TCA Press Tour: ‘Sopranos’ producers sing a different tune with ‘Blue Bloods’
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Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green were formerly writers and producers on the crime family drama “The Sopranos.” But with their new show, “Blue Bloods,” they’ve gone straight.
With “Blue Bloods,” which stars Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg, Burgess and Green are exploring the lives and dynamics of multiple generations of a New York City police family. Selleck plays a police commissioner, and Wahlberg is a detective.
“We did the antihero thing for all those years,” said Green. “But now we’re interested in looking at what a hero is like in today’s world. We wanted to look at a different morality.”
She added that they also wanted to develop a show that would combine a family drama with a police procedural: “We had never really seen those two melded together.”
Both Selleck and Wahlberg said the family element was a key element that attracted them to the show. And both stars said they were pleased that the series would actually be shooting in New York.
“That was essential for me,” Selleck said. “It’s hard to argue that it’s not a better series because it was shot in New York.”
Selleck, who said he had been resistant to committing to a weekly drama following his long run on “Magnum P.I.,” said he was also drawn by the ensemble nature of the show, so he won’t have to shoulder the main responsibility for the show.
He added that he was continuing with the popular “Jesse Stone” TV movie series: “I made it very clear that I wanted to keep doing those.”
-- Greg Braxton
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