Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr., simply known as Donnie Wahlberg, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer and film producer. Born in Boston, Donnie is the brother of Mark Wahlberg, who certainly doesn’t need any introduction. When it comes to his singing career, Donnie is known for being a founding member of the band New Kids on the Block. Donnie Wahlberg’s first acting role came in the movie ‘Bullet’ in 1996. The same year he appeared in a movie titled ‘Ransom’ where he starred alongside Mel Gibson. He then made a return to his hometown for ‘Southie’, a movie based on South Boston. However, it was in ‘The Sixth Sense‘ that Wahlberg began to draw attention, by playing the role of Bruce Willis’ character’s patient in the opening scene.
Apart from films, Wahlberg also made his name in television shows, having appeared in ‘Band of Brothers’. He followed this up by playing Joel Stevens in ‘Boomtown’, a role that was specifically created for him. He has also appeared in movies like ‘Dreamcatcher’, ‘Righteous Kill’, ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ and the ‘Saw‘ series. Furthermore, he is well-known for his television show roles in ‘Annapolis’, ‘Runaway’, and ‘The Kill Point’. So now you must be wondering what is the next Donnie Wahlberg movie or TV show? Well, here’s the list of upcoming Donnie Wahlberg films and TV shows scheduled to release in 2019 and 2020. We can only hope that the latest Donnie Wahlberg movies would be as good as some of his recent ones.
1. Blue Bloods (2010-)
‘Blue Bloods‘ is an American police procedural that airs on CBS. It revolves around a family of New York cops. The main characters are all members of the Reagan family, a fictional Irish Catholic family in New York who have a history of working for law enforcement. As employees of the New York Police Department, the show follows the members of the family. Francis Xavier “Frank” Reagan is the police commissioner; the eldest son, Danny, is a detective; the youngest son is a police officer; while the daughter is an assistant district attorney.
In the series, we are shown that Frank also had a second son, Joe, who was killed in the line of duty by a corrupt cop. The events happened before the series and we are told that at the time Joe was involved in an FBI investigation about a group of corrupt cops called the Blue Templar. We also get to know that Frank’s father, Henry, was a former NYPD beat cop who rose through the ranks to eventually become the police commissioner. Basically, each member of the family helps to establish a different aspect of the legal process. We have Frank who shows the administrative and political side as the commissioner; Danny who shows the detective side which involves crime-solving and taking on serious cases; Jamie who shows the conditions of street crime as a beat cop; while Erin shows the judicial side of things as the assistant district attorney.
Moreover, ‘Blue Bloods’ shows how each character interacts with their partners and how they deal with each other when their paths cross in the course of their jobs. Apart from that, the family also meets for Sunday dinner, which has been described by some as the heart of the show. At the dinner, ‘Blue Bloods’ takes the opportunity to pose some of the tougher questions related to the cases that the members have been tackling. As the family gets together to share their opinions, one can see how things have changed over time. It is something that Henry never fails to point out as he says that in the old days, even the bad guys knew right from wrong. We are given a sense of how the line becomes increasingly blurred as we head towards the present-day situations.
Overall, as a police procedural, sometimes the show tends to stretch the imagination as we see Danny tackle a wide gamut of cases that should technically require specialized detective work. The show has also been criticized for enforcing cultural stereotypes about the lives of criminals and does not explore corruption and prejudicial biases amongst members of law enforcement. That being said, ‘Blue Bloods’ remains thoroughly entertaining as we see the various members of the family doing their bits to ensure that justice is served in the city that they are sworn to protect.
The series remains distinguished in the way it captures the space where the characters operate, across the multiple boroughs. The role of Detective Daniel “Danny” Fitzgerald Reagan is played by Donnie Wahlberg. Danny is shown to be a widower with two sons, and as someone who is adept at solving a wide range of cases from terrorist attacks to baby-selling rings. Wahlberg has been praised for his outstanding performance as Danny and there is no reason why we should expect anything less in the upcoming season.
Read More: Upcoming Mark Wahlberg Movies
