Former ‘DWTS’ winner returns to ‘Boston Blue’ in a surprise visit

Sean Reagan has some explaining to do, and this time it has nothing to do with answering questions from a detective. A missed phone call brings his girlfriend to the precinct in the October 23 episode of 'Boston Blue'. An officer has been shot, and she cannot get hold of him. Sean is safe, but that does not mean he is off the hook.

Xochitl Gomez returns as Penny in Season 2’s third episode, 'Fire in the Hole'. She arrives looking for Sean, played by Mika Amonsen. “The news said a cop was shot and they weren’t giving names,” she explains. Sean apologizes for not answering his phone, but Penny makes clear what the silence put her through. “You can’t do that to me, Sean,” she tells him.

The conversation stays with Sean after Penny leaves. “Bro, you have got to start answering your phone,” Jonah, played by Marcus Scribner, tells him. Sean replies, “I feel awful, she is really shaken up.” Jonah reminds him that Penny “doesn’t come from a police family” like they do, adding, “This is all new to her, it can be scary.” For Penny, hearing that an unnamed officer has been shot means wondering whether it is someone she loves.

The episode gives her plenty of reason to worry. Sean and Jonah respond to reports of teenagers carrying guns in the subway. After shots are fired, an off-duty officer named McGee is left holding his gun, with two people down. One is Detective Baker, a fellow officer. Danny Reagan and Lena Silver must determine whether McGee shot Baker by mistake or deliberately, with racial bias among the concerns surrounding the case.

Penny also joins a family dinner, where she asks questions about police work and the decisions officers face. Her concerns follow Sean beyond their exchange at the precinct. While the investigation ultimately clears McGee of a racial motive, the shooting still leaves the characters confronting what happened. Sean, meanwhile, has to consider how his job affects someone who has not grown up around it.

Gomez previously won 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 32 with Val Chmerkovskiy in December 2023. The pair earned perfect scores for their finale foxtrot and freestyle. They took home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, marking Chmerkovskiy’s third victory. 'Boston Blue' airs Fridays at 10 pm ET on CBS.