Mika Amonson isn’t feeling down about the fans’ reaction.
The “Boston Blue” star is responding to online criticism after being cast as Shawn Reagan in the “Blue Bloods” spinoff.
The CBS series, which was canceled after 14 seasons in December 2024, starred Andrew Terraciano as the son of Donnie Wahlberg’s character, Danny Reagan.
Now, Amonson has stepped into the role of the youngest Reagan son.
“There’s definitely been some negativity,” the actor told Us Weekly. “But when I look at the posts that have negativity, there are a lot of fans rallying for Shawn and people saying that they really enjoyed this character that I’ve created — or my version of the character.”
Amonson said he wanted to please “Blue Bloods” fans with Shawn’s portrayal.
“They’re really enjoying the show,” he shared, “and they like where it’s going in terms of Shawn and that makes me happy.”
“Boston Blue” follows Shawn and Danny as they relocate to Beantown, with the rookie policeman working as a patrolman for the Boston Police Department.
According to the character’s IMDb description, Sean “has committed himself to carrying on his family’s legacy, but he wanted to do so on his own terms, which meant joining a department outside his hometown. Danny’s decision to stay in Boston gives this father and son duo a chance to reconnect on a deeper level.”
“I definitely felt a lot of pressure in the beginning. I felt pressure to honor an actor before me because I wanted to honor Andrew the best,” Amonsen told the outlet. “There were even some visual choices that I made that I wanted to keep in terms of hair styling and certain ways of living (as a scene).”
The ‘Thanksgiving’ actor explained that he wanted to keep Shawn as close to him as possible ‘out of respect for this character that everyone loves.’
Amonsen reiterated that his goal was to pay homage to “the character Andrew created”.
The actor further added, “When I booked the show, it all happened very quickly.” “It was within about a week’s time and I really got into it right away. I watched as much as I could and I found it was more helpful to do the later seasons. I wanted to know who Shawn was by the end of the show. I really wanted to know about his character in adulthood and his relationship with Danny.”
As well as respecting “Andrew’s portrayal of Shawn”, Amonsen added “some of my own version”.
He shared, “Showrunners Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis have been really good at giving me a lot of freedom to explore that new dynamic with Donnie.”
“Watching Andrew perform, I really saw a lot of similarities between who we are as people and our energy. It’s quite upbeat. I have a lot of upbeat energy myself. So it was a little bit comfortable. I definitely kept that within myself and didn’t feel like I was obligated to change that part of me — which was cool — in terms of making it my own.”
“Boston Blue” began in October, with Amonsen expressing that “the exploration of Sean being a cop was not on the table” in “Blue Bloods”.
He added, “Of course, it’s my own version but at the same time we haven’t seen this relationship with Shawn and his dad before.”
That same month, Margolis, 45, revealed why he decided to recast the character.
“We love Andrew and his work on ‘Blue Bloods’ over the years,” the co-showrunner told Variety at the time. “In fact, it turns out that we’re telling a new chapter in both of their lives.”
Margolis added, “It’s not only Shawn who has joined the family business and is having this new start,” but now Danny Reagan is also a dad, a cop more than he ever was.
Now, “there are new storytelling avenues to explore”, which ultimately gave him and Sonnier, 43, “an organic opportunity to bring a new performance with a new energy to help dramatize that change.”
“It’s the same characters, it’s the same relationship, but it’s also completely different,” he shared. “We love what Micah brings to Shawn, this vulnerability, yet this desire to prove himself. It’s great to see it come to life.”
Speaking to TVLine, Margolis said she loved watching the 22-year-old Terracciano grow up on TV, but it made sense creatively to find an actor with a different energy.
He confessed, “It was a gamble to start the show with a new face – two new faces in fact – but the story made us fall in love with her instantly.”
While the first season of the police drama is underway, Wahlberg, 56, revealed last month why he was initially hesitant to reprise his character.
“Suddenly it was like, ‘Do I really want to do a spinoff?’ I didn’t know. And this idea was really very good. And the script was really good,” he expressed. “I looked at it and I saw the potential to weave a ‘Blue Bloods’ world into it, and I loved the opportunity to play Danny in a different way.”
But not all the “Blue Bloods” cast members are as eager to make cameos.
Tom Selleck told Hour Detroit earlier this month: “I don’t know if I’ll do ‘Boston Blue.’ It’s another show.”
“I think it’s partly my life’s work to ensure that ‘Blue Bloods’ has its place in television history,” elaborated the 80-year-old, who played the police commissioner and Wahlberg’s on-screen father. “But I don’t think I’m going to keep playing Frank Reagan.”
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