The Real Reason a Boston Blue Star Nearly Took a 50 Percent Pay Cut

So here’s one for the ‘almost happened’ files in TV production: Donnie Wahlberg, star of Boston Blue, was so set on actually shooting the series in Boston that he offered to take a massive pay cut—literally half his salary—to make it happen. If you ever watch a show called Boston something and think, 'Huh, those streets look... suspiciously Canadian,' you’re probably onto something. This story kind of sums up why.

Wahlberg’s Boston Push: Just How Far Did He Go?

During a chat with Andy Cohen (on Radio Andy, if you're keeping track), Wahlberg explained he had big hopes for Boston Blue actually being filmed in—shocker—Boston. It wasn’t just about the name, it was personal for him. He's from there. So when the studio suggested Toronto (because, yep, it's a budget-friendly stand-in for basically every American city), Wahlberg tried to sweeten the deal in his own way.

'When I got offered the show…I thought I’ll do a spin-off in LA or Vegas or Texas, somewhere hot. And they were like, how about Boston? I was like, uh, it was like they hooked me and I was like, all right, let’s do it in Boston.'

'They were like, but we can’t afford to shoot it in Boston, we’re going to 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.'

'They said, "You can give back 100%, and so can the rest of the cast. We cannot film this show in Boston. It was just so expensive."'

In other words, Wahlberg was committed—up to dropping half his paycheck—but it turns out, not even sacrificing his salary (or even the entire cast's, for that matter) could make Boston affordable for the production. TV budgets, folks. They will snap any actor's hometown dreams in half.

Where Boston Blue Was Actually Shot (and Why It Matters)

• Most of the series: Toronto, not Boston, was the primary filming location. (Better parking, worse clam chowder.)
• Some scenes: Wahlberg did get a few Boston street shots squeezed in there, but don’t let the show’s title fool you: this is more 'Boston via Toronto' than Boston proper.
• The reason: Filming in Boston wasn’t just a little pricier; it was so expensive the network wouldn’t even budge when Wahlberg offered to give back half of what they were paying him. Physical production costs—permits, unions, local rates—apparently ballooned way past what CBS was willing to stomach.

Just to wrap it up: If you're a hometown hero trying to get a TV show made in your city, get ready to empty your wallet and probably still lose. Wahlberg gave it a shot, but Hollywood accounting wins again. You can check out Boston Blue (or, let's be honest, Toronto Blue) streaming on Paramount+ now, if you want to see how that gamble turned out.