter where I travel, no matter how heavily I play a New Yorker on TV. Boston always is my place."

Wahlberg reprises his role as Danny Reagan, the longtime NYPD detective who has traded New York City for the Boston Police Department.

While filming on location, the cast and crew have also been shadowing their real-life counterparts.

For Wahlberg, playing a Boston police officer is something he once imagined doing as a child growing up in Dorchester.

When asked whether he ever thought he would become a Boston cop, Wahlberg replied, "I did. It crossed my mind."

"Nothing would have been cooler than to be a Boston cop," he said. "I have worked with them over the years on 'Boston's Finest,' and now with this show, you know, my career is pretty cool, but being a Boston cop would have been pretty awesome too."

Now, the actor is getting to experience his hometown in a different way, revisiting landmarks he remembers from his childhood and introducing his co-stars to the city's unique culture.

"I tell everyone I took the Red Line to the Green Line to Copley to go to high school at Copley High, which is now Snowden. Everything we passed, I kind of try not to be annoying because I'm like, oh yeah, my friend lived there. Oh yeah, I used to eat there. You know, it's like it's pretty constant, but everyone seems to enjoy it," Wahlberg laughed.

Co-star Sonequa Martin-Green said Wahlberg has become something of a tour guide for the cast.

"We learn so much from him. He tells us how to pronounce things. You know, he gives us the inside scoop, and when we're here, he welcomes us like it's our own," Martin-Green said. "He's like, you know, this is my city, but now it's your city."

Martin-Green, who plays Det. Lena Silver in the series, said Boston's atmosphere has also made an impression on her.

"I do love it here. I think it's beautiful, and it has a family feel," she added.

That sense of community is one reason showrunner and co-creator Brandon Sonnier chose Boston as the setting for the "Blue Bloods" spinoff.

"Anywhere you go on the streets here, you feel like, hey, I've known this guy forever," Sonnier said. "You know, anytime you are talking to a Bostonian, you feel a connection immediately, and that's what we love about this place, and that's really what our show is."

In the upcoming season two, Sonnier said viewers can expect answers to lingering questions from the show's first season, along with further development of their favorite characters, as he puts it, taken to the next level.

Wahlberg said the upcoming season will raise the stakes across the board. "We're just upping everything: the action, the surprises, the twists, the guests, the drama, and the intensity," he said.

The production is also giving Wahlberg the opportunity to explore parts of Boston he has never experienced before.

While filming near the Massachusetts State House, the actor marveled at being somewhere new in a city he has known his entire life.

"I've been in the State House, but I've never been behind it. This is crazy," he said.

Despite a career that has taken him around the world, Wahlberg said returning home to film a Boston-based television series is particularly meaningful.

And although he continues to portray a character with deep New York roots, the Dorchester native wants Bostonians to know where his loyalty remains.

"Forgive me, Boston, if I play New York too good. Don't be mad at me. You still got my heart," Wahlberg said.