Action and drama have come to be closely associated with Blue Bloods and its spinoff, Boston Blue, but both series are also known for their dinner scenes. While the parent series features the shared meals amongst the Reagan family, Boston includes the Shabbat dinner the Silvers hold at their house every week. Tidbits shared by the cast and crews of both shows suggest filming such scenes can be interesting. And, as a Boston cast member told CinemaBlend, there was even a time when the cast ate way too much brisket.
Fans can thank Mika Amonsen, who takes over the role of Sean Reagan on Boston Blue, for sharing this little anecdote. I recently had the opportunity to speak to the up-and-coming star and get his take on the logistics of filming those Shabbat scenes. During our conversation, he specifically recalled one day on set that saw a couple of his co-stars became “ill” due to overdoing it with the brisket, and this doesn’t sound fun at all:
There was one moment when we had a brisket dinner that was just so good that we all kept eating it. But, like, we started off the scene all heavily eating, and then we're like, ‘Well, we can't stop now.’ So everyone was just eating. I know Sonequa [Martin-Green] felt ill. And I know Marcus [Scribner] felt ill, but I just felt so full, but they did not feel well. Yeah, they ate a lot.
On the surface, the notion of a good brisket dinner sounds comforting, but the mere thought of eating too much of it even makes me feel a bit queasy. Interestingly enough, CinemaBlend also recently spoke to Scribner, who revealed that he’d gotten sick about “three different times” while filming dinner scenes. I’m familiar with the concept of an actor suffering for their art, but I never imagined that would pertain to a food scene. Needless to say, I’m not sure any of the stars will forget that particular day on set.
Amonsen, for his part, has already done his fair share of dinner scenes just throughout Boston Blue’s inaugural season. With that in mind, I also asked if he’d developed any hacks or special techniques for filming those food-related segments. The actor then made a humorous admission before hyping up one of the key contributors to the Shabbat segments:
[Laughs] I have no hope. I've created no tools. I eat in every single moment, and so does Donnie, and we'll just sit there looking at each other like [makes a tired expression]. We ate so much food. We had such an amazing chef, and it really bothers me that her name is escaping me. But I got all of her contact information. She creates great fully organic dishes, and they're phenomenal. So you sit down there, and all you want to do is eat, and that's my escape. I just stare at my food and eat. [I] eat way too much, way too much, but it's good food. It's really good.
So, thus far, Amonsen hasn’t exactly developed any special skills when it comes to acting out those family meals. However, I’d imagine that food scenes could take time to master, considering the moving parts involved. I still, however, love that Amonsen can appreciate the organic eats that are available for the cast during those scenes. And, luckily for him and his co-stars, they’ll be able to keep the family dinner scenes going.
Boston Blue has been renewed for a second season that’ll air this fall as part of the 2026 TV schedule. So viewers can certainly expect to see more of the Reagans and the Silvers talking shop while chowing down. In all seriousness, though, those scenes don’t just share as reprieves from the action, as they can also provide essential character development. They’re well acted, and I think Mika Amonsen and his colleagues deserve credit for nailing those scenes while simultaneously scarfing down plenty of food.
With the first season of Boston Blue now over, catch up on the show by streaming all of the episodes with a Paramount+ subscription.
