Donnie Wahlberg’s Bold Move: Half His Paycheck to Keep ‘Boston Blue’ in Boston

Donnie Wahlberg made a bold financial offer to keep ‘Boston Blue’ filming in Boston. The actor proposed giving back half his paycheck to offset the high production costs of shooting in the city.

Wahlberg shared the details during an appearance on ‘Andy Cohen Live’, explaining why the series is forced to film some scenes in Toronto. He recounted the conversation with producers:

“They were like, ‘But we can’t afford to shoot it in Boston. We’re gonna shoot it in Toronto,’ and I was like, ‘No. No,’ so I said, ‘Listen, I’ll give back 50% of my paycheck if we can go to Boston.’ I did, and they said, ‘You can give back a hundred percent and so can the rest of the cast. We cannot film this show in Boston, but we’ll do a couple.’ It’s so expensive.”

Wahlberg emphasized the logistical challenges of filming in Boston, where crowds and iconic elements like duck boats disrupt production:

“We shoot in Toronto, but honestly Andy, we couldn’t film it in Boston full-time because it’s nonstop. It’s literally the duck boats are going by and the duck boat tour guides have on these headsets with speakers and it’s literally in the background of a scene. You hear, ‘Oh my god, there’s Donnie Wahlberg right over there on the corner. I grew up near Donnie. Everyone get your cameras out,’ and then I gotta run over to the duck boat and pose for pictures with everyone and my cousins, my uncles, my aunts, my nieces, my nephews, my nephew’s nephew’s nephew’s nephew comes. Everybody’s there and we wouldn’t get any work done.”

Despite the hurdles, Wahlberg remains committed to infusing Boston’s energy into the ‘Blue Bloods’ spinoff. He also expressed hope to feature other famous Bostonians in the series:

“Let’s see, Mark Wahlberg, maybe? I don’t know,” Donnie Wahlberg said. “He don’t want to act with me.”

He jokingly suggested cameos from his longtime friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, though their participation remains uncertain. Wahlberg shared these plans during an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’.

‘Boston Blue’ continues to air new episodes on Friday nights and has already been renewed for a second season.