After losing part of his leg, he was inspired to put his faith into a 'Blue Bloods' spinoff

Brandon Sonnier knew arsenic helium was processing a spinoff of CBS’ fashionable “Blue Bloods” that it was indispensable to support the faith.

A devoted spectator of the play centered connected a multigenerational Catholic household of New York policemen, Sonnier was among the legions of fans moved by the show’s signature lawsuit — the Reagans’ play Sunday dinners. The bid starring Tom Selleck was a pillar of the network’s lineup during a 14-year tally which ended past year.

“That household meal is typical of what the amusement is astatine its halfway — a household play dressed up arsenic a constabulary procedural,” says Sonnier. “It’s a household with beardown morals and a consciousness of work who each travel unneurotic each week.”

He and his producing spouse Brandon Margolis are continuing that contented with CBS’ “Boston Blue,” premiering Friday, featuring Donnie Wahlberg reprising his relation arsenic Det. Danny Reagan. The household meal signature has undergone a melodramatic spiritual and taste remix, reflecting Sonnier’s spiritual travel pursuing a life-changing mishap successful 2019.

The household meal signature from “Blue Bloods” has undergone a melodramatic spiritual and taste remix successful “Boston Blue,” reflecting Brandon Sonnier’s spiritual travel pursuing a life-changing mishap successful 2019.

(John Medland / CBS)

Sonnier and Margolis astatine that clip were enforcement producers of “L.A’s Finest,” a spinoff of the “Bad Boys” movie franchise starring Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union arsenic constabulary detectives. While filming a climatic country astatine San Pedro’s Port of Los Angeles, a stunt car struck a shipping instrumentality adjacent the video colony area, severely injuring Sonnier, who was pinned underneath it.

His injuries were truthful extended that doctors had to region portion of his close leg.

On his archetypal evening location aft being released from the infirmary pursuing the amputation, Sonnier, who was raised Catholic, was attending his family’s regular Friday nighttime Shabbat meal erstwhile helium decided during an affectional infinitesimal to travel done connected his long-delayed volition to person to Judaism.

“My woman is achromatic and Jewish, and my children are biracial,” Sonnier says portion sitting successful an bureau of the show’s penning office successful Sherman Oaks. “We stitchery astir the array erstwhile a week, but it’s Shabbat dinner. I was surviving a Jewish manner but had not taken the steps to conversion. That each changed astatine that dinner.”

He unzipped the bottommost of his bluish jeans to show the prosthetic limb connected his leg.

“It was an incredibly traumatic lawsuit — it’s inactive traumatic,” Sonnier says. “I woody with it each infinitesimal of each time of my life. It’s hard to picture the feeling of missing a assemblage part, particularly 1 required for equilibrium and standing. Everything you thought you knew astir yourself has changed.”

“It was an incredibly traumatic lawsuit — it’s inactive traumatic,” says Brandon Sonnier, showing his prosthetic limb. “I woody with it each infinitesimal of each time of my life.”

(JSquared Photography / For The Times)

But his determined cognition and gratefulness for his revelation connected that memorable instrumentality location is being injected by Sonnier and Margolis — who measure themselves arsenic “the 2 Brandons” — into “Boston Blue.”

In the caller show, Reagan relocates to Boston and yet teams up with Det. Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), the eldest girl of a salient instrumentality enforcement family. The Silvers are a mixed-race Jewish family, headed by patriarch Rev. Edwin Peters (Ernie Hudson), who is Baptist.

Like the Reagans, the Silvers, including Boston Dist. Atty. Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben), constabulary superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson), and rookie bull Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner), stitchery for a play meal. But it’s a Shabbat dinner, implicit with Hebrew prayers implicit challah. Lena invites Ramirez and his sister, Asst. Dist. Atty Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) for dinner, which Lena describes arsenic her “one large blessed benignant of confusing family.”

After the blessing, Peters tells Reagan, “We each bash what is meaningful to us.”

“We thought it would beryllium absorbing to spot a household that looks much similar Brandon’s household — a household that is not needfully the aforesaid colour oregon religion arsenic the Reagans but inactive person a batch successful common,” said Margolis successful a telephone interview.

“When I watched ‘Blue Bloods,’ I ever thought, ‘This is similar my family, but I would similar it to look like my family,” says Sonnier. “We are typical of each these pieces, each these antithetic cultures. Danny is invited into thing that is existent and affectional and grounded.”

Asked however that culturally and religiously mixed operation mightiness resonate successful the existent fiery clime surrounding authorities and race, helium says radical similar him are “yearning and desperate” for a amusement similar “Boston Blue.” “It’s not astir authorities oregon beliefs,” helium adds. “It’s a amusement astir coming together, leaning successful the middle, each the things we are hopeless for successful this clip of specified division.”

Wahlberg and Martin-Green person each embraced the faith-flavored absorption of “Boston Blue.”

“People loved the meal scenes successful ‘Blue Bloods,’ and this is truly carrying guardant the legacy,” Wahlberg said successful a telephone interview. “I’m truly impressed by Brandon’s real-life story. The amusement is the blueprint of his life, rooted successful existent experience, which makes it peculiar and unique.”

Martin-Green added that viewers haven’t truly seen thing similar this connected tv before. “It’s courageous and beautiful,” she said. “We spot some Christianity and Judaism. I emotion Hebrew. It’s a gorgeous connection and determination are divine secrets successful those words.”

From left, Sonequa Martin-Green arsenic Lena Silver, Bridget Moynahan arsenic Erin Reagan Boyle and Donnie Wahlberg arsenic Danny Reagan successful CBS’ “Boston Blue.” “People loved the meal scenes successful ‘Blue Bloods,’ and this is truly carrying guardant the legacy,” Wahlberg said.

(John Medland / CBS)

Working connected the amusement has heightened Margolis’ admiration for his partner’s betterment aft the accident.

“It truly was an unthinkable traumatic acquisition — thing that we went done together,” helium said. “As helium was and is recovering, helium continues to thin connected his religion arsenic a bolster to his family. I’m wholly successful awe connected however helium has not fto this interaction him oregon bounds what helium does successful his life. He’s a Little League coach. He is much progressive than I am. He has not fto the mishap specify him.”

As helium described his journey, Sonnier gave repeated praise to his woman of 20 years — his precocious schoolhouse sweetheart — and their 4 children.

After being inspired astatine a barroom mitzvah helium attended astir 15 years ago, Sonnier decided helium wanted to person from Catholicism to Judaism. Taking the steps and clip to bash truthful was much challenging.

“Life happens,” helium says. “I had a precise large career. We person a batch of children. So the steps of conversion — the classes, learning the religion and the prayers — kept getting pushed off.

“Then came this horrible and tragic accident.”

Sonnier’s dependable takes connected a controlled code arsenic helium recalls the incident.

“We were shooting a stunt series wherever determination was an unmanned car connected a usher ligament which was to beryllium T-boned by different car that was driven,” helium said. “The video colony wherever Brandon and I were was disconnected to the broadside down a shipping instrumentality that was supposedly safety-rated to beryllium dense capable truthful that if thing went wrong, it would prolong the impact.”

Sonnier continues: “The driven car deed the unmanned car going overmuch excessively accelerated astatine the incorrect angle, and the usher ligament broke. The unmanned car went retired of power and went barreling toward the shipping container. As Brandon and I proceeded to run, the car deed the shipping container, which knocked maine and Margolis down. It went connected my leg. We were some pinned, backmost to back, for astir 20 minutes.”

Brandon Sonnier knew helium wanted to person to Judaism for immoderate time, but taking the clip to bash truthful was a challenge. “I had a precise large career. We person a batch of children,” helium said. “Then came this horrible and tragic accident.”

(JSquared Photography / For The Times)

Jeff Bova, who worked with the production’s proscription department, placed a tourniquet connected Sonnier’s leg. As a forklift moved to assistance the container, Bova, a erstwhile subject officer, ran over. “If you assistance that, helium volition bleed retired and die,” Sonnier recalled him saying. “He took disconnected his loop and re-tourniquets maine successful a amended spot. He saved my beingness that day.”

Though Sonnier was successful large pain, helium maintained his shaper mindset arsenic helium gave orders to the paramedics helping him: “I said, look guys, you person to prevention this thing. I manager Little League. I indispensable creation with my girl astatine her wedding.”

The atrocious information became wide aft a fewer days successful the hospital, “Doctors tried to prevention the leg, but my woman said, ‘It’s not going well. I can’t suffer you. They volition person to chopped your ft off.’ My woman is the smartest idiosyncratic successful the universe. She said, ‘It’s similar Marie Kondo. Let’s accidental goodbye to the ft — convey it for its service, but it’s not serving america anymore.’ ”

He arrived location a fewer days aboriginal conscionable successful clip for Shabbat dinner. “I’m successful this big, clunky wheelchair. When we bash Shabbat, we airy the candles connected our room land portion everyone gathers astir for the blessing,” helium said. “My mom, in-laws, household friends were each there. People were wary of what I could handle, but I enactment astatine the backmost of this radical portion they’re doing the blessing. “

He pauses a second: “When we bless the challah, 1 idiosyncratic touches it and everyone other makes an unbroken chain, putting a manus connected the adjacent idiosyncratic truthful we are each portion of the blessing. My oldest lad turns and reaches retired and grabs my manus truthful I tin beryllium portion of the chain. And I conscionable burst into tears. I decided past and determination that I volition convert. There is nary much ‘life got successful the way.’ It is time.”

Sonnier returned to “L.A.’s Finest” astir 2 weeks aft the accident, and directed an occurrence during the show’s 2nd and last season. He and Margolis moved connected to different projects, including co-executive producing CBS’ “S.W.A.T.”

“Boston Blue” present represents the astir idiosyncratic and important item of his career: “To spot a substance of antithetic radical astir that array each sharing successful my religion but not having to permission theirs down is simply a genuinely beauteous thing.”