The following contains major spoilers for The Blacklist.

It’s been just over a year since the final episodes of The Blacklist debuted, but it’s only been a few months since I finished a massive binge of the entire 10-season series. While I have already written about the fact that The Blacklist’s biggest mystery is no mystery at all, that doesn’t mean that the show ended for me with no open questions. I have several, and most of them have to do not with how The Blacklist ended, but with how it might have ended.

A lot of people have issues with the way The Blacklist ended for Raymond Reddington. It was a somewhat anti-climactic finale for a character who seemed capable of anything. But I’m not thinking just of how things could have ended for Red, but how things could have ended for Elizabeth Keen if The Blacklist had ended two years earlier.

Season 8 Of The Blacklist Was A Major Endpoint, Even Though The Series Continued

The Blacklist was officially renewed for Season 9 in January 2021, just after Season 8 premiered. This means the showrunner and the writers knew for most of the season, and almost certainly before the final episodes of Season 8 were written, that the show would need to go on.

However, they also knew the show would go on without one of its major characters. Megan Boone, who had played The Blacklist’s co-lead, FBI Agent Elizabeth Keene, had reportedly given her notice long before the show’s renewal that Season 8 would be her last. This meant that season would be an end for a major character, and the show would need to figure out how to go on without her.

Boone’s exit would be followed by The Blacklist creator Jon Bokencamp deciding to step down as showrunner. While he would remain as an executive producer, he was no longer managing the day-to-day of the series. Whatever story he had been telling ended with Liz’s death.

Seasons 9 And 10 Of The Blacklist Almost Feel Like A Different Show

After Elizabeth Keene is killed off in the literal final moments of Season 8, Season 9 picks up two years later. Raymond Reddington is in the wind, and the task force that existed to capture criminals that he informed the FBI about had been disbanded. The various characters we’d come to love are in very different places in their lives. They've moved on.

In many ways, the final two seasons of The Blacklist don’t feel like they followed almost immediately from what came before them. They feel like a modern “legacy sequel.” When a movie sequel or a new season of a TV series follows decades after the original, the new story often accepts the passage of time and picks up after a great deal has happened off-screen. That’s what the final two seasons of The Blacklist do.

While it’s difficult to argue that the final two seasons of The Blacklist are as good as what came before, I don’t dislike them. They’re fine for what they are, but this jump forward in time to separate the last two seasons from the previous eight only reinforces the idea that the real story had ended.

I have a lot of opinions about The Blacklist, but the cynic in me feels like fans were robbed of the real ending of The Blacklist due to the curse of a successful TV show. Few who have a hit series ever want to see it end, and we know that sometimes that need to keep the story going impacts the storytelling. The show feels like it was supposed to end after Season 8, but if it had, would it have ended the same way?

How Would The Blacklist Have Ended If Season 8 Had Been The Last? 

What if there had been no Seasons 9 and 10 of The Blacklist? What if the show had the total freedom that comes with ending a story at that point? Would we have gotten a different ending?

It seems almost impossible to believe that The Blacklist would have ended as it did if with the episode where Liz died had been the final episode of the series. Ending as it did two years later, with a rather anti-climactic fate for Red, is one thing, but ending on a heartbreaker, with no resolution at all, seems, while certainly not impossible, highly unlikely.

But then, if that wasn’t how things would have ended, then what would have happened? Would the plan that Liz and Red had have been completed as they had devised? Such an ending certainly wouldn’t have been happy, but it would have been an ending.

Perhaps The Blacklist Could Have Ended The Way red Wanted It To End

Imagine that Liz shoots and kills Red. She’s heartbroken in doing it, but Red is strangely at peace with it. In a final scene, Dembe gives Liz the letter that Red had promised her, and it reveals what we as the audience already knows: that Red was not Liz’s father, as she had previously believed, but her mother, Katarina Rostova, having transformed herself into the concierge of crime in order to make sure her family was safe.

Now, in her death, she has completed that mission. Liz is now the head of Raymond Redington’s criminal empire, having killed the man that so many others had tried and failed to assassinate. From that position, Liz is as close to untouchable by the criminal underworld as possible, both Liza and her daughter will now be safe.

This is just one possibility of how things could have ended, of course. It assumes that every episode of Season 8 would have still happened as written, save the very end. Had the show planned for Season 8 to be the end from the beginning, the entire season could have been drastically different.

Perhaps we could have seen a season that progressed not unlike Season 10 eventually did, with Red using the task force to systematically dismantle his empire for him, in a way that prevents anybody else from taking it but also protects all the people who supported Red for all these years. But in this version, he does this with Liz by his side, free of the past. Perhaps the family could have had something like a happy ending. It’s unlikely, but that’s the beauty of considering these scenarios. Theoretically, if things had gone differently, anything could have happened.

Spoilers ahead for Episode 18 of The Blacklist Season 10, called “Wormwood.”

The Blacklist returned to NBC in the 2023 TV schedule after a week off with an episode that put Red in a great deal of danger with a ticking clock, but it wasn’t his perilous situation that could have a lasting fallout. A subplot involving Ressler, Pritchard, and Congressman Hudson brought the late Liz Keen’s legacy into the fold, and it could ultimately lead to the downfall of the task force as the series finale approaches, particularly in the wake of what happened with Dembe in the previous episode. 

Ressler has been supporting Pritchard as NA sponsor, with the two men having their status as government workers in common as well as their struggles with drugs. Pritchard started “Wormwood” with absolute trust in his sponsor, even giving Ressler his chip for being two months sober as a sign of his gratitude. Unfortunately, Congressman Hudson caught wind of their bond in NA, and he took advantage of it by bringing up Liz Keen and Ressler's relationship, years after actress Megan Boone’s unsatisfying departure in the Season 8 finale. (Season 8 is available streaming with a Netflix subscription.)

To Pritchard’s credit, he initially defended Ressler as a patriot who had devoted his life to defending his country, and that their relationship was none of Hudson’s business. Hudson countered with the reveal that Ressler is part of a secret task force working on behalf of Red. Pritchard deemed it “laughable” that his NA sponsor was working on a task force for a crime lord, but Hudson told him that he was the only one with the personal connection to find the proof to take the team down... and getting proof could help Ressler.  

Hudson then dropped the name of Ressler’s weak spot: Liz Keen, whose death sent Ressler spiraling back into addiction in Season 9. The congressman said: 

Unfortunately for Ressler and the team, Pritchard did just that, although he clearly felt awful about it. He called his sponsor to beat around the Liz Keen bush at first, telling Ressler that he’d been asked to pry into the personal life of someone he cares about “for his own good” because his friend is “being taken advantage of.” He finally got the agent to admit to his bond with Liz Keen, and then went back to Hudson to say:

Hudson insisted that he can’t pull down the task force without Pritchard’s help, and Pritchard was on board by the end of the episode. Now, the congressman – who previously was so dirt-free that even Red couldn’t find anything to smear him with – has a mole with a personal connection to a member of the task force, and Ressler clearly didn’t suspect that Pritchard was up to anything with his line of questioning. 

Even years after losing Liz, her role in the team could be what indirectly takes it down, as it seems unlikely that anything less would have convinced Pritchard to flip. Of course, a lot can happen between now and the super-sized series finale on Thursday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Whether or not the task force is still together by the time the final credits roll on the series remains to be seen!

SPOILER WARNING: The following article gives away some of the most pivotal, game-changing, and twisted moments from The Blacklist. Unless you are caught up on the l last nine seasons, we recommend that you proceed with caution.

When a TV series goes on for long enough, it should come as no surprise that it may lose a few cast members along the way, especially in an era when shows like HBO’s medieval epic Game of Thrones and survivalist horror drama The Walking Dead are among the most popular series in recent memory. Still, in many cases, it never makes us any less curious as to what exactly was the reason for the exit and there are more than enough examples of this among the cast of The Blacklist.

Only a few actors from creator Jon Bokenkamp’s addictive NBC crime drama — such as Emmy Award winner James Spader as elusive master criminal-turned-FBI informant, Raymond “Red” Reddington — have remained a constant part of the series’ main ensemble in the ten years it has been on the air. As we approach the premiere of The Blacklist Season 10 — also its final season, which debuts on Sunday, February 26, 2023 — let’s take a look back at the actors who have had their own names crossed off the list over the years, starting with the one whose character served as the heart of the story from the very beginning.

Megan Boone

The moment that kicks off the overarching story of The Blacklist occurs in the pilot episode from 2013, when Red Reddington turns himself into the authorities and personally asks to speak to rookie FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen, played by Megan Boone. As Deadline confirmed in 2021, the actor would choose to walk away from the character that would become, and has remained at tyhis time, the definitive role of her career, citing a desire to seek other opportunities. After Liz was shockingly killed off in the Season 8 finale, Boone would launch her own production company and later landed her first major follow-up role as part of Fox’s Accused cast on an episode directed by Marlee Matlin.

Ryan Eggold

Another main character from The Blacklist who was written out of the show by way of murder was Elizabeth Keen’s husband, Tom, played Ryan Eggold, whose final curtain was on the eighth episode of Season 5, in which he was stabbed to death by drug lord Ian Garvey. The exit came not long after Eggold returned to the main cast following the early cancellation of his spin-off series, The Blacklist: Redemption — and was later revealed in an interview with EW, by then EP Jon Bokenkamp, to be a creative decision in service of further the plot. Soon after, Eggold found success as the lead of the hit NBC medical drama New Amsterdam, which would continue to find great success on Netflix following its series finale.

Parminder Nagra

One of the earliest character write-offs on The Blacklist occurred in the 22nd and final episode of its very first season when, tragically, CIA agent Meera Malik’s throat was slit by a blacklister’s henchperson. While no official explanation for her departure was ever given (perhaps it was for creative reasons, as with Ryan Eggold’s exit), Malik actor and former ER cast member, Parminder Nagra, has since enjoyed a stellar career in many notable movies and TV shows — such as Netflix’s hit thriller, Bird Box, and the British crime drama DI Ray in the title role. According to TV Line, The Blacklist Season 10 is referencing Malik’s death by introducing the character’s daughter — an MI6 agent named Siya, played by Anya Banerjee.

Mozhan Marnò

One The Blacklist actor lucky enough to say that her character was not killed off is Mozhan Marnò, who would actually reprise the role of FBI agent Samar Navabi for an episode in Season 9 after leaving in the 14th episode of the sixth season. According to an Entertainment Weekly article detailing her return, the Iranian-American actor’s exit from the cast was her own decision, expressing that she was ready for a new chapter in her career. Marnò’s most notable roles since include some of the best TV shows on Hulu exclusively — namely Ramy, Pam and Tommy, and Flesichman Is In Trouble, most recently. 

Amir Arison

In addition to Season 9 being the first we saw of Mozhan Marnò as Samar Navabi in a while, it would be the last we saw of one of the longest-standing members of the main Blacklist cast: Amir Arison in the role of NSA agent-turned-FBI agent and computer designer, Aram Mojtabi. An article by Deadline from mid-2022 revealed that the actor’s choice to leave after the season's 22nd and final episode was prompted by his casting in a stage production of Khaled Hoseeini’s 2003 novel, The Kite Runner, which also marked his Broadway debut. It was later revealed in another Deadline article from January 2023 that Arison landed his next big TV role, as a DEA agent this time, in Apple TV+’s upcoming drama Sinking Ship, from creator Peter Craig and executive producer and director Ridley Scott.

Laura Sohn 

It was also reported in the same Deadline article that detailed Amir Arison’s exit from The Blacklist cast that Laura Sohn — who was brought on as a recurring player in Season 7 before being bumped up to series regular the following year — would also be stepping away from her role as Agent Alina Park after the Season 9 finale. Previously known for guest starring spots on dramas like NCIS: New Orleans and God Friended Me, the actor reportedly left the show wanting to pursue other projects. There is no word at the moment on what Sohn’s next acting endeavor may be, but with a Netflix subscription, you can check out her appearance as a law student in the 2020 post-9/11 drama, Worth.

A subscription to Netflix will also give you access to relive all of your favorite moments that feature each of these former Blacklist cast members in their respective roles on the acclaimed, long-running TV series. Watch how it all comes to an end when the Season 10 premiere airs on NBC.

Megan Boone was a familiar face on NBC for the better part of a decade as the leading lady of The Blacklist, before she decided to leave in 2021 and her character was killed off in the Season 8 finale. While Liz Keen’s death means that Boone is unlikely to return to her former show (even while that show continues to be affected by the loss), the actress is returning to the small screen with her first TV follow-up role. But she’s not so busy that she couldn’t take the time to congratulate former co-star Amir Arison on his new gig! 

Megan Boone’s New TV Role

Megan Boone is returning to network television as part of the cast of the upcoming Fox anthology drama Accused, according to Deadline. The role is part of her deal at Sony Pictures Television, which produces her new show (and produced The Blacklist as well). Boone stars in one chapter of the anthology as Jenny, who along with her husband Max (played by Locke & Key’s Aaron Ashmore) wants a child. Their surrogate is Ava (Stephanie Nogueras of Killing It), a Deaf woman who will pursue advocacy and protection to the point of committing a crime. 

The chapter tapped two other Deaf actors in addition to Nogueras, with Joshua Castille of The Detour and Lauren Ridloff of The Walking Dead as well. Also joining the cast are Daphne Rubin-Vega of In the Heights and Jean-Michel Le Gal of Take This Waltz. The episode will be directed by Marlee Matlin, who had a key role in front of the camera for the Academy Award-winning film CODA. 

Accused received a straight-to-series order back in May 2021, and each episode opens on a courtroom without viewers having any details about the accused’s alleged crime. The project is an anthology series, so this presumably won’t be Megan Boone’s return to TV as a series regular after The Blacklist, but fans of the actress can still look forward to seeing her on the small screen again. 

The series order was for the 2022-2023 TV season, but Accused isn’t on Fox’s schedule for the fall. As for Boone, she is apparently looking forward to her former co-star’s new gig after leaving the small screen, as she shared a sweet post for Amir Arison.

Megan Boone Congratulates Her Former Co-Star

Megan Boone was followed out the door at The Blacklist just one year later, with Amir Arison and one other series regular departing after the Season 9 finale. While there are still questions about what losing Aram and Park means for Season 10, the actor wasted no time in explaining why he was bowing out of his longtime show. 

Arison landed a starring role in the Broadway production of The Kite Runner, which he described as “the opportunity to fulfill another childhood dream.” Megan Boone shared her own excitement on social media with an Instagram post to congratulate him. Take a look:

They may not be co-stars anymore, but Megan Boone shared some love for Amir Arison by posting a photo of his profile in The New York Times and expressing excitement for his opening night. She didn’t specify if or when she’ll be able to see The Kite Runner for herself, but Arison clearly has her support whether or not she makes it into the audience. 

If you want to revisit their time on The Blacklist together, you can find the first eight seasons streaming with a Netflix subscription. For some more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.

Megan Boone was a figure on broadcast television for the better part of a decade thanks to her role as Liz Keen on The Blacklist, but that ended back in June 2021 when Liz was shockingly killed off in the Season 8 finale. Now, the actress has said goodbye to last year with a post that seemingly nodded to her departure from the NBC show.

Boone took to Instagram to post a photo that doesn’t actually feature her at all, but said a “Goodbye” to 2021, with a list of names and more that were important to her over that year. Among those names? “Liz.” Take a look:

Megan Boone didn’t explicitly say that she was talking about Elizabeth Keen in her mention of “Liz,” but it would make sense for her to bid a farewell to her longtime Blacklist character as she looks ahead to 2022 in her life and career. She also used the caption to pay small tributes to some who passed away in 2022, including (presumably) Desmond Tutu, Cicely Tyson, Michael K. Williams, and Betty White, who died at the age of 99 on December 31. 

She has also been an advocate for climate legislation, as she mentioned in her goodbye to 2021. While her mentions of people who passed away and “majesty” being lost weren’t exactly the happiest sentiments for ringing in the new year, I think plenty of people can echo her hope that we find majesty "again" in 2022. 

Whatever 2022 holds for Megan Boone, it probably won’t include The Blacklist. Her departure from the show was actually revealed before the Season 8 finale aired, giving fans some time to speculate about how the show could write out the leading lady after nearly ten years. If Liz had just been sent away somewhere or gone on a mission, fans could have held out hope for Boone to reprise the role someday. 

Liz’s death in the final moments of Season 8 definitely ruled out the character coming back alive, but perhaps she could make an appearance via flashback or hallucination if Boone is ever available and the show needs her. Ryan Eggold managed to reprise his role as Tom after being killed off and going on to star in New Amsterdam, after all! 

The show is going on without Liz, although it hasn’t been crushing in the ratings in what could have been a pretty great time slot on NBC on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET, leading into the Law & Order block comprised of SVU at 9 p.m. and Organized Crime at 10 p.m. The Blacklist will move back to its old Friday night slot in February, however, so maybe it will thrive once more even without Liz. To revisit Megan Boone's time as Blacklist leading lady, you can find the first eight seasons streaming on Netflix now.

NBC's long-running crime drama, The Blacklist is currently airing its ninth season and still going strong, despite the departures of series star Megan Boone and creator Jon Bokenkamp. Of course, with this new phase in the show's history, it's understandable that it would want to add some fresh elements. Now, it looks like the show is definitely looking to do that, as it has cast Chicago Med vet Colby Lewis in a recurring role.

Colby Lewis has been tapped to portray Peter, Alina Park (Laura Sohn)’s protective husband, according to Deadline. While the character has been referenced before and fans have heard his voice on the phone, this will be the first time viewers actually get to see Alina’s hubby. And much like any other person who has a spouse or significant other who risks their life every day, Peter is always worried about the dangers his wife faces while on the job.

Season 9 of The Blacklist made a surprise two-year jump in its season premiere, meaning it’s been a little while since the death of Megan Boone’s Elizabeth Keen. Following the jump, it was revealed that the FBI Task Force had since been disbanded, everyone involved has moved on and the current location of Reddington (James Spader) is unknown. With Peter being a major recurring character now, it’s likely fans will be seeing him quite often throughout the season, It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of part he’ll be playing and to get a better look at his relationship with Alina. Considering his feelings about her work, there's sure to be some tension between the two.

Colby Lewis is probably best known for his recurring role as 3rd year Med student Terry McNeal in the fourth season of Chicago Med. He can also be seen in films like The Screw and All We Got, the latter of which he also served as music supervisor onn. Lewis also served as an executive producer on the short Bogo in 2020.

The recent season premiere of The Blacklist saw some nice numbers when it aired on October 21. On a new night as the lead-in to Law & Order: SVU, the show managed a 3.1 million viewership in Live+Same day numbers. This was up from the Season 8 finale, which only saw an audience of 2.23 million. So it would seem that fans are enjoying the show's new look so far.

At this point, Colby Lewis' debut episode has yet to be confirmed, and there's no telling exactly how many episodes he’ll appear in. Regardless, it seems clear that he'll be shaking things up a bit when he finally steps onto the scene. Fingers crossed this turns into something more for the character, because the show could certainly use more new blood as it continues its run.

New episodes of The Blacklist air Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC! And be sure to check out our fall 2021 TV schedule for more on shows that are returning and premiering at the end of this year.

It's been quite a few years since The Blacklist has delivered what anyone would call a normal season of television, and Season 8 was no exception. Everything ended with some gamechanging shockers, of course, with the biggest being longtime star fMegan Boone's permanent exit, as her character Liz died in the finale after being shot in the back. Add to that the surprising exit of showrunner Jon Bokenkamp, and it's clear that fans are in for uncharted waters with Season 9. Which is exactly what's happening with the newest teaser trailer, which manages to pack in quite a few details at just under half-a-blink. 

Check out The Blacklist's promo below, as shared on its Instagram page.

According to James Spader's Red Reddington, there's nothing left after Liz's death, and we can all assume he was at least indirectly referring to the show's task force, which has been disbanded in the aftermath. Season 9 will indeed pick up after a two-year time jump, with the characters all scattered about. Even though we see familiar faces such as Laura Sohn's Agent Park and Harry Lennix's Harold Cooper, we don't actually see any of these faces together in the same room. Save for the flashback shot of Red and Liz. But how long can that last? 

The out and about character set includes the aforementioned Red, who is currently back in fugitive mode. As everyone can tell from the video itself, Red went into complete disguise mode by apparently shaving the rest of his head. Or losing the rest of his hair naturally, which feels less like a disguise, I guess. I'm hoping that he dons at two (hundred) wigs in the duration of Season 9, causing him to shave the rest. I also hope there's a point where he wears two different pairs of sunglasses at once, but I know that's pushing it. 

When it comes to characters who grew new hair during the time jump, we have Diego Klattenhoff parting ways from his clean-shaven look of seasons past and sporting a face full of hair. 

Understandably, Ressler's still trying to make a difference out there, and it sounds like he might be responsible for trying to pull the task force back together, so that Liz's death won't have been in vain. For anyone worried that the show might be slowing down with someone new running the creative side of things, the Season 9 synopsis does not hold back on the exclamation mark-worthy set-up. 

It sounds like the makings of a final season, but let's not be hasty about such thoughts while it's still so early. Let's just count our blessings, and Ressler's beard hairs, and be thankful that Season 9 is on the way. Now airing on Thursdays, The Blacklist will premiere on NBC on October 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET, just before the 500th episode of Law & Order: SVU.

The Blacklist team had to say goodbye to another one of their own at the end of Season 8 and the departure was as emotional as could be expected. Megan Boone has officially exited the NBC drama after eight seasons and some of the team is looking back on their eight years with Liz Keen.

Harry Lennix, who portrays Harold Cooper on the series, took to Instagram to share some sweet thoughts about his costar and her character, as well as some adorable behind the scenes photos:

Aram Mojtabai himself, Amir Arison, took a simpler route when it came to reflecting on his time with his costar. The actor posted a sweet photo on Instagram, courtesy of Megan Boone’s account, followed by the caption “8 years” to mark that they’ve been working together for almost a decade:

The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp, who recently announced that he will be departing the series ahead of Season 9, expressed his sincerest gratitude toward Megan Boone on Instagram. With the both of them departing the series at the same time, it could be more emotional for the two of them than it is for everyone else, considering without Bokenkamp, there would be no Liz Keen. The creator’s sweet message to the actress indicates that there aren’t any hard feelings between them and the show, and it was just their time to find something new:

Shortly after The Blacklist’s season finale, Megan Boone not only launched her own production company, but has a first-look deal signed with Sony Pictures Television. The studio behind The Blacklist teaming with Boone means that she is staying with her longtime home, at least for now. It will be interesting to see what comes of it and if that means that Liz Keen could possibly return to the NBC drama in some way, despite the way things ended for her. But whatever the case, it’s great to see Boone sticking to her home, even if it means doing something different.

Following the Season 8 finale, Megan Boone took to Instagram to share a touching message to say goodbye to her beloved character and honor her journey on the series. She expressed gratitude towards her costars, the crew behind the scenes and the fans watching, as well as the character she played for eight seasons. While the way her story came to an end was heartbreaking, it's possible this won’t be the last time fans see her, as characters have been known to come back to The Blacklist in some form or other even when it seemed incredibly unlikely.

What the future holds for The Blacklist after the season finale is unknown, but it should be exciting, even if not everyone is returning. With Megan Boone’s new production company and deal, things are certainly going to be coming her way soon.

Network dramas are no strangers to exits from major stars, especially once the shows make it beyond the six seasons that TV contracts tend to allow for. Still, it was a big shock to recently learn that The Blacklist's Megan Boone was bowing out of the NBC drama following its polarizing Season 8 finale, considering her character Liz's arc with James Spader's Red Reddington was such a massive part of the show's deep and twisted mythology. But shock or no shock, Boone's time on The Blacklist is now over, though she is already entering the next phase of her career in a big way.

Just one day after The Blacklist put to rest some long-standing questions, while still technically keeping some up in the air, it was revealed that Megan Boone has not only launched her own production company, but she also has a first-look deal signed with Sony Pictures Television, according to Deadline. This deal marks a creative reteaming, with Sony TV being the studio backing The Blacklist for the past eight seasons.

Through this new deal, Megan Boone is set to develop and produce new projects for Sony Pictures TV, with the hopes of turning them into full-fledged TV series with interested networks and streaming services. Currently, Boone is on the hunt for a suitable development executive for her newly established company, which boasts the unique name Weird Sister. The actress and producer, who shared a kind farewell with fans as the finale aired, shined some light on the meaning behind the name, while also sharing her excitement to work with Sony TV in a greater capacity.

Megan Boone is definitely used to taking part in "different" projects, even just when talking about The Blacklist. The NBC drama began its run with a pretty standard criminal-of-the-week approach, as Red helped Liz & Co. track down dangerous threats that were referenced in the episode titles. But after a couple of seasons, creator Jon Bokenkamp upped the ante by bringing in more deeply serialized storytelling while still maintaining the procedural elements, and eventually sparked some of the wildest theorizing in broadcast network TV. (Outside of Manifest, anyway.) So anything Boone takes on next will likely be at least slightly more straightforward than The Blacklist.

Having previously starred in the short-lived spinoff Law & Order: Los Angeles, Megan Boone likely won't be heading back to that universe now that she's finished with The Blacklist. Although by all means, if she had a Law & Order pitch to throw Dick Wolf's way, I'm sure someone at NBC would knock down a few walls to listen to it. For now, though, we can only wait to see what Boone will dive into next.

If there are any Blacklist fans who somehow haven't watched the final two Season 8 episodes yet - which would actually be understandable, considering NBC temporarily moved the drama to Wednesday nights solely for those two installments - you can stream them both now on Hulu to see how Jon Bokenkamp wrapped up Liz and Red's shared story.

Warning: BIG SPOILERS AHEAD for the Season 8 finale of The Blacklist on NBC, called "Konets."

The Blacklist delivered on last week's reports of Megan Boone's departure with the Season 8 finale, which said what seemed to be quite a final farewell to Liz Keen. Still, even though fans knew that Boone was leaving the series, few could have guessed that Liz's final bow would go down the way that it did, leaving her dead without ever getting the answers she so wanted. That said, Boone has a touching message for fans that is likely a lot more emotionally satisfying than Liz's death.

Megan Boone took to Instagram while the Season 8 finale was airing to post a picture of her alongside longtime costar James Spader, who of course has played Raymond Reddington from the very beginning, along with a message to say goodbye and honor the journey. Boone wrote:

In her message, Megan Boone expressed her gratitude not only for those she shared the screen with, but for the people who helped make the show happen behind-the-scenes and for the fans who tuned in. Those fans have seen Liz go on quite a wild ride, as the Blacklist leading lady has swung back and forth on the moral spectrum during her pursuit of the truth about Red, with more than a little vengeance along the way.

In "Konets," Liz was finally back on good terms with Red, and really, the upbeat scenes between Liz and Agnes (with Red – or "Pinky," as Agnes dubbed him – in the mix as well) should have clued viewers into the fact that tragedy had to be on the way to make up for all the happiness.

Liz found herself unable to pull the trigger on Red despite their carefully-laid plans, and that was pretty much the last thing she ever did before the flashback montage of the people she cared about and dying as the culmination of more than a hundred episodes of development. Boone continued saying goodbye by noting the long run of the series:

There is clearly no bad blood between Megan Boone and the people at The Blacklist that she's leaving behind, although sadly the manner of Liz's exit pretty much rules out Boone returning in any kind of regular capacity. Characters have certainly managed to reappear on the show following their deaths, even including Ryan Eggold's Tom Keen after Tom's untimely demise, but more Liz is probably out barring flashbacks, dream sequences, and/or hallucinations. Take a look at Boone's farewell message after what could very well be her final appearance on The Blacklist:

If you're already in the market to revisit Liz's earlier days on The Blacklist before she got to the point of her death in the Season 8 finale, you can find the first seven seasons of the series streaming on Netflix. The show will also be back on NBC in the fall with the ninth season, which will also be the first in Blacklist history without Megan Boone as a series regular. For some viewing options during the wait to see how The Blacklist will carry on from Liz's death, be sure to swing by our 2021 summer TV premiere schedule for some ideas!

After eight seasons of twisting, turning, yearning, burning, and lots of other exciting verbs, The Blacklist star Megan Boone is now giving fans some real-life shocks, as it's being reported that the actress is exiting the NBC drama with the upcoming Season 8 finale. As it stands, Boone will no longer be a series regular when the already renewed Season 9 makes its network debut later this year. But there is a little bit of a silver lining to be found woven through this not-so-happy news.

It appears as if Megan Boone's exit was not birthed from a spur-of-the-moment decision, as Deadline reports the actress' departure was something the writers and producers knew about much earlier during the production process for Season 8. It was a mutual decision, without any bad blood tainting the exit. As such, the writers were able to craft a proper and thought-out ending for Boone's character Liz Keen, as opposed to having to haphazardly throw a conclusion together at the last minute. While that may not be the best-case scenario for Blacklist fans who don't want to see Liz leave, it will definitely help the show's legacy for her exit to be a more natural piece of the puzzling and theory-friendly plot.

This news does make quite a bit of sense in the wake of the reveal that the final two episodes of Season 8 will go hard on giving The Blacklist fanbase some long-sought answers to some of the mystery drama's biggest questions that have been floating around since the very beginning. Of course, just because audiences will learn more doesn't mean that things will be equally positive for the characters themselves.

Is it possible that the plot points that get resolved and/or introduced in the final two Season 8 episodes will lead to Liz's death, possibly at the hands of James Spader's Red Reddington? As poetically sound as it'd be to have Liz and Ryan Eggold's long-gone Tom Keen spending the afterlife together, it would be a wild left turn for The Blacklist to kill Megan Boone's character off right when a bunch of big reveals are made. Of course, we'd probably later learn that she didn't really die, and that she hadn't been the real Liz Keen since Season 3 or something.

Don't expect Megan Boone to go and hide under a rock for the next few years, either. While no follow-up projects have been announced just yet, the actress is reportedly in the process of securing her next project. Though The Blacklist is her main claim to fame, her work across eight seasons speaks for itself, and I wouldn't be surprised if she lands on another network drama in the near future.

This news obviously makes those next two episodes of The Blacklist all the more vital for fans to watch, so be sure to tune into the final Season 8 installments, which are airing on NBC over the next two Wednesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET, following coverage of the Olympic trials. And stay updated with all the shows that are yet to premiere as part of the 2021 Summer TV season.

Over the course of the past eight seasons, I don't think any fans of The Blacklist would have referred to the NBC drama as being an open book when it comes to the various mysteries surrounding James Spader's Red Reddington (so to speak) and Megan Boone's Liz Keen. But it looks like the twisty series is actually going to give audiences some long-anticipated answers as Season 8 comes to a close, so this is definitely the time when everyone who's ever watched The Blacklist needs to come back to see how things play out.

The preview for The Blacklist's penultimate Season 8 episode (seen below) hinted at certain mysteries finally getting solved in the final two episodes, and showrunner Jon Bokenkamp has confirmed the episode "Nachalo" will indeed deliver the goods, telling TV Insider:

I believe a slow clap is the appropriate response here, though perhaps not one slow enough to last eight full years. In any case, The Blacklist's creative team appears to have decided that now is the perfect time to give viewers an answer key for the storylines that have played out with Red and Liz and their respective identity-centric reveals over the years. Of course, Jon Bokenkamp wasn't exactly forthcoming with which specific questions will get resolved during the notably black-and-white installment, but the ep will feature Red, now revealed to be N-13, taking Liz to Latvia to uncover lots of secrets and connections.

So far, the only two images that NBC has released for The Blacklist's second-to-last episode are the ones seen above, with one centering on Liz and the other focused on Lotte Verbeek as a younger version of Liz's biological mother, Katarina Rostova, so it's entirely possibly we'll get to learn more about Liz's conception and/or her earliest moments in life. And it's also possible the character's biological upbringing will be put to rest in the episode in lieu of other mysteries, as Jon Bokenkamp says this about the Season 8 finale:

Considering how well The Blacklist has juggled its ongoing serialized mysteries with its procedural storytelling, I wouldn't be surprised if Jon Bokenkamp has a few other slow-burning plots up his sleeves for Red and Liz. And let's not forget that there's the possibility of future spinoffs happening at NBC or Peacock. So as long as fans keep showing up, I'm pretty sure the network will keep delivering more Blacklist fun.

Check out the trailer for "Nachalo" below, which features a familiar face in Ryan Eggold's long-dead Tom Keen.

The Blacklist is changing up its time slot for the final two episodes of Season 8, which will respectively drop on NBC on Wednesday, June 16, and Wednesday, June 23. Be sure to tune in to experience the big reveals firsthand and show NBC that the drama needs to keep going even after some of its core plotlines are resolved, and stay updated on all the other awesome shows hitting the 2021 Summer TV schedule.

Over the years, The Blacklist has given fans a number of memorable moments and plot twists. NBC star Megan Boone recently recalled several of those, from the Tom Keen twist to Elizabeth Keen faking her own death, but she also recalled one scene -- the only scene in fact -- to ever inspire a standing ovation on set.

The scene in question happened way back in Season 2, when actor Reed Birney was still on the show playing Harold Cooper’s pal Tom Connolly. During his last and most infamous appearance -- and spoilers obviously -- Liz Keen dug deep and actually killed Connolly, triggering Liz to go on the run and setting up for an exciting Season 3. As Reed Birney wrapped his run on The Blacklist, Megan Boone reveals the entire crew gave him a standing ovation, fondly remembering:

Years after the famous TV moment, Keen actress Megan Boone recalled filming the moment with EW, also telling the outlet that had never happened on the NBC series before and hasn't happened in the time since. Executive producer Jon Bokenkamp also reflected on why Tom Connolly and his subsequent execution were important to The Blacklist’s trajectory as a whole, noting it set the series up for everything that came later.

You know, sometimes when a show has an iconic moment, those who are on the show don’t realize the impact until much, much later. But sometimes, a series knows it has caught lightning in a bottle and that seems to be what happened with Liz and Tom Connolly’s arc in The Blacklist Season 2. Of course Liz Keen’s storyline has shifted a bunch since then, though the series has tried to keep some of the longtime family secret dynamics and other key pieces that kept fans hooked early on in the show’s run.

Season 8 of The Blacklist still has quite a few episodes left to air before it wraps, but even though the cast and crew are looking back at the drama’s longtime run, this won’t mark the end for the Peacock series. NBC gave the show an early renewal back in January, confirming it will return for Season 9. Though other network shows have not fared so well, and you can check them out with our full cancellation list.

(Spoilers-ish are in this piece.) Fans have had a lot of thoughts about The Blacklist as Season 8 has really kicked into gear this winter and as Elizabeth Keen became #1 on said list. There’s a lot going on currently with the NBC drama -- which was recently renewed for Season 9 -- but one thing the show has been pushing a lot less is the family bent as it switches to more of an “Elizabeth is the mastermind” storyline.

For what feels like the longest time, Elizabeth Keen’s and Red’s backstories and the way their lives have been intertwined has been a focal point in the series and one semi-dividing the fanbase. There are the factions who want to move past “the family secrets” and move on to other stuff. But you will occasionally see either people who aren’t caught up or still want to believe in the “Is Red Liz’s father?” theory that occasionally gets bandied about, despite that big Season 6 reveal.

Regardless, these days it seems the writers are really looking to shut down those theories for good. A scene between Dembe and Red that played out in the most recent episode of The Blacklist (and has been a part of some intriguing conversations between the two recently) literally had Red once again explaining he did not father Liz Keen while further showing the current underlying malevolence between the two. While enjoying some “meat and potato pie,” the two discussed:

A comment on a thread about the "Chemical Mary" episode on Reddit gets snarky about the show's history with this particular storyline, with one commenter noting, "So today Red is not Liz’s father." Of course, despite The Blacklist’s convoluted history of events, we have been told that Red is not Liz’s father. Mainly, there was the Season 6 reveal in which we learned Raymond Reddington was Liz’s father. Yes, that's confusing, but then there was the secondary twist that the Red we know is not the Raymond Reddington who is Liz’s father. He's an imposter. These days, shoehorning in lines like the one from the most recent episode may be attempts to cut down on any of the chatter that still lingers around their relationship, possibly due to all the breaks Red has cut for Keen over the years.

While the chatter exists -- and could even be being egged on in some ways by these off-handed show comments-- these scenes with Dembe and Red also build exposition while also simultaneously touching on why the aforementioned relationship is still so complex eight seasons in. Family secrets or no, Red and Liz are complicated.

The last few weeks of The Blacklist have been a little crazy in terms of Liz’s plans and also that tribute episode to Glen, who died of West Nile virus both on the show (in the same way Clark Middleton passed in real life back in October). Now the show has been renewed, I’m wondering if the current Liz/Red plotline will find a new direction or if it will extend as the NBC drama keeps going and going and going. For now, tonight’s episode says Red will be “making a connection” so I’ll leave you to ponder that before the episode airs.

The Blacklist airs new episodes on Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. See what else is still heading to TV this spring with our full premiere schedule.

The Blacklist has been one of the rare dramas with longevity that doesn’t fall prey to always having a procedural bent. The NBC drama has often featured more elongated arcs in regards to its plots and its villains and has made it all the way to Season 8 by investing fans in one or both of two components: The complex chess games Red is playing and the family secrets the series has been teasing for most of its run. But now, some fans are really starting to get annoyed with the latter, even creating an open letter to the writers about it.

A poster on Reddit recently shared these sentiments online in regards to what we’ve been witnessing for a while now on The Blacklist. As part of a longer post (and thread) the basic crux of the open letter read (edited for grammar):

Some other comments underneath touched on the things they preferred about The Blacklist earlier in its run, which included a funny but also apt take, noting the “show was a lot better when it was James Spader Vs The Illuminati, as opposed to the dark and gritty remake of My Two Dads it turned into.” Others echoed the open letter sentiment that the show should “be done with the literal or figurative skeletons in the closet.”

Not everyone clearly feels this way, as some defended the show and Megan Boone’s character Liz in the comments, but I do think the general idea of keeping “family secrets” at the forefront of The Blacklist is an example of a struggle that a lot of network shows have. When The NBC drama was conceived, it needed a hook to reel viewers in. At the time, Liz’s connection to Red Reddington and her family background provided that hook and those secrets have simply kept going and going and going.

Sometimes this sort of hook can be great, either if a show can ultimately reset the basic premise (think: The Good Place) and keep its fanbase or if it simply only lasts three-five seasons and is off the air before fans can get tired of a particular premise (also think: The Good Place).

Other shows try to keep the same hook going for too long of a period of time time, and with reason. An example of a show that did this for too long was Bones. The show needed that will-they-won’t-they chemistry between Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth to be successful. Thus that chemistry kept going on for several seasons too long before they ultimately hooked up. Yet it's worth noting that once the two married and had a kid on the show, it really kind of lost a lot of its magic. So it’s easy to see why writers on shows -- particularly long-running shows -- want to keep going with the angle that works. As a side note, it also likely doesn't help matters that network shows push out way more episodes per season than either cable or streaming series.

Meanwhile The Blacklist has already been renewed for Season 9 -- 9! -- so it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And as recently as earlier this season, Red’s illness was teased as a potential connection to Liz. There have been even more explosive plots this season since then, but the point is, even if you are someone that is annoyed with this component of The Blacklist, it’s so much the heart of the show at this point it would likely take the major death of one of the main characters to change that.

The Blacklist Season 8 airs on Friday nights on NBC at 8 p.m. ET, but if that’s past your bedtime, there’s plenty of other TV content heading your way in the new year.

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James Spader and his co-star Megan Boone have starred in NBC’s The Blacklist for eight seasons now, but this year things are looking a little different on set. There are new safety protocol, of course, but in particular, The Blacklist also had to repurpose three episodes that were supposed to originally be a part of Season 7 before quarantine kicked in. And as it turns out, quarantine was more productive for some of the cast and crew than others.

During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the late night host and James Spader talked about their respective quarantine experiences, as well as what it's been like working with what Spader calls “a skeleton crew” on set. The actor seems to indicate that despite the weirdness of things getting back, he’s more than happy to be there, particularly given what he spent time doing in quarantine compared to his colleagues.

In fact, he says some of the leading ladies on set, like Megan Boone herself were pretty enterprising. In his case, he got to spend a lot of time with his kid, but perhaps the activities they got up to were less impressive. His humorous tale?

I mean shooting cans with BB guns does sound like a pleasant pastime, provided there’s no, "You’ll shoot your eye out” sort of moment. (And hey, it sounds like there was parental supervision). Yet I do take James Spader’s point on Fallon’s show. His team of avid co-stars was at home and using the downtime to their advantage, while he was just hanging out. He also says he spent a lot of time eating and just doing whatever and was pleasantly surprised it didn't adversely affect his waistline. Hilarious. Regardless, the point is, we all spent quarantine differently given our differing personalities and we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves.

Later, Megan Boone herself saw Spader’s comments on The Tonight Show and jokingly responded that Shakespeare is her “sourdough,” a reference to all the bread baking that also went on during quarantine. (In fact, Superman himself, Henry Cavill, even got into that activity.)

Meanwhile, now that Season 8 has started, we know the show really did jump right in for the early set of new episodes. Unfortunately, its hiatus actually came fast and now we’re in a bit of a waiting pattern before the series returns in 2021. While we wait, keep an eye on what’s coming back to TV this winter with our full schedule.

Before The Blacklist returned, speculation ran rampant regarding the romantic future of Megan Boone's Liz and Diego Klattenhoff's Ressler. The long-time friends and partners have been the subject of plenty of predictions, with fans wondering if the pair could embark on a legitimate romance. Season 8 got off to an optimistically puzzling start for those hoping that the characters are heading in that non-platonic direction, as Liz and Ressler shared a surprising kiss in the premiere.

The rather shocking moment happened as Liz was making a break for it after kidnapping Dom, so that she and Katarina could work him for the truth about Red. Ressler caught up with Liz, who first locked eyes and then locked lips with him. The Blacklist’s writers had previously been split on the topic, but have they finally decided on where Ressler and Liz’s relationship is heading in Season 8?

Heading into Season 8, there had been signs that fans might realistically be able to hope for Liz and Ressler to get together. The Blacklist teased fans with Liz opening her heart to Ressler last season without any agenda-laden context, but cut to Season 8, and Liz was kissing Ressler with a motive. When asked if the kiss was legitimate, or merely Liz manipulating Ressler to get his gun, The Blacklist’s creator Jon Bokenkamp told TheWrap:

Is that “really great story” he talked about going to be a love story? I am not certain. The Blacklist has been heavily teasing the potential for a Liz/Ressler romance since Tom (the love of Liz’s life, in my opinion) was murdered. Now might not be the best time for Liz to dive into a new romance, of course, since she is dancing on thin ice as she skates between her mother and father figure’s battle lines and the actual law, made all the more complicated by her career obligations.

The Blacklist creator’s response indicates there were a lot of layers to the characters' smooch that Liz laid on Ressler. I, for one, think that Liz was playing Ressler, knowing that he has feelings for her. Liz is a profiler, and it does not take Captain Obvious to understand that Ressler has had a crush on her for a while. In truth, I sensed that when the show began, and Tom was still alive (sniffs).

There will be more to this story as The Blacklist continues to unfold its Season 8 narrative, according to the show’s executive producer John Eisendrath. Having teased Katarina’s Red revelations this season, Eisendrath also shared a little more insight into Liz and Ressler’s dizzying dynamic as the show continues. As expected, there will be some push-and-pull. On Liz and Ressler’s complicated relationship moving forward, Eisendrath said:

I will continue staying tuned along with my fellow Blacklist viewers. It sounds as though fans could finally get to see the show take a firm position with the secret-keeping potential couple. To me, Liz was working Ressler, and the confusion she unleashed on him will not keep him from hunting her down. It has not stopped him in the past, though, so we will have to see.

Ressler puts duty above most everything. So Liz bringing up Ressler killing his dad’s murderer when he was a teenager proved to be a low blow, in my opinion. It just proves that she is an expert at keeping others on their heels, which is an ability she developed as a profiler, and through her tutelage under the ever-secretive Red.

It will be fun to see if Liz circles back to more of her seductive techniques as Season 8 continues. New episodes of The Blacklist air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and they will hopefully continue into 2021’s winter/spring schedule. While you wait for more Liz/Ressler moments, you can catch up on their previous ones during past seasons of The Blacklist via Netflix’s releases.

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The Blacklist is finally on its way back after signing off unceremoniously early in spring due to the coronavirus. Season 8 is thankfully arriving soon, and the cast has already shared some celebratory social media posts as they reconvened for work on the veteran crime drama. Though the creative team hasn't come forth with full details about how everything will pan out, there are definitely some quick details that we know about the highly anticipated Season 8.

Believe it or not, we (the fans) are not far out at all from The Blacklist’s return, which will hit NBC in the first half of November. The series that signed off with its hyper-inventive animated finale will be back and, hopefully, better than ever. Season 8 will begin fresh from Liz’s jaw-dropping move to support her mother, Katarina Rostova, and there are destined to be more twists and turns as that story play out on the show. Here is what we know.

When Season 8 Is Coming Out

When I say that Season 8 is not far off from premiering, I mean it. The Blacklist is currently set to return on Friday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. It will not be a two-hour premiere as it sometimes goes, so that is kind of sad. But any time spent with The Blacklist is quality time, though, and that is all that truly matters, right?

The November premiere date is rather impressively close to when production began on Season 8. Megan Boone posted that she had started filming new episodes on October 13, which puts Season 8 arriving exactly a month after. Boone did not give anything else away in her first post, of course, but on her second day, Boone told her Instagram followers that everyone will “love” Season 8. We will see!

Red’s Illness Will Get Addressed

It is the red elephant in the room, and it has been hulking there for some time. The Blacklist has been teasing Red’s mystery illness for ages now, starting it up back in Season 6, and the storyline continues to haunt the duplicitous lead even into Season 8. Will this be the year where the creative team resolves that plot strand once and for all?

Take a deep breath, Blacklist fans, because Season 8 appears to have an end in sight for the storyline. Series creator Jon Bokenkamp shared that the drama will take a deeper dive into Red's illness this coming season, though without saying Red will miraculously be healed or cured. That said, I am still holding out hope that is the conclusion the story takes, since killing Red off would be a major blow to The Blacklist.

The Premiere Will Not Be Animated

As mentioned earlier, when The Blacklist closed out Season 7, it made the somewhat novel switch between live-action and animation in order to utilize all the footage that was shot before they had to pack everything up. As such, it makes sense that some fans are wondering if Season 8 will begin the same way. After all, the animated experience proved to be an absolute success, so why not give it another go? Well, that question has been asked and Megan Boone has answered.

The actress clarified the making-of detail by sharing that Season 8 would be totally live-action and not animated (at least to start things off.) I would imagine that if anything happens during production, the animation could be something that The Blacklist keeps in its back pocket. At least, the show has a better idea of how things will work. Plus, they should not have to rely on Jason Statham to be a stand-in (as often).

Liz And Ressler’s Relationship

Liz and Ressler provide one of the bigger question marks heading into Season 8. Will the two characters ever get together? Before every season starts, that seems to be one of the queries that captures a lot of conversational momentum, with even the writers split on which way to take the long-time law enforcement partners.

Liz has been single ever since losing her husband, Tom, but culd she be ready to move on with Ressler? After opening up about Ressler’s meaning in her life, it seemed The Blacklist might have been moving in favor of her decision. Diego Klattenhoff has acknowledged hearing rumors about where last season and now Season 8 could lead the pair. Does that mean a union is on the horizon? Things sound hopeful.

Agent Park Will Be Seen More

Agent Alina Park made her debut quite a ways into Season 7, but she quickly nestled into the Task Force as if she had been there for ages. At first, Red and Aram were resistant to her being a long-term team member, only to change their minds. In the end, Park won Red’s trust in a battle royale against one of his rogue associates.

Heading into Season 8, The Blacklist has promoted Laura Sohn to series regular status, so Park will be seen even more when new episodes start up. Time will tell if she strikes up a romance with Aram as he and Samar did before sadly parting from the show. Liz, teaming with Katarina, could find her relationship with the Task Force upended yet again, so Park could have her hands full with that.

Two Actors Have Passed

On a tragic note, The Blacklist will head into Season 8 without two of its cornerstone presences. Earlier this year, Brian Dennehy passed away at 81-years-old, leaving a giant vacuum in his wake. The Blacklist promised that fans had not seen the last of Dennehy’s Dom, and that is true. They saw him again in animated form before the season ended, while Season 8 could see a number of conclusions for his character.

However The Blacklist decides to handle that situation, the show recently suffered another tragic loss in the form of Clark Middleton’s sudden passing at 63 years old. Middleton and his character, Glen, have long been a highlight of the show. Hence, The Blacklist heads into Season 8 with the heartbreaking loss of two of its brightest stars, though how the series will handle the future without them remains to be known. They will be missed.

Season 7's Original Ending Will Fold Into Season 8

For those wondering if viewers will ever get to see how last season was initially supposed to wrap-up, there is some positive news. The Blacklist left off with Red arriving at a crisis point for both his health and his relationship with Liz reaching similar lows, whicle Liz, learning from her mother that Red is not Ilya Koslov, started down a slippery slope that only got more hectic by the end.

Thankfully, The Blacklist is set to incorporate those remaining Season 7 storylines that were meant to get explored in Season 8. Will those “missing” episodes explain if Liz is actually backing Katarina? Or maybe a reveal that she is a double agent working her mysterious mother over to help Red? I hope it is the latter and may not be alone in that.

The Blacklist will be back before too much longer, people, and it has its work cut out for it. I do not expect to learn who Red is or anything, however, since the creator has said that reveal is where the show ends, and I am in no hurry to get there. So, expectations for that story to resolve itself are satisfyingly low.

The Blacklist returns in one month as one of this fall’s premieres on Friday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Until the returns next month, you can check out all seven seasons leading up to the premiere via Netflix’s releases.

The Blacklist reunions just keep coming as production on Season 8 gets further underway. Now, Megan Boone has shared a picture of herself and Hisham Tawfiq on the set of the veteran crime drama, and it has this viewer wondering: what could it mean for Liz and Dembe in Season 8? After all, Liz is no longer Team Red, while Dembe still is.

It feels like ages ago that The Blacklist signed off from its previous season with that impressively-animated finale. The episode also served as the backdrop to Liz’s stunning decision to align with her estranged mother, Katarina Rostova, over her father figure of nearly a decade – Red. It is a choice that will probably not sit well with Dembe. Off-screen, Megan Boone, and Hisham Tawfiq were all smiles, though. Check them out:

Based on Megan Boone’s caption, it was her first day filming with Hisham Tawfiq. What does that mean? You can bet there will be scenes between Liz and Dembe when The Blacklist returns for Season 8. That is not incredibly surprising considering that Liz and Dembe often have scenes on the show. However, the context of their interactions has changed quite a bit, with Liz aligning against Red’s interests.

What will these Blacklist scenes include? Could Dembe be onto Liz early on and figure out that she has turned against Red? If Dembe figures it out, will he spare Red from knowing? Due to what is at stake and what he would be covering for Liz doing, I doubt Dembe would be willing to lie to Red again. Of course, this is assuming that Liz is legitimately on her mom’s side.

I am holding onto the slimmest hope that Liz is faking this whole thing to be a double agent. Regardless, we all have to approach Season 8 with the truth we currently have, and that is that Liz is on the warpath. Yes, even though Red is battling a deadly illness. Thank goodness he has Dembe as his best friend. On a related note, check out this promo art for The Blacklist’s return:

Last season, The Blacklist had promised fewer secrets on the horizon. The show certainly delivered by way of the reveal that Red is not Ilya Koslov. However, it did not answer who he is. That mystery continues to gain clues without actually producing a full reveal. Dembe has seemed to encourage Red to share the truth with Liz. Despite that, Red has remained bewilderingly mum.

Will Season 8 finally witness the most massive reveal of all? Stay tuned. Check out Megan Boone and Hisham Tawfiq when Liz and Dembe return for Season 8. The Blacklist returns in one month as one of this fall’s premieres on Friday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Until Liz and Dembe come back, you can check out all seven seasons of their past adventures via Netflix’s releases.

The Blacklist is readying to return! Megan Boone and more stars took to social media to celebrate the beginning of filming on Season 8. Boone is back at work alongside her co-stars. According to what the actress has previously stated, they will be back in live-action form instead of animated. The Blacklist’s return to production marks the first time filming has commenced on a post-COVID season.

Earlier this year, The Blacklist was forced to come to an early end, due to the escalating threat of our current health crisis, with an impromptu finale. The ingenious minds behind the crime drama rallied to wrap the season on a complete note by undertaking animated means to do so. Cut to October, and filming on Season 8 has begun, with Megan Boone posting this:

This is a much different look than the cast of When Calls the Heart rocked, but I like it all the same. As long as the cast and crew are safe and healthy! In another post on Instagram, Megan Boone assured fans that they will “love” Season 8. If that is not enough for you to get excited about it, something else might. Here is what fan-favorite Amir Arison posted:

Aram, Agent Park, and Cooper in a single picture! How lucky are fans right now? Amir Arison enjoyed last season immensely, and it looks like he is having a blast getting to work on The Blacklist. Everyone is sporting their semi-masquerade-style face shield with a grin, including Harry Lennix and Laura Sohn. Season 8 is going to be Sohn’s first as a series regular, so stay tuned for that. In another behind-the-scenes glimpse, Arison posted this:

I do not think that Amir Arison could have a better attitude getting back to work. It has been more than a while since fans got to see The Blacklist, and Arison, Megan Boone, and the rest of the ensemble seem excited to get back to it. Speaking of which, Hisham Tawfiq shared a selfie that was not from the set, but Season 8 related, nevertheless. Check it out:

Dembe will not be rocking a beard in Season 8. He will be back, though, and that is the most important thing. It will be interesting to see if Dembe uncovers Liz’s latest betrayal. When The Blacklist left off, Liz sided with her mother in the ever-brewing war between Katarina and Red. Will Dembe realize this and have to out Liz? The Blacklist will be back soon to reveal the answer.

Check out Megan Boone, Amir Arison, and Hisham Tawfiq when Liz, Aram, and Dembe return for Season 8. The Blacklist will return next month as one of this fall’s premieres on Friday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Until they come back, you can check out all seven seasons of the crime drama via Netflix.

Fans of The Blacklist got a heavy blow this week with the announcement that another one of the show’s beloved stars has died. As one would imagine, Megan Boone and more are mourning the death of their co-star, Clark Middleton, who had phenomenally brought the character of Glen (a.k.a. “Jellybean”) to life ever since Season 2, when he first took on his scene-stealing portrayals of Red’s critical contact at the DMV, a position that helped Middleton’s Glen Carter be an ace at locating people for the ever-mysterious Raymond Reddington.

The Blacklist has now lost a key asset, with Clark Middleton’s wife Elissa announcing on Variety that her husband had succumbed to the West Nile Virus at the young age of 63 years old. On Instagram, Megan Boone posted the following message about her co-star (who also appeared in Twin Peaks) with this heartfelt post:

As Megan Boone’s message mentions by way of behind-the-scenes news, The Blacklist is on the verge of returning to filming for Season 8 to deliver a fall premiere, which is currently slated for Friday, November 13. Grieving a co-star's. death, though, is probably one of the gravest ways imaginable to get ready for a new season.

In another tribute to Middleton, Amir Arison joined in Boone in paying his respects to his fellow Blacklist star, posting:

Over on The Blacklist’s official Twitter page, the show’s creator Jon Bokenkamp also saluted Clark Middleton. Bokenkamp’s tribute does not mention if or how the series plans to pay homage to Middleton or his beloved character when it returns. (A sad thought that the show's producers are all-too-familiar with as of late.) Bokenkamp provided a moving statement on Middleton’s untimely death, which not only touched on his legacy as an actor but as a person:

As a fan of Clark Middleton and his incredible portrayal of Glen, I am just absolutely heartbroken by this news. Glen will always be an integral part of The Blacklist’s history. His captivating presence heightened the quality of each episode he was in, and whenever he was not around, the crime drama was missing that bit of magic. Season 8 is heading into production with a massive hole in many hearts.

Thankfully, The Blacklist did have a fantastic Glen-centric episode last season that showcased how much Clark Middleton is an irreplaceable part of the show. On that note, it is unclear how the creative team will move forward, and whether they will handle Middleton’s death on-screen as Glen's death, or in some other way. News of Middleton’s tragic death comes months after the sudden loss of actor Brian Dennehy, who played Dom Rostov; so far, though, Dom remains alive within the series.

Time will tell what Season 8 has in store with regards to both Glen and Dom. Find out if and how the characters will be addressed when The Blacklist returns on Friday, November 13, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. For now, you can check out Clark Middleton’s standout work in previous seasons of the crime drama via Netflix’s releases.

After coming to an early end last season due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Blacklist is returning this fall. There is one Season 8 detail that people keep asking Megan Boone about, though, which she is now clarifying well-ahead of its premiere. The actress has been asked how, exactly, The Blacklist will make its return, and it is a reasonable question, considering the way Season 7 wrapped up.

To complete its previous finale, The Blacklist opted to animate the portions of the episode that had finished filming, leaving one to wonder: When The Blacklist comes back for Season 8 on November 13, will Megan Boone and her co-stars be in live-action or animated form? Boone took to Instagram to share the answer:

There you have it. Megan Boone, James Spader, and the rest of The Blacklist’s talented cast will be back in action in live-action form for Season 8. But, when you consider how outrageously amazing the animation was for the impromptu season finale, an animated premiere would have been nothing to fear.

Despite the short time frame that the show had to pull it off, animation company Proof, worked overtime to get The Blacklist’s finale complete. The season-ender took inspiration from Guardians of the Galaxy in the process, along with an unintentional assist from action star, Jason Statham. In the end, a spectacular rendering of the finished product got fans buzzing.

Due to its success, I, for one, would not be miffed if The Blacklist revisited animation in the future. Regardless, the crime drama is returning in the flesh. Viewers ended last season by witnessing Megan Boone’s Liz as she took a dramatic step forward in her journey with Red. In a surprising turn, Liz opted to side with her mother in the battle between her parental figures.

It is a choice that should have repercussions in Season 8, when The Blacklist returns to continue the story it started last season and abruptly had to delay. The thought process behind Liz’s decision to side with her mother has been explained, and The Blacklist will have time to further expand upon that choice.

Meanwhile, the stories that did not get finished will be told in Season 8, according to the show’s producers. One thread that the show will have to resolve is the fate of the late Brian Dennehy’s Dom. Liz’s grandfather was said to be on the verge of waking up from his coma in the animated finale.

At least, that is what Liz could be heard saying in her menacing monologue regarding her choice to side with Katarina. I have had thoughts on how The Blacklist should handle Dom’s story in light of Brian Dennehy’s sudden passing. Season 8 will reveal which way the show heads with it. I would, honestly, not be surprised if Dom coded after hearing what Liz had to say, seeing as how her speech was pretty intense and ominous.

The Blacklist will make its live-action return as one of this fall’s premieres on November 13 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Until then, check out past seasons of the long-running series on Netflix, along with lots of 2020 arrivals.

The Blacklist is getting ready to return, which means more twists and turns are ahead! What does Season 7’s 2020 return mean for Liz? As you probably expected, she is going to be super busy. When your mom is a spy on the run who has faked her death and your father figure is a criminal mastermind, that is par for the course.

Liz is going to do one of the things that Liz does best. She will be investigating when Season 7 returns! The description for an upcoming episode entitled “Newton Purcell” points to Liz starting a “secret investigation on the side.” I think many fans of The Blacklist will probably have a strong suspicion as to what that investigation may be about.

At least, I have one. Based on the fact that Liz knows her mother is alive, and that Red is not Ilya Koslov, there are at least two things for Liz to start digging into. For one, Liz could look into some of what her mom told her. The bosses at The Blacklist have said that Katarina is trustworthy, but Liz may want to do due diligence to verify that.

Katarina Rostova went into the wind during the midseason finale, and she did so thanks to a massive assist from Liz. When Season 7 left off, Liz had not come clean to Red about her mom actually not being dead. The Blacklist has a story of divided loyalties on its hands as Liz struggles between two people who are essentially her parents.

There is a strong possibility that Liz could be continuing her investigation into Red’s true identity. The Blacklist has teased that the show is hurtling towards the endgame of who Red actually is. Could Liz’s research be part of what unlocks the truth? It is feasible. Of course, her previous endeavors to unearth the truth have not exactly been successful.

My guess is that Katarina puts Liz on this side project. Red putting Liz on an investigation would not really be news, since that is what he does all of the time with the Task Force. Who says that Liz gets assigned to pursue this investigation? It would not be shocking if this was born out of her own curiosity.

The Blacklist has no shortage of things that could capture Liz’s investigatory attention. I have a lot that I am excited to see happen, and I am totally here for Liz uncovering yet another piece to the puzzle that surrounds her life. Pictures from the midseason premiere tease a thrilling return is almost upon fans!

Find out what Liz investigates after Season 7 gets underway as one of the midseason’s fresh offerings. The Blacklist returns on Friday, March 20, at 8 p.m. ET with a two-hour premiere on NBC. You can watch Liz's previous investigations via past seasons of The Blacklist on Netflix alongside content arriving in 2020.

Season 7 has been a tough one for The Blacklist’s Liz Keen. Her father figure got held prisoner by her estranged mother and Katarina subsequently impersonated Liz's neighbor to get closer to her. Liz did not learn until right before the midseason finale. Cue her reunion with Katarina and the bombshell revelation that Liz still does not know who Red really is, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Liz is caught between what she knows, suspects, and feels. It has made for a slippery slope in Season 7. The Blacklist regularly puts Liz into tight spots, but it has painted her into her most uncomfortable corner yet. Her back caught between two competing walls – her mother’s and Red’s. Hence, the drama to come when the series returns!

In The Blacklist’s midseason finale, the series ushered in what was undoubtedly a controversial decision by Liz. She helped her mother evade the authorities, and she learned her mother had faked her death. Liz is yet again keeping a massive secret from Red, who believes Katarina is dead. Yes, the same man she already crossed to nearly deadly results in the past.

I do not think that Liz is making the right call with Katarina, even though The Blacklist's creator said viewers can “trust” her. However, I totally understand why she made it. Liz and Red already have a lot of trust issues and it sounds like they are not going to improve. She wants the truth, and Liz (naively?) believes that Katarina can give it to her.

Remember, Katarina scored a significant point with Liz in revealing that Red had yet again let Liz believe something untrue. He is not Ilya Koslov. So, I think The Blacklist is totally staying within the confines of Liz's behavior for her to be wary of him. Everything that she thought she knew about Red just got re-written all over again.

As for Liz, she sadly has reasons not to trust Red. He has not trusted her with the truth of who he really is, and that revelation continues to ripple throughout The Blacklist. From the moment the show started, viewers knew that Red was keeping stuff from Liz. Fast forward to Season 7 and he would not even tell her that Katarina kidnapped him.

Should Liz have figured out that her mother was the next-door neighbor sooner? She had a lot going on. Liz is a working single mother with a demanding job. Why would she necessarily suspect Maddy Toliver of being Katarina? When The Blacklist Season 7 began, Liz strangely indicated that she did not even think her mother was still alive.

Liz, like anyone trying to get through their day-to-day, put her defenses down. She wanted to see what she wanted to, and Liz even admitted to Katarina that she had suspected the truth before their confrontation. While Liz desires honesty, she wanted to believe an illusion. Who can blame her?

Liz has had a rough go of it on The Blacklist. Throughout the series’ seven seasons, Liz has never come across as malicious. She is a person caught in a world that forces her to lie to protect the people she loves. I do not think that Liz sets out to deceive people. Many times, she does the wrong thing for all the right reasons.

In my opinion, Liz’s latest decision on The Blacklist was made out of a misguided affection for her mother and a desperation for answers. I wish that Red and Liz could be on even ground and work together. However, there is too much secrecy right now.

Liz has reasons to be skeptical of Red. Not of his intentions, rather his ability to be honest with her. It pains me to say it, but he has not been. If Red came clean, would Liz still be making the same choices? I do not think so. Liz is trying to walk an incredibly thin red line. For this Blacklist viewer, she has not crossed it.

The Blacklist will make its long-awaited return during the midseason, starting in March 2020 on NBC. An exact return date for Season 7 has not been announced yet, so stay tuned. You can watch previous seasons of The Blacklist on Netflix alongside content arriving in 2020.

Spoilers for The Blacklist Season 7's midseason finale entitled “Katarina Rostova (No. 3)” are discussed below! Proceed with caution!

The Blacklist will not be back until March 2020. There is some good news, though. When it returns, it will get right into all of the family drama that the show has been teasing for Season 7. This is the season that has seen two of the most prominent forces in Liz’s life -- converge.

Liz’s long-lost mother, Katarina, and her enigmatic father figure, Red, are now both in her life. By the time The Blacklist’s mind-blowing fall finale ended, Red thought Katarina was dead. She faked it in broad daylight for his benefit. Liz knows her mother is still alive, and that Red is not Ilya Koslov. Teasing the familial fight ahead, The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp told TheWrap:

A two-parter? Count me in! The Blacklist has had a father/daughter dynamic with Red and Liz. Now, it is her mother’s turn to have a shot at bonding. I am not entirely sure that Liz should throw herself headfirst into this relationship. After all, they did just have an explosion showdown of their own.

For his part, Red did not seem too upset about Katarina’s "death." In Season 7, she held him captive, tortured him, and then kidnapped his good friend, Ilya Koslov. Katarina even tried memory extraction on Ilya to learn Red’s secrets to no avail. Thinking Katarina is gone, The Blacklist will see a different side of Red when it returns in 2020. Jon Bokenkamp told TVLine:

It is not over, Red! Not by a long shot! How long will Liz stay quiet while Katarina galivants around the world trying to expose the truth? Liz is putting Red in danger, knowing that her mom is still out there, plotting. She could strike again! To be fair, The Blacklist has put Liz in a tight spot.

As Liz told Katarina in The Blacklist’s fall finale, Katarina and Red are both members of her family. How long until all of this comes to a head? At this point, Katarina and Red are on opposing sides. Katarina is having as much trouble reading between the lines for Red’s truths as I have. On what lies ahead in Season 7, The Blacklist’s executive producer, John Eisendrath, told EW:

Does this mean that Katarina and Red will face off before the end of Season 7? The Blacklist spent the first half paving the way for Liz to meet her mom. Now fans can anticipate the moment when Red realizes Katarina is not dead. What I dread is his sense of betrayal when he learns Liz knew and did not tell him.

Trust issues between Liz and Red have been hinted at occurring in Season 7. The thing is that Red has endured Liz betraying him in the past. She almost got him executed, and he forgave her. I know he has lied about his identity but teaming up with Katarina is probably not the answer. In truth, Liz barely knows her.

I just hope that when this family fight is over, Red and Liz will still have a relationship to fight about. Unfortunately, Red’s secret-keeping has made it possible for Katarina to leverage that against him with Liz. Secrets have consequences! Along with all of this, Red has that scary health prognosis, which The Blacklist will hopefully circle back to in 2020.

Is it March yet? The Blacklist will return during the 2020 midseason. You can refresh your memory on the crime drama’s previous seasons on Netflix, which also has lots of new content joining it in 2020.

Spoilers for The Blacklist Season 7 episode entitled (“Dr. Lewis Powell”) are discussed below.

The Blacklist is finally ready for Red versus Katarina, but is Liz? After two episodes without Liz’s mom at the forefront, she is about to come back full tilt. The promo for Season 7, Episode 7, entitled “Hannah Hayes,” hints that The Blacklist is about to bring Katarina and Red’s war of wits to a new boiling point.

Katarina has been playing a no-holds-barred game against Red. She even taunted him with a letter saying that she was better. Having cozied up to Liz under the false alias of a next-door neighbor, Liz has no idea she has already shared some quality time with Katarina. Well, things are about to explode. Check out The Blacklist promo below:

Who are the men that have been controlling Katarina’s life? This got me curious. Is she saying that Red has been inhibiting her? Maybe she is including Red and her father in that equation. She clearly has some bad blood with her father Dom. He is still hanging on for dear life.

Who is opening that door when Katarina is shown holding a gun off to the side? My current guess is that it is Liz, and Katarina does not know what is going on inside. Wild speculation, but that is what The Blacklist sometimes calls for! There are some hard facts fans have to go on heading into the next episode.

NBC’s description for the next Blacklist episode reveals that Red and Dembe will run surveillance on someone close to Katarina. At the same time, she is going to unintentionally involve Liz’s daughter Agnes in her own operation. No wonder Liz has been so anxious about bringing Agnes home! I am curious if Katarina will end up saving Agnes in some way. Or will it be Red?

Also worthy of note is that Brett Cullen is mentioned as guest-starring in the next episode of The Blacklist. Cullen plays the mysterious stranger, who is supposed to be back with some answers in Season 7. So far, not a whole got exposed from his previous appearance. Will the second time be the charm? Stay tuned.

Viewers know that Red is sick with something, and it is bad. Katarina’s involvement in that story and connection to the Blacklister that Red went after concerning his illness is not entirely clear. Nor is it altogether clear if Liz is flying solo as a child of Katarina Rostova. In other words, I think she may have a sibling! There is evidence.

After teasing how Katarina’s return would impact Liz, it seems like The Blacklist may be edging closer to showing viewers how. There are those much-anticipated revelations that have yet to come. Could this episode be the one that shares them? There is only one way to find out first!

Tune in to see how Red versus Katarina goes down when new episodes of The Blacklist air this fall! The action happens on Fridays, at 8 p.m. ET, on NBC. To relive Red’s past battles in previous seasons of The Blacklist you can stream them on Netflix, along with lots of upcoming content.

The Blacklist Season 7 is coming! If you loved those explosive pictures from the series’ return, you will appreciate this new first look video! In it, Megan Boone teases “more action” and the potential of “less secrets” being on their way, and that is not all.

Katarina Rostova made her jaw-dropping debut in the present in last season’s finale. Season 7 could be the chance to find out who she really is, if that is even possible on The Blacklist. Get ready for more teases as to why Katarina kidnapped Red in the finale! Check out the first look trailer below:

Who else can barely wait for Season 7? Fans may be one giant step closer to more of the truth. Remember, an endgame is supposed to “snap into focus,” per The Blacklist’s creator. The reason Katarina abducted Red has been one of the summer’s greatest cliffhangers to contemplate. She is pursuing the answer to something.

Is it a secret only Red knows the answer to? Or could someone else also hold the key? What on earth does she want to know, in the first place? The Blacklist’s cast is not giving anything away. Their teases are certainly going to get you pumped! On how Season 7 begins, James Spader says in the teaser:

Firm footing is a difficult thing to find on The Blacklist, and that is a large part of the fun. The mythos surrounding Katarina has swung from villain to misunderstood anti-heroine more times than I can count. When viewers were given Red’s “real identity,” they got another Katarina-filled flashback episode.

In it, Katarina was presented in sympathetic terms. She risked her life and blew her cover to save someone’s life. Katarina also showed concern regarding the original Raymond Reddington’s fate. So, to finally meet her in the finale and have her drug Red was a shocker. Discussing that and Katarina’s introduction in the first look teaser, Laila Robins (Katarina) says:

What does Katarina want to know? That is just one of the many mysteries heading into The Blacklist Season 7. Of course, Red’s real identity is way up there too. As the first look ends, she tells a seemingly exhausted Red that he will divulge “everything” that she wants to know. Sounds like the potential of mortal enemy territory to me!

Will Red give up this secret? Could the audience finding out what it is that Red is hiding change the game again? On the one hand, fans have been told that Katarina is the “most formidable big bad” of the series. Not the most heroically-minded endorsement. Then, you have that cryptic and foreboding Season 7 poster about Red and trust.

Whatever turns out to be the case, it should be a ride! In the first look video, Megan Boone teases Season 7, saying:

Liz trusted Red about his Katarina verdict enough to bring her daughter home. Will she live to regret it? Katarina reentering Liz’s life is a game-changer. The questions are how it will exactly impact her and does Katarina have her daughter’s best interest at heart? There is only one way to know for sure!

Find out what happens in Season 7 when The Blacklist returns as part of this fall’s premieres. Season 7 premieres Friday, October 4 on NBC with new episodes airing Fridays at 8 p.m. ET. Catch up on the history of The Blacklist via Netflix, along with lots of new content.

The Blacklist Season 7 star Amir Arison has revealed the triplets who play Liz’s daughter, Agnes. Yes, triplets! It turns out that it takes three actresses to bring Liz Keen’s (Megan Boone) daughter to life on the drama. Arison, who plays Aram on The Blacklist, revealed the trio in a behind-the-scenes picture from the set.

Using multiples is a move commonly used by TV shows to play a single child character. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were not the first on Full House, and they will not be the last. The Blacklist’s Agnes Keen joins the list! Check out all three Agnes actresses in the picture from Amir Arison’s Instagram:

The triplets were not named in the photo, but Emily and Sarah Kell are credited with playing Agnes in The Blacklist Season 6 finale that aired in May 2019. What makes this reveal all the more interesting (not that it needed any help) is that The Blacklist did a storyline about multiples last season. What does this latest behind-the-scenes picture mean for Agnes Keen in Season 7?

Having the triplets present on set indicates Agnes could continue to have a presence after sparingly getting seen last season on The Blacklist. Agnes was never far from her mother’s thoughts or actions. However, it was not until the end of the season that Liz decided to bring her daughter home.

Back in Season 5, Liz had decided to put Agnes in the care of her mother-in-law/Tom’s mom, Scottie. That way, she would know her daughter was safe as she pursued revenge for her husband’s murder. Learning the truth behind Tom’s death did not hasten Agnes’ return. Instead, Liz discovered that Red was an imposter.

After that, all bets about bringing home Agnes were off yet again. Following a season of twist, turns, and Red’s near-execution, Liz thought she learned his “true identity” from her grandfather. She still had her doubts about Red being Ilya Koslov (she is not alone). However, she also felt confident enough about Red being a good guy to reunite with Agnes.

Liz continued to worry about her daughter’s safety after learning her mother was out there. Red indicated everything was okay on that front and Liz brought her daughter home at long last in The Blacklist’s Season 6 finale. The thing is, Red went to meet up with Katarina and she ended up kidnapping him. That opens the door to Liz’s worst fears about her mother coming true.

Will Liz send Agnes into hiding again? I hope not. It was so sweet to have Liz and her daughter reunited after having to spend so long apart. Of course, Liz has to think about Agnes’ safety, and with her mom willing to drug and kidnap her old friend, all bets are off.

See Liz and her daughter back in action when The Blacklist returns this fall. The series comes back for Season 7 on Friday, October 4 on NBC. New episodes will air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET. You can check out previous seasons of The Blacklist on Netflix, along with lots of new content.

The Emmys may not have given The Blacklist cast any love (again), but if that downer news affected them in any way, this example of series adoration certainly has to raise their spirits. One Blacklist fan went all in showing their love for the crime drama by getting an epic tattoo of Red and Liz and more!

The masterfully delivered ink got the attention of series star Megan Boone, who plays The Blacklist’s awesome heroine Liz Keen. Taking to Instagram, the actress shared an image of the tat replete replete with a non-chastising caption. Check out the tattoo, and Megan Boone's take on it, below:

And I thought I loved The Blacklist! Thank goodness the encompassing ink does not declare that Red is Ilya Koslov, perhaps by putting a smaller “I heart Ilya” tattoo onto Red’s image. Given how many times the character’s true identity has seemed to surface, it is probably best to wait a while before getting permanent on that front. Jon Bokenkamp hinted that the question of who Red really is will continue to cause friction in Season 7.

So, fans still have a while to wait on what that means. As for The Blacklist fan, getting that tattoo thankfully didn't take nearly as long, although I had to take multiple sessions to accomplish, and I dare not think of the cost, both physical and financial. You know it had to be an investment, but that's what TV fandom is for the most part anyway.

If you want to see more, swipe the image below to see a video of the tattoo.

Wow! If you are curious about what the inspiration behind the art could be, I have an idea of where it may have come from. If it looks familiar, that is because it resembles the promotional art that NBC released for The Blacklist’s third season. Like all of the others, that was an exciting one, and marked the show's push into more serialized storytelling on top of the Blacklister-of-the-week cases.

Check out the Season 3 promo art below to compare.

For a refresher, Season 3 is the one where Liz went on the run with Red, and she even had to turn her hair blonde for a while. It was also the season where Liz and Tom welcomed baby Agnes, and Liz faked her death. By the end, Red discovered that Liz had deceived him, and in the season finale, she came face-to-face with the man claiming to be her father, Alexander Kirk.

It set off a remarkable fourth season, and it's only gotten more complicated and dramatic from there. The Blacklist will be back for another season this fall on NBC, and a premiere date for Season 7 has been set!

There is a lot to look forward to, too. The Blacklist’s creator Jon Bokenkamp teased that the series’ endgame will “snap into focus.” Hopefully, that will include a major arc where Red and Katarina become mortal enemies, as well as others where a lot of burning questions get answered. A Blacklist fan can dream!

After this summer’s premieres wrap up, The Blacklist will be back with its Season 7 premiere on Friday, October 4 on NBC! New episodes of the beloved series will air on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET. For now, you can catch up on previous seasons of the series via Netflix along with lots of other upcoming content.

Spoilers for the Season 6 finale of The Blacklist are discussed below.

Still standing? As promised, The Blacklist went out with a bang. Just when all seemed right in the world with Liz welcoming her daughter Agnes back home, there was a twist. Red left Agnes’ welcome home party for Paris, France. He was told by Brett Cullen’s unidentified associate that "she" was there.

Red headed off, and on a dark Paris street, he called out “Katarina.” If that was not enough of a game-changing twist, The Blacklist continued. Red and the woman embraced, and Red even landed a kiss. That seemed to be a bit of subterfuge. They knew someone was watching. Red told her that it was not safe. That she was not safe.

They kissed again, and that kiss turned out to be a bait and switch. Katarina stabbed him with a fancy syringe. Red collapsed and was put into a van. The Blacklist’s creator opened up about how the Katarina twist sets up Season 7 telling ET:

The Blacklist Season 6’s cliffhanger ending cast a dark cloud over Red’s earlier claim to Liz. She was worried about bringing her daughter home if her mom was alive and dangerous. Red assured her that she had nothing to fear from Katarina. Well, he also thought he had nothing to fear from her and look what happened. Whoever Red is, he may not have the best read on Katarina Rostova.

The moment plunged The Blacklist, Red, Liz, and viewers into an overload of questions. Everything is seldom as it appears on the show and it would seem that this twist is likely no different. If the crime drama wants viewers to doubt Katarina, they can, but should they? Did she do it to save Red?

Red is usually a good judge of character. That should be an encouraging sign. However, The Blacklist has shown viewers that he has his blind spots. Red suspected that Liz was the one who turned him in, yet he set those suspicions aside. Liz is her mother’s daughter so it would make sense for him to trust Katarina the same way.

Considering everything that has gone on regarding Red’s identity, it would make sense for fans to doubt this latest twist. Is the woman that Red called out to really Katarina Rostova? Jon Bokenkamp was asked almost precisely that, and he told Variety:

She also called him “Raymond.” Someone viewers know he is not. Just saying. After six seasons, The Blacklist seemed to confirm a plot twist long in the making. That Katarina is still alive and has been out there all along. Liz’s mother just entered The Blacklist in a significant way. She made her debut with a lot of ominous energy.

Katarina may be a threat to Red. There is no way to know what has gone on between them over the years. Liz? I have trouble thinking she would hurt her own daughter. No matter how much of a wild card she is at this point. Nevertheless, Liz is in jeopardy from whoever is watching Katarina. If she is not safe, neither is Liz.

It is a lot to contemplate heading into Season 7. Thankfully, fans are getting one, and Dembe is back! The Blacklist will return for a seventh season this fall on NBC. That’s right! You will not have to wait until 2020 to find out what happens next with Red!

Strap on your seatbelts, Blacklist fans. The Season 6 finale is about to open the door to a lot of questions for The Blacklist Season 7. Those queries surround Red’s (James Spader) true identity. If you suspected that the full story had yet to be told, you were right. Liz (Megan Boone) is closer, but she may currently be holding a phony cigar.

Talking about the Season 6 finale, The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp, discussed that earlier “reveal.” Remember, Red equals Ilya? Maybe not. Expect further “friction” as the road to definitive answers continues in Season 7. Teasing the season-ending status of Red’s identity; Bokenkamp told TVLine:

Let’s dig into this for a second. Viewers are “closer” to the truth after what Dom told Liz. That “truth” supposedly being that Red is really Ilya Koslov, a friend of Katarina Rostova’s ever since childhood. Flashbacks showed him pitching the plan to assume Raymond Reddington’s identity. Dom told Liz he ended up doing just that. However, viewers never actually saw that tell-tale footage.

So, there was a reason to be suspicious regarding those missing pieces, after all. Apparently, there is still more to the story, and it may upend that Ilya answer. Does this mean that Red is not Ilya Koslov? It certainly sounds like a possibility.

The Ilya reveal, courtesy of Dom, has brought Liz “closer” to the truth. If she actually arrived at it, she would not be closer, she would be there. Right? Also, The Blacklist's creator refers to it as Dom's answer, not the real one.

There is more. The Blacklist’s creator also teased how the storyline with Anna McMahon and President Diaz will end, while adding a significant mythology tease. He shared that Blacklister storyline may get its thunder stolen by the overarching mythology. Regarding the mini-arc, Jon Bokenkamp told The Wrap:

If Red is not Ilya Koslov, The Blacklist is sort of heading back to square one. Albeit with a major clue moving forward. It would seem that if Ilya Koslov really existed, he could provide a trail to Red’s true identity. Or at least, some connection. The read I’m getting is that Ilya is not Red.

In the above quote, Jon Bokenkamp does not focus on the question of whether Ilya is really Red. Instead, he zeroes in on the larger, overarching premise of Red’s entrance into Liz’s life. Whoever he is, that is probably the key to unlocking the mystery.

Why Red chose to enter Liz’s life has been touched on without ever getting fully explained. I thought it had to do with Tom turning rogue. However, Red could have easily sent an associate in to deal with that.

For years, it seemed like Red was Liz’s father. Hence, his desire to know his daughter appeared to be the source of interest. Again, not the case.

These multiple surprises that The Blacklist’s creator is teasing will be intriguing to see play out. Could they take Ilya Koslov out of the equation, completely? My initial instinct says “yes.”

Or are these surprises related to why "Ilya" entered Liz’s life? Hence, leaving the Ilya-is-Red story open. Liz already admitted that there are a few missing links in her answer regarding Red’s identity. Will she find a few of them tonight? Or learn there are a lot more standing between her and the truth? Sounds like the latter.

Get the latest clues regarding Red’s identity when The Blacklist Season 6 finale airs tonight, aka Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Once you've seen the finale, come back to CinemaBlend to share your reaction, and to read our post-finale thoughts.

SPOILERS ahead from The Blacklist Season 6, up to and including the May 10 episode.

What a season! Red was almost executed. The Task Force lost Samar. Liz thinks she knows Red’s true identity. In short, The Blacklist has offered no shortage of surprises for fans to contemplate. As viewers head into the Season 6 finale, there is also no shortage to the questions that need answering.

Breadcrumbs have gotten laid out throughout the season. Some without any verbal recognition, or very little. If you are hoping that The Blacklist’s finale will leave off with fewer questions to navigate before it ends, you are not alone. I do too. These are the four I want to get answered before the new season begins.

#1: What Is Red Sick With?

This mystery has come in and out of focus throughout The Blacklist’s sixth season. It first came up when Red wanted “The Pharmacist” found. The implication was that Red wanted him to work on a cure for someone. What this cure would treat has also remained a mystery.

Hopefully, the nature of the ailment will not be the only thing that is revealed. Who the cure is for has also been a mystery. Red seems to be the patient in question. He injected himself with something at one point in the season. While at the start of the season, he told Liz he wanted to pursue a healthier lifestyle.

Are these things connected? It is possible that Red wanted to get healthy because he is enduring some sort of health scare. The issue with that theory is that Red got an all-clear on his physical before his execution. If he is the sick one, it should have gotten caught, right? Season 6’s final episode could shine the light necessary to know for sure.

#2: Where Is Liz’s Mother?

This question has been at the forefront of not just Season 6. The whereabouts of Liz’s mother, Katarina Rostova, has been an ongoing mystery throughout The Blacklist’s entire run. Earlier in the series, Red seemed to put the issue to bed by claiming that Katarina had died. He said she voluntarily walked into the ocean and drowned.

For those who always doubted her death, Season 6 finally confirmed that Katarina did not die that day. She walked out of the ocean alive and eventually contacted her best friend, Ilya Koslov. She needed his help to make her and her parents disappear.

Katarina’s father indicated she could be dead, having not reached out to him or her mother. It seemed to be another dead end. Ressler has indicated that he still believes that Katarina is alive, and so does Liz. She even worried about her daughter’s safety with her mom on the loose. Red put her mind at ease.

Does he know where Katarina is? Is keeping her location a secret what drove him to also keep his identity a secret? Is she the one he is trying to cure? Or does he have no idea where Katarina is? Stay tuned.

#3: What Is Anna McMahon's Problem With Red?

Anna McMahon has been the big bad of The Blacklist’s sixth season. She wanted Red to be executed, seemingly to protect her conspiracy against the United States. Despite her efforts, Red was given a stay and a new immunity deal. Anna has been determined to break it.

She is now overseeing the Task Force, and they and Red have been hard at work trying to bring her down. They have yet to accomplish that. Time is now ticking for Cooper, Aram, and Ressler. It is also ticking on what exactly is motivating Anna’s grudge against Red.

Her animus towards him seems to extend beyond the realm of conflicting interests. It feels personal. As in very personal. In the promo for the Season 6 finale, she has Red at gunpoint and declares that he will not escape death again. She is probably referencing Red’s execution. Or is it something longer-running?

Has she wanted Red dead for more than the past few months? A substantial feud in a short amount of time hints at more of a history between the two.

#4: Is Ilya Really Red?

This is the big one. After waiting most of the season, The Blacklist seemed to give viewers the long-awaited answer to Red’s true identity. Yes, this mystery only kicked off with the Season 5 finale. However, it has dominated quite a bit of thought and viewer speculation.

If what Liz’s grandfather said is the definitive answer, then Red is originally Ilya Koslov -- her mother’s best friend and the one behind the idea to take over Raymond Reddington’s identity. All of the pieces are there to believe it, with a few missing ones also out of reach.

Red has yet to verbally confirm he is Ilya, which is not entirely unexpected. Nor does it not make him Ilya. He has trouble with the truth, as mentioned above. Ilya knew that Katarina was not dead, and it turns out, so does Red.

As Ressler previously pointed out, there are a lot of unanswered questions even if Red is Ilya. Why he went to such remarkable lengths to keep his identity a secret is among them. Hopefully, The Blacklist will resolve this mystery, so fans can look forward to other related revelations.

Will any of these questions be answered? I hope so. I think #3 has a strong chance of being resolved. Anna McMahon’s reign should be about to end. It is tough to imagine her surviving the Season 6 finale, unless unexpected grounds emerge to keep her alive. She should at least be in prison.

Call me overly optimistic, but I think Red’s true identity could definitively be resolved. The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp, did say that he did not foresee the show ending without the answers to who Red is. Here is hoping they will come. It has only been a season with the mystery looming overhead, but it is time.

Questions surrounding Red’s real connection to Liz date back to the pilot. Making some real headway would be nice. Once confirmed, there is more for The Blacklist to dig into. The logline for the Season 6 finale says that Red will “meet in secret with a man who holds information about his past.” Could viewers also learn that info? Maybe.

On a side note, I also wonder if Katarina Rostova will finally resurface and reunite with Liz in the finale. Season 6 seems to have been building towards such a reunion. It may be worth meditating on.

Stay tuned to find out if any of these questions get answered when The Blacklist Season 6 ends. The season finale will air Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Spoilers for last night’s episode of The Blacklist Season 6 ("Anna McMahon") are discussed below.

Red is going to be in danger (again) during The Blacklist Season 6 finale. Here is how he got there. The penultimate episode of Season 6 gave fans a lot of answers regarding that highly sought dossier. After an explosive scavenger hunt between the Task Force and the compromised Secret Service, the Task Force won. Upon Aram opening it, they learned what Anna McMahon has planned.

The conspiracy against the United States involves a plot to assassinate President Diaz. In another Blacklist twist, he is apparently in on the plan to have himself killed. Realizing that the Task Force had the dossier, Anna went to the Task Force’s headquarters and had them arrested.

Liz had stepped away to talk to Red about bringing Agnes home when it happened. That put her outside of Anna’s reach. Sadly, Cooper, Aram, and Ressler were all arrested. Liz was able to tell Red what was going on and the trailer hints she escapes. The promo for the Season 6 finale also teases a seismically surprising turning of the tide with Red in jeopardy! Watch it below:

Cooper, Aram, and Ressler are in the infamous box that Red was once inside. Not good. Thankfully, Liz and Red are going to team up to save them. Just like old times!

Is Red and Liz’s relationship finally on track after that icy phase? I can only hope. In a side note, how awesome was Red saving Liz at the last second in this episode? Classic Red is back!

Liz and Red seem to be getting the upper hand, then the promo shows a shocking sight. Liz can be seen running away from what appears to be an exploding van. Red seems to be leaning over someone. Or is he? Liz is shown looking concerned and then, the upsetting shocker. Red being held at gunpoint by Anna McMahon. She tells Reddington:

Who is going to save Red? Is he going to save himself with some wealth of information that he threatens Anna with divulging, in the event of his demise? Will Liz attack Anna and save Red?

Liz is closest to him so it would make sense for her to be the one to act. Not to mention, it would be redemption for almost getting him killed earlier this season.

Then there is the possibility that The Blacklist did not show viewers who will save Red – Dembe. He has been off-screen for a while now, and it is high time he made his return. Dembe has not been seen for three episodes after his falling out with Red. He last appeared in Episode 18 (“The Brockton College Killer”).

If anyone can save Red and the Task Force, it is Dembe. Where is he? How would he know what is going on? Maybe Red will reach out to him ahead of going in to save the Task Force. Dembe may not answer his call initially, only to surprise the audience with a major return!

Stay tuned to find out how Red gets saved (he is the star of the show) when The Blacklist Season 6 concludes. The Season 6 finale airs Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Spoilers for the latest episode of The Blacklist entitled “Guillermo Rizal (#128)” are discussed below.

It seems like years ago that Liz made the decision to put her and Tom’s daughter in the safekeeping of her mother-in-law -- Tom’s long-lost mother, Scottie. It was actually during The Blacklist’s previous season. After Tom’s murder, Liz went to a dark place that meant pursuing the information that led to his death full-time.

She vowed to reunite with Agnes when she got her answers. In last night’s Blacklist, Liz told Red that she had made the big decision to finally bring Agnes home. That's a sign she finally trusts Agnes’ safety around Red. Even without not knowing all of the details surrounding his true identity.

In a moving moment towards the end of the episode, Liz made one thing clear: Finding out who Red really is has not changed who he is to her or Agnes – family. To Liz, Red is her parent and therefore, Agnes’ grandparent.

Liz and Red got off to a beyond rocky start at the beginning of The Blacklist. By the end, the cold front seemed to dissipate mightily in the face of Liz’s gesture. Liz’ life code (“love wins”) seemed to claim yet another victory. Red appeared more moved by it than his words let on. Or maybe that is wishful thinking on my part.

It is as if one of his motives for trying to keep the truth from Liz was born out of fear. Did he not want her to know they are not biologically related? Was he scared that would change things? Either way, Red did not count on something: Liz loves him for him. Not because she thought they shared DNA.

As someone who wanted them to be related so much, this scene helped salve that wound quite a bit. Liz and Red are still father and daughter. They still care about each other that way. Nothing about learning the truth has changed that for them. Hence, it has changed nothing for me.

Liz’s decision also means that despite some lingering questions about Red and Ilya, Liz trusts him with Agnes. Unlike the distrust that had sent her scouring for answers earlier in Season 6, Liz finally seems at peace with Red. She proved that by asking for his help training Agnes for the future.

In a sign that Liz’s life has had more of a design to it than initially thought, Red coughed up one truth. That Liz becoming an FBI agent was not an accident. Liz’s life has been engineered more than she and this viewer ever entirely realized. Maybe even more than has gotten revealed so far.

Instead of being bitter about that, Liz is ready to leverage it. Now, Red (Ilya?) will help Liz train her daughter. Agnes is coming home! What will that mean for The Blacklist going forward?

Agnes’ young life has already been quite dramatic and tragic. She was kidnapped as a baby and lost her father. The safest place she can be is with Liz and Red.

No matter how angry he is, I do think he will forgive Liz. Or at least, I hope he will. Red has to make a choice to love Liz back the way she loves him. He enjoyed playing along that he was her father and I think it stung him to have to stop living that illusion.

If he is Ilya, Red always knew she was not his daughter. Maybe there was a bit of fear that her learning that would cost him their relationship and her continued interest in maintaining their relationship. Liz’s decision about her daughter is a huge gesture of trust towards Red.

Whatever her issues in the past, she is trusting him with the most precious thing in her life. Her daughter. Hopefully Red can reciprocate with some affection. Or at least, less hostility.

Tune in to find out where Liz and Red’s relationship goes from here when The Blacklist continues. New episodes air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Spoilers below for anyone who isn't caught up on all things Blacklist-related, so be warned!

Hold on to your fedoras, Blacklist fans! The NBC drama has shared an exclusive clip with CinemaBlend, and it is a doozy. Red is breathing fire, and it's towards someone who is both unexpected but still entirely deserving, in a way: Liz.

Red and Liz have obviously not been on the best terms lately. When Red learned recently that Liz was the one who turned him in, it caused seemingly irreparable damage to their relationship, and it might surprise long-time fans just how intense things have gotten between them. See for yourself in this clip from The Blacklist’s next episode, titled "Guillermo Rizal."

I tried to warn you, didn't I? The most chilling part of this clip, though? When Red says that he is not conflicted over the concept of killing Liz, but rather that he is conflicted because he cannot bring himself to do it. That is not just menacingly heavy to hear, it is crushing. Viewers probably knew that things were terrible, but this scene goes to show that Red's forgiveness will not come easy for Liz, if it comes at all.

Red is going to let Liz live, which he points out is an unparalleled exception and not "the rule." Whether she will ever exist in his good graces again is a whole other matter for The Blacklist to resolve once some time has passed. Liz arguably made a terrible decision in turning Red in, in that it led to him getting arrested, put on trial, convicted, sentenced to death, and almost executed. His rage is justified.

Had anyone else done all of that to him; it would be over for them. Red cannot do that to Liz, however. If the previous episode’s reveal is to be believed, Red's pseudo-sympathy may actually come from him being Ilya Koslov, a dear friend to Liz's mother Katarina. After coming up with the plan for him to assume Raymond Reddington’s identity, Liz’s mother agreed to it with one promise tacked on.

She made Ilya vow to take care of her Masha/Liz, which he agreed to, saying “like she was my own.” Red has certainly done that, and all that affection and proection is apparently taking its toll. As Red recently pointed out, Liz has betrayed him numerous times, and while he had moved past each of those instances, this latest betrayal is going to be a tough one to get around.

I think this is an intense scene that gives the actors great material. James Spader makes Red incredibly intimidating in this clip, while Megan Boone does a fantastic job showing the disquieting impact that Red’s words are having on Liz. On the flip side, it is sad to see what Red and Liz’s relationship has become.

Can Liz ever climb her way out of the emotional grave she has dug for herself? Trying to find Red’s true identity, and then confronting him about it, probably did nothing to help her get any footholds. In all likelihood, it had the exact opposite effect, sending her back down deeper.

It will be interesting to see this scene within the context of the episode, too. Will Liz have made some headway before the hour is over? Or will she be so chilled by their talk that she decides to make the distance between them even icier?

In NBC’s synopsis for the episode, titled “Guillermo Rizal,” it says that Liz will consider a “big change.” Could such a change occur after her and Red’s conversation, involving her coming around to his way of thinking? It would make sense. The Blacklister case that the Task Force will be working on will involve a kidnapper who is abducting only children that are twins, triplets, etc.

As for Red, he is said to be on the hunt for “a man who can find anything.” Does Red need this man’s help? If so, who, or what does he need the guy to locate? Is it a cure for what seems like it could be a mysterious illness?

Tune in and find out how the Liz and Red scene will play out in an all-new episode of The Blacklist, airing Friday, May 3 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Spoilers for the second half of April 26's episode of The Blacklist (“Rassvet”) are discussed below.

The Blacklist took its most substantial step forward yet in the ongoing reveal of Red’s (James Spader) true identity. By episode’s end, Liz (Megan Boone) thought she had finally uncovered the truth. The flashback-centric installment gave the audience a good reason to believe she had. That was, until the final moments.

An almost giddy Liz went to tell Red that she knew everything after talking to her grandfather. That Red was her mother’s dearest and most dependable friend – Ilya Koslov. As such, he was the architect of the plan to take over Raymond Reddington’s identity. He did so to protect her mother and stay one step ahead of her enemies.

Red (Ilya?) took the news without being pleased or relieved at all. I did not expect him to be thrilled, but his reaction bordered on stifled outrage. The moment also hearkened back to the one that Liz and Red had shared many episodes ago. The one where she told him that she knew he was her “dad.” That was far more heartwarming, though.

Back then, Red did not seem angered by Liz’s latest “resolution” regarding the enduring mystery of their connection. This time, things were different. It was uncomfortable. Red was fresh off the wound inflicted by learning that Liz was the one who betrayed him to the police, and its impact on his relationship with Dembe. He was in no mood for her “revelations.”

That part made sense. However, there was more to it than that. Much like Red and Liz being father and daughter, the latest conclusions Liz reached seemed doubtful to hold true in the long-term. Why? Red went to see Liz’s grandfather after she told Red that Dom was her source.

Red told Dom that he needed to tell him everything he shared with Liz and, essentially, spare no detail. Why was he so concerned about what Dom had told her if that was the truth? Does this mean that Dom actually knows the full story? I have a theory, but those have not been doing well in Season 6.

Having thought that Red was Raymond Reddington’s secret identical twin and that he and Liz could still be father and daughter, I’m batting zero. Nevertheless, I will do my best to still theorize after being left a bit adrift by this latest twist. The truth does not feel entirely told. Albeit, some of the pieces fit.

If Red is Ilya, then he has done this all to protect Katarina, whom he loves. If she is still alive, then he has had to stay up countless nights hoping to keep her that away. All the while, trying to keep Liz from leading those watching to her mother’s doorstep.

Has this all been about keeping Liz from her mother? All in an effort to keep her mom safe from the discovery that reuniting with her daughter could bring. That would explain why he has worked to keep it a secret and is so angry about what Liz has learned. It threatens to blow Katarina’s cover entirely. Without realizing it, Liz is jeopardizing her mother’s safety.

Red/maybe-Ilya can handle and forgive Liz for a lot. Putting the woman that he has risked everything for at risk, not so much. That part makes sense. Am I reading too much into it? Part of the fun of The Blacklist is enjoying the ride. Not necessarily getting those all-elusive answers, rather the journey to collecting them.

There were things that The Blacklist did not show, which is curious. If viewers got most of the story, why not show Katarina and Ilya going to the clinic? Katarina holding Ilya’s hand one last time as he prepared to endure unimaginable pain to carry out this plan.

Why not show him waking up a new man? The truth often lies in what The Blacklist does not show viewers. If it is holding something back, there is often a reason. Teasing the episode, The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp told TVLine:

That sounds assuring, and as someone who is ready for the truth, I want to believe that viewers got it in “Rassvet.” However, I do not want it to cloud my judgment and accept answers that may have more to them.

Do viewers know everything? If it all happened as straightforward as The Blacklist seemed to present it, then they did. Something tells me there is still more to the story, though. There is a lot about Red being Ilya that makes sense. It fits. The problem is that so many things have throughout the years. Thus, the mystery continues.

Find out else The Blacklist has in store regarding Red’s real identity when new episodes air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

The Blacklist Season 6 has a shocker ahead regarding the secret Dembe Zuma (Hisham Tawfiq) is keeping from Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader). Red is searching high and low for who betrayed him. Dembe knows that Liz Keen (Megan Boone) is the one.

Whether he should have or not, Dembe agreed to keep Liz's secret. But last week Dembe told Liz she had to tell Red the truth or he would. Innocent people are now getting in the crossfire as Red tries to discover who betrayed him; Dembe wants to feel like he's on the right side of this.

So I'm worried about what series creator Jon Bokenkamp just said about what's to come on that front. He said these final episodes of Season 6 will "significantly" alter Red’s dynamic with Dembe, thanks to the secret.

Gulp. Do you think Red would kill Dembe as punishment? It's hard to imagine, and it would be horrible to lose Dembe that way (or any other way), but it's also hard to imagine him killing Liz. So what would be "shocking"? Maybe a death is on the wrong track, maybe that's more expected than shocking.

The Blacklist Season 6 has another big two-parter coming this Friday, April 26. The promo made it seem like Liz would get answers on Red's identity and know the full truth. We questioned that, because The Blacklist has already been renewed for Season 7, and Jon Bokenkamp had already said the entire series would end with answers on who Red really is.

However, Jon Bokenkamp just told TVLine the two-parter will dive into the central question of Red’s past, with the storyline of Red's identity starting to fold in on itself, "giving us answers and resolution." Resolution?! How can that be possible if we won't get the truth until the end, and the end is not this season? There must be a big twist on that front, or another truth behind whatever we get soon.

We do know Red's history with Katarina Rostova is going to be explored more, since Liz's mother will be the centerpiece of the second episode in this Friday's April 26 two-parter.

The Blacklist Season 6, Episode 19, "The Brockton College Killer," airs first at 8 p.m. on Friday, followed by Katarina Rostova's Episode 19, "Rassvet" at the usual 9 p.m. time. This season is meant to have 22 episodes and the May 3 Episode 20 has an interesting twist in the logline when it says Liz "considers a big change."

What change does Liz have in mind? Will it be directly related to her mother, or closer to the secret she currently shares with Dembe about betraying Red?

This Friday's two-part The Blacklist event sounds pivotal, so don't miss it, and keep up with all of the shows winding down right now with our season finale schedule.

Spoilers for last night’s episode of The Blacklist (“Third Estate”) are discussed below.

The Blacklist is giving fans another two-parter next week, and it is set to be a huge one. It may also prove to be a revelatory installment for Liz. The promo for the next episode hints that Liz will learn the truth about Red's identity. Is the show really going to give it to Liz?

It would not be the first time a promo sort of misled the audience in Season 6. Just a few episodes ago, a Blacklist teaser hinted that Aram and Red would be going to all-out war with one another. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. That brings viewers to the upcoming Katarina-centric double feature. Check out the promo for it below:

While there can be a lot of editing done to tease a particular scenario, what Liz says is pretty straightforward. Based on the last words she speaks, it seems she says them to Red. In the promo Liz can be heard (potentially) telling him:

Red seems slightly amused when she says this. Is he tickled that she thinks she knows the truth and has no idea? Does she really know? Is she bluffing she knows? Or is there something more to this scene? In last night’s episode, Dembe told Liz that she needed to come clean about turning Red in. Or he would do it for her.

Is Liz going to come clean and then claim she knows the truth about Red when she does not? In other words, will she blackmail him with the supposed truth of his identity to spare her? I do not think she needs any emotional currency to stay alive.

Whoever Red is or is not, he does genuinely love her. He is not going to kill her for turning him in. Will he be angry, hurt, and betrayed? Absolutely. Mad enough to execute her? No. Now, her thinking that she can blackmail him would probably irritate him. He does seem somewhat irritated in the clip by what Liz says.

Will The Blacklist go through with it and let Liz know the truth? Given what the series’ creator has said about the audience learning the full truth about Red, that seems doubtful. However, learning who Red really is could only be part of the mystery.

After establishing that, there are a lot of mysteries about the “missing years” and beyond. Plenty of content to keep the secrets of Red alive and well for seasons to come.

Who could Liz learn the truth from? Her grandfather, Dom. Red is going to visit him in the next episode for help in making a “difficult decision.” Promotional pictures reveal that Liz will also visit Dom, but she's currently unaware that he's her mother’s father -- aka Liz’s grandfather. Will Liz press him for answers? Would he give them to her?

Find out if Liz actually learns the truth about Red when The Blacklist continues with next week’s two-hour event. It airs Friday, April 26 starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Caution: Spoilers for the latest episode of The Blacklist Season 6 (“Lady Luck”) are discussed and disclosed below.

Ressler is not giving up on finding out who Red really is, even though Liz told Ressler to drop his inquiry into Red’s true identity. What Ressler uncovered in the latest episode of The Blacklist could change her mind. Liz would be very curious to hear the updates Ressler has learned regarding Liz’s mother and grandmother.

It looks like they could both very much be alive -- something that will not come as a massive shock to Blacklist fans. Katarina’s death has been mired in mystery for a long time. She supposedly walked into the ocean and never returned. Red has repeatedly said she is dead. This episode of The Blacklist hinted she instead took deep cover.

While finding Katarina will require further efforts, having a chat with Katarina’s mother will be much easier. At the end of the episode, the whereabouts of Liz’s grandma seemed to become known. It turns out, she has been in the United States living as Virginia King. She married a guy named Tim King in 1998, and they live in Chicago.

Primed with that knowledge, Ressler seems ready to act. NBC’s synopsis for next week’s episode says that Ressler will continue his quest for answers regarding Katarina. What will he find? Hopefully, he interviews Liz’s grandmother. How much she will be willing to say is questionable.

Why is she going to open up to Ressler, of all people? Could his knowing Liz, aka her granddaughter, make her willing to saying something? If it was Liz asking the questions, she might be more open to providing further insight. Otherwise, you would think her first loyalty would be to Liz’s mom.

What happened to Katarina’s dad? Well, that is one of the few questions that has an answer. Viewers know that Liz’s grandfather is alive, thanks to previous seasons. He lives under the identity of Dominic “Dom” Wilkinson. Red has visited him in past seasons. Liz has met him without knowing he is her grandfather. The Blacklist has yet to show him in Season 6.

There is a lot of hostility between Red and Dom. However, the two still maintain contact. Dom knows that Red is an imposter. Liz's grandfather is one of the few to know Red's real identity. Dom and Red are close enough that the latter destroyed the remains of the “real” Raymond Reddington in front of Dom.

With the discovery of Liz’s grandmother, there are now questions about her grandfather. Why did they go their separate ways? Does he know where the mother of his child is? Ressler finding and interviewing him would prove just as useful, although he is unlikely to reveal much.

Ressler is probably hoping Katarina still visits her mother. Surveillance on her could provide answers. Will someone visit her? Has Katarina been alive this whole time? Will Liz forgive Ressler for continuing his investigation?

Find out what else Ressler uncovers about Liz’s mom and grandma when new episodes of The Blacklist air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

The Blacklist is only about halfway through Season 6 at this point, and NBC already renewed it for Season 7. One of the major mysteries of the series has been the truth about Raymond "Red" Reddington's (James Spader) identity. Who is this guy, really? Show creator Jon Bokenkamp was asked if the series could actually end with the audience never knowing who Red really is. Here's his response:

So, as Jon Bokenkamp told TV Insider, we will get answers. But when the big answers arrive, that will be The End. That could be a while. Fans aren't pushing for the show to end, but hopefully The Blacklist does at least give a few more answers along the way, adding breadcrumbs to the trail. And hopefully once the truth is known, it 1) makes sense with what they've shown so far and 2) also leads to a satisfying conclusion on other fronts. The Blacklist isn't just entirely focused on Red's identity, there are other characters and storylines involved.

In fact, Liz Keen (Megan Boone) -- who is so desperate to get the truth about Red she's been crossing all kinds of lines -- even gave up a huge chance to get the truth out of Red in the most recent March 15 episode. She looked like she was on the verge of asking him for the truth of who he really is, but stopped herself. Instead, she told Red she loved him. He looked shocked.

There's no way we really lose Red -- the show wouldn't have been renewed for Season 7 already, with James Spader attached, without Red surviving his current botched prison escape turned death row execution. But it's interesting to think of what that choice could mean going forward. Could it melt Red a bit, once he learns the inevitable truth that Liz betrayed him? Knowing that she ultimately fought hard to save him, and chose to just give him love when she thought it was the end? Liz has fairly taken a lot of heat for her decisions up to this point, but there's clearly love there on both sides.

Since Red has to get out of this somehow, it renews the question of who he really is. It may be a while before fans get solid answers, but The Blacklist did reveal more hints recently in that two-hour event. Fans learned more about Liz's mom and Red, and some of those pieces could fit into the theories out there. Is Red a twin -- either identical or fraternal? Other?

The Blacklist Season 6 should have 22 episodes, like most of the previous seasons. By that reckoning, Season 7 should also have 22 episodes. And the show may continue onward from there. That's a long time to wait for the truth. Too long?

It might be too long if that were the only thing keeping fans watching The Blacklist. But James Spader could show up and just stare into the camera and he'd gather an audience. There's more than that going on, though, and it sounds like the show knows what it's doing and where it wants to go from here. As long as there's a plan, that's good news.

As Jon Bokenkamp added to TV Insider, when asked about planning for the series endgame:

Please don't wrap up the story of Red's identity with a puppet show. Actually, rethinking, please do? I'm kind of curious to see how that would play out.

The Blacklist Season 6 continues Red's death row drama with Episode 12, "Bastien Moreau: Conclusion," on Friday, March 22 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, as one of the many shows still airing in midseason 2019.

Finally, some good news for Red and Liz! Raymond "Red" Reddington is currently in a very bad place on The Blacklist Season 6, but if his show is coming back for Season 7 -- that has to be a good sign, right? Not that there was really any fear that James Spader's sly antihero wouldn't find his way out of his latest jam, even if it's THIS kind of jam.

According to Deadline, NBC just gave an early renewal to The Blacklist for Season 7. Season 6 just got started in early January 2019, and we're currently up to Episode 11 as of this coming Friday, March 15. This season is meant to have 22 episodes, like most of the previous seasons.

Deadline added that the Season 7 pickup was in the works for a while after the standard six-year cast contracts were up. So James Spader (Red), Megan Boone (Elizabeth Keen), Diego Klattenhoff (Donald Ressler), and Harry Lennix (Harold Cooper) have all signed on for another year.

What about Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe? There's no word on him or the other cast members yet, but that doesn't mean anything bad. Deadline just mentioned those four original series regulars as returning for Season 7. Hisham Tawfiq and Amir Arison (Aram Mojtabai) were recurring cast members back in Season 1. Mozhan Marnò (Samar Navabi) joined as a regular in Season 2.

As to when The Blacklist Season 7 may premiere? It's not clear yet. Most of the past seasons premiered in the fall, with Season 6 as the exception in its January midseason bow.

The Blacklist has been all over the TV schedule since it debuted in 2013, actually getting five different timeslots on four nights in the past six seasons. It started on Mondays, with The Voice as a lead-in, which definitely helped it get a lot of viewers and strong demo ratings. It's currently on Fridays, and still picking up around 4 million viewers a week, with a nice little boost coming from the recent two-episode event.

The Blacklist's March 8 episode seemed like it would show Red's big prison break. And ... SPOILER ALERT ... it almost did. But through some miscommunication with Liz, Red ended up being recaptured. The plan backfired big time, because he had chosen to plead guilty and was sentenced to death. Red never figured he'd have to face execution, since he had that whole prison break planned -- complete with Dembe and a helicopter! -- but it didn't work out. Now Liz is rushing to find this "man from Cairo" as a Hail Mary pass to save Red.

If there's a Season 7 with James Spader returning, Red's "dire" death penalty situation must be resolved somehow. And if Megan Boone returns too, he must not kill her -- yet -- for her ultimate betrayal. He doesn't know that full story yet.

The March 15 episode is called "Bastien Moreau" with the March 22 episode called "Bastien Moreau: Conclusion," with guest star Christopher Lambert featured in both episodes. Find out what happens as The Blacklist Season 6 continues Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, as one of the many shows now airing in midseason 2019.

Spoilers for last night’s episode of The Blacklist entitled "The Cryptobanker" lie beyond this point.

The Blacklist shocked with Red’s prison escape backfiring catastrophically. Confident his daring exit would work, he pleaded guilty to all counts. Before the hour ended, he got sentenced to death. A sentence he had asked the jury to deliver. Well, be careful what you wish for.

All of that is pretty dire. Well, strap on your seatbelts because The Blacklist’s creator promises even more dire times to come for Red. Discussing the shocking conclusion of last night’s nail-biter, Jon Bokenkamp had this to say to TVLine regarding the road ahead:

This viewer never thought he would be in this place either! Wow. It is hard to think of things getting even worse for Red. Now, he is on death row, so they have. The only thing between him and the death penalty is going to be one heck of a miracle.

Having already waived his right to appeal, it will take one extraordinary last-minute effort to save him. That brings us to the mysterious "man in Cairo." Can he save Red -- and how? Jon Bokenkamp teases he will be a "pretty significant" player moving forward, saying:

There is no Blacklist without Red, so this guy has to come through. Right? Right. It is tough not to be more than a little frustrated with Liz at this point. She catastrophically underestimated the implications of her plan. Sadly, so did Red. When you are playing with fire, be wary of the flames.

Liz’s belief that Red could surmount any obstacle made her think she threw a minor roadblock in his path. Meanwhile, Red overestimated his abilities to mount a prison escape. In a stinging bit of conflicting symmetry, Liz’s sincere care for him inadvertently led to Red’s premature capture. Now, she will have to make things right. Red is running out of time!

I have to hand it to The Blacklist. They have thrown this viewer for a substantial loop. Red’s plans have always worked. The way things have currently been going for Red, this man in Cairo, may or may not hold the key to his freedom. As Jon Bokenkamp said, the audience knows little about him. So, it is unclear how he could help.

One of the few possibilities that make any sense is that he can fake Red’s death. The chemicals meant to kill Red could knock him out, lowering his heart rate to undetectable levels. Then, when his body arrives at another location, he can be revived and walk away as a ghost.

That would give Red a chance at a fresh start. What better place to be operating from in the future than being thought dead? How the Task Force will explain where they are getting their leads may be the only issue. Red's situation is life or death now, so the logistics of that will have to wait. Save Red!

Find out if Red can cheat death when The Blacklist continues with new episodes airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. The crime drama is among many shows featuring new content throughout the midseason.

Warning: Spoilers for February 22's two-hour event of The Blacklist lie ahead.

The Blacklist just saw a lot of reveals and major bombshells, however, it saved one of its biggest twists for last. Having learned that Liz is behind tipping off the police to arrest Red, Dembe faced a difficult choice. Tell Red or keep it a secret from him. Liz was ultimately able to convince him to do the latter.

Yes, Liz knows that Dembe knows she turned in Red -- and Dembe kept his discovery a secret from Red. At least, he kept it secret in this episode of The Blacklist.

So, the secret of Liz’s betrayal survived another episode. Did Dembe do the right thing by lying to Red for Liz? Well, his motives for doing it were not to hurt Red. Liz argued that if Dembe told Red, he would never forgive her. That is probably true. Eventually, she asked Dembe to be her secret keeper too.

Essentially, Dembe did not tell Red’s secrets to Liz, and he did not share hers with Red’s. It is an unquestionably tough spot for Dembe to be in, especially since Red and Liz are on opposing sides on this one. Red wants to keep his true identity from Liz, and she wants to find out who he is more than anything.

Dembe has been helping Red keep his secret, and not telling Red about Liz’s treachery does not necessarily hurt that goal. He also knows better than anyone the lengths that Red will go to punish a traitor. Dembe knows all about how Red shot Mr. Kaplan as punishment for her helping Liz fake her death.

If Dembe thinks that Liz could be facing similar consequences, it stands to reason he would want to prevent that outcome. Is Red really capable of going through with that? Dembe knows better than anyone. Was that Dembe’s motivation for lying to Red? It is not entirely clear.

Before that episode, it was hard to imagine Red posing a threat to anyone he cares about. However, betrayal is huge for him. Thinking about all this being exposed is downright painful to contemplate.

Red will be devastated by Liz betraying him, and now Dembe has decided to lie for her. Meaning the two people Red is closest to deceived him. That will be a blow to him. However, Dembe clearly has good reasons to go along with it.

The Blacklist’s official Twitter holds vital insight into Dembe’s decision. In response to a fan, the show’s official account responded to their theory on the matter. Check it out below:

How long will Dembe be able to keep Red from learning the hurtful truth? It seems unlikely to last the entire season. Hopefully, Red will understand and empathize with where Dembe is coming from and respond accordingly.

Now knowing that Liz cannot be entirely trusted, Dembe has a lead on any of her future plans. He knows that Liz is a traitor, and Red does not. By lying for Liz, Dembe has kept Red from being hurt and prevented Liz from being punished. All is well that ends well?

Find out if Red learns about Dembe’s lie for Liz when The Blacklist returns with new episodes, Friday, March 8 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. The crime drama is among many shows offering original content in the midseason.

Warning: Spoilers for the most recent episode of The Blacklist Season 6 -- "The Ethicist" lie ahead.

Liz crossed another ethical line in this week’s episode of The Blacklist, and she got busted doing it. Red’s threat in the previous episode did not seem to affect her decision to pursue the truth further.

After giving the task force a false number for the Blacklister’s burner phone, Ressler ultimately caught on. Ressler being Ressler, he wasted no time confronting her over it.

Liz explained that she did it for a good reason and that he has to trust her. Ask Red how that worked out. The Blacklist was not about to reveal everything. She denied killing the episode’s Blacklister -- albeit, she did let him die by suicide so that she could get the name of the nurse who helped treat a pre-surgery Red for Dr. Koehler.

Liz kept that latter part away from Ressler. Thus, he knows that something is amiss in the forest. He just does not know what lies within the trees. Ressler seemed to struggle with his conscience and the decision to trust Liz for now.

Let us never forget that Ressler hunted Liz down when she was a fugitive. Hence, this is a massive leap of faith for him to make. Of course, during that investigation, he violently killed a lawn gnome. So, in truth, he started to compromise himself during that op. I kid.

In all seriousness, his latest move is a sign that Ressler himself has a new perspective on his ethical boundaries. It is unlikely the character viewers saw at the beginning of The Blacklist would have granted Liz’s request. So, in a way, he crossed a new line along with Liz.

Speaking of Liz, she seemed bothered by the compromise she made to get the information for the imposter investigation. No one was more bothered than Jennifer, though.

The real Raymond Reddington’s daughter continues to perplex. One minute, she is seething to take down Red and claiming she will do whatever it takes. Then, she acts shocked by some of the lengths that will require. Jennifer remains under personal suspicion.

How is she supporting herself while she collaborates with Liz on their Red investigation? Is Liz subsidizing her? Or is Jennifer living off her savings? It is a bit of a mystery. If she is legitimately Jennifer Reddington, and everything she has told Liz is real, then her loyalties to Liz may change down the line.

She did not support what Liz did, even though she did nothing to stop it. If she is scared of crossing the lines Liz did in this episode, she could be even more of a wild card. Her loyalty to Liz is questionable at best.

"The Ethicist" marked the crossing of another new line crossed for Liz, who already crossed a significant one in The Blacklist's Season 5 finale. Liz blamed her choices on Red’s influence over her life. Eventually, she should have to face whether that is entirely true.

In a side note: Why didn’t Liz transpose a set of the numbers to throw the task force off? That way she could have claimed it was a simple mistake. Perhaps, it was pressure. Or the task force already takes that possibility into account and interchanges them to every possible combination. To her credit, she did think to be one number off. So, it is not a super big deal.

In other news, the twin theory seems to still be alive -- with the possibility that Red may not be the identical twin of Raymond Reddington, rather his fraternal one, growing stronger. Meanwhile, Samar’s health issues did not get addressed. Fans of The Blacklist will have to stay tuned to see what happens next with both stories.

How many more lines will Liz have to cross before she uncovers the truth about Red’s identity? Find out when new episodes of The Blacklist Season 6 air Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. The crime drama is among many series continuing their runs with new seasons throughout the midseason.

Major spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Blacklist's midseason premiere, titled "Ruin."

Blacklist fans knew that the back half of Season 5 was going to be strikingly different from the show's past, with Liz facing a life without Tom after waking up from an extended coma. While I don't know that many people predicted she would immediately go on a self-exiled, cold-weather killing spree, that's exactly what happened, though the men Liz killed definitely deserved it. Regardless of how viewers reacted to Liz's continued evolution, actress Megan Boone is downright enthusiastic about these big changes.

My condolences to any diehard fans who were hoping that the largely standalone midseason premiere was more of an exception than Liz's new approach to life. The days of Liz (or Elizabeth, I guess) feeling vulnerable are over, at least when she's not around Tom's grave, and we're likely going to see the character continuing her dark descent for months to come. After all, she's got some pretty devious genetic material coursing through her veins, and being like Red may not be something Liz directly strives for, but she's getting there pretty quickly.

Even if taking down dangerous threats wasn't a major point of comparison between Liz and Red, what about how she passed Agnes on to her Tom's mother? That may have initially seemed like either a harsh move by the grieving mother, or a simple way for the show to put the young child on the sidelines, but as as Megan Boone put it to TVGuide, giving up a child to someone else is very much in line with what Red did with Liz. So she was basically just living up to her bloodline.

Even though Liz may be moving forward with her adjusted personality traits, the character isn't necessarily doing it with a clear conscience just yet. But taking control of her life and her future in this way will mentally open Liz up to start letting go of some of the self-blame she's carried for all these years. In Boone's words:

The midseason finale set up the Ian Garvey arc, and Megan Boone teased that character's story will guide The Blacklist through the rest of Season 5, with some big revelations coming. But sadly, the actress still doesn't appear to know what all those bones are about. Unless, of course, Boone shares her TV character's penchant for keeping secrets. [Rubs chin thoughtfully]

With lots of interesting twists and turns left to go in Season 5, especially in that 100th episode, The Blacklist airs Wednesday nights on NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other new and returning shows are on the way, jump over to our midseason premiere schedule.

When The Blacklist Season 5 returns from its break in January, the show will have a lot of ground to cover. Beyond the fact that fans are going to see Liz in a completely different place in life thanks to that wild midseason finale, the series will also air its 100th episode that same month. Elizabeth Keen actress Megan Boone recently teased some things fans can expect, and also revealed that the episode will feature actor Nathan Lane in a guest star role:

The Blacklist's 100th episode will be titled after Nathan Lane's character Abraham Stern, and it appears Elizabeth Keen will be in pursuit of one of the most dangerous people on Raymond's blacklist. That's a bold move, considering series creator Jon Bokenkamp has previously revealed that the first episode back from break will feature Keen out of the task force and away from the F.B.I. Of course, she'll always have Reddington to call upon, should she need some help on her warpath to avenge Tom's death. But even so, it sounds like Liz is entering some dangerous territory in the latter half of Season 5.

Megan Boone also shares with Variety that the 100th episode of The Blacklist will feature her character taking care of things like another former blacklister. With so many episodes centered on twisted criminal minds, it's almost impossible to think of any specific character Liz will emulate, but it doesn't sound like whatever she's going to do will be legal. It makes one wonder whether Liz is going down the path of one of the more cunning blacklisters, or taking notes from someone more over the top like "The Stewmaker". With Nathan Lane's Abraham Stern teased as one of the more dangerous blacklisters, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Liz needs to get her hands dirty to get this job done.

The Blacklist will air its 100th episode Wednesday, January 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET and will return with new episodes before that starting Wednesday, January 3 at 8:00 p.m. For more on shows premiering or returning to television in 2018, head on over to our midseason premiere guide. Those still wishing to see which shows will be on television in the final days of 2017 can find out by visiting our fall premiere guide. For a look at some shows that were canceled in the past year, visit our cancellation guide.

The midseason finale of The Blacklist ended on a couple of very tragic twists. Not only was Tom Keen really, truly, 100% killed, but Liz was stuck in a coma for ten months, completely unaware of her husband's death. Red broke the terrible news after she finally woke up, and Liz will have to find a way to deal with moving on after losing Tom. As this is The Blacklist, we won't exactly see Liz just attending therapy and/or having heart-to-hearts to recover. Liz will have another kind of moving on in mind, as actress Megan Boone revealed:

Liz will be moving on for the express purpose of getting revenge on the people who murdered her husband, injured her to the point of spending the better part of a year, and ruining their home. Who knows? Maybe Liz will even have a grudge over the fact that she missed ten months of her young daughter's life. Basically, Liz was wronged in some very big ways, and the people responsible will want to watch out. Judging by Megan Boone's comments to EW, Liz will move on as a woman with a mission.

Luckily for Red, he won't be one of her targets. The cliffhanger from the Season 5 premiere indicated that Tom was going to be shot to death by Red in his own apartment, and that would be the way that he would die. Of course, fans of The Blacklist are no strangers to misdirects from the show, and there was every possibility that Tom wouldn't be killed by Red and the shooting was actually a dream or hallucination. The midseason finale revealed that Tom really was going to die, although not how the premiere had teased.

Red did storm into the apartment and fire a gun at somebody in a kill shot did receive fatal injuries, but the two were not directly connected. Red shot one of the bad guys who had harmed Tom and Liz, and Tom died from the injuries inflicted by the bad guys before Red came to the rescue. Despite attempts at a hospital to bring him back, Tom died, and Liz woke up to the terrible news that will go on to drive her in the second half of the season.

The executive producers have revealed why they made the decision to finally kill off Tom, despite his many near-death experiences and even a detour to a failed spinoff. Fans may or may not disagree with the decision, but it should be interesting to see the next leg of Liz's journey now that she's on a mission of revenge.

The Blacklist will return for the second half of Season 5 on Wednesday, January 3 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Check out our midseason TV premiere for other important dates in the new year, and don't forget to swing by our list of 2017 TV cancellations for all the shows that weren't lucky enough to score renewals for 2018.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Blacklist's big season finale.

Over the course of its four current seasons, The Blacklist has provided viewers with one mystery that rose above all to become one of the integral driving forces in this story of not-always-good vs. not-always-evil: what is Liz and Red's true relationship? Perhaps thankfully, last night's giant season finale answered that question with a DNA test proving that Red is indeed Liz's biological father. And while it may not have been the biggest shock to savvy fans, actress Megan Boone revealed that familiar connection will definitely change up the story dynamics in the recently ordered Season 5. In her words:

Now, it would have admittedly been hard for creator Jon Bokenkamp to break open Season 5 in a way that felt exceptionally similar to Season 4, considering all that occurred in the finale, not to mention in past weeks. Liz now knows who her real father is, and Red no longer has to bear the cross of keeping that secret, which has to be a mega-relief. Plus, he temporarily doesn't have to worry about his entire world crumbling down because of Mr. Kaplan's deviously clever plotting, since Kaplan's scheme to publicize Red's connection with the FBI task force was foiled. And he might not have to worry about Mr. Kaplan at all anymore, since she appeared to commit suicide by jumping off that bridge. Although she's seemingly risen from the dead before, so all bets are off there.

Red is in a place where he can likely start off Season 5 in a pretty good place, all things considered. And we're betting he will be pleased as punch to see that the apple apparently doesn't fall far from the tree, so long as the apple realizes which tree it came from. Here's what Megan Boone told EW about how Liz will personally be affected by the big paternity reveal.

Because The Blacklist could not have simply ended Season 4 without a cliffhanger of sorts, viewers watched as the long-absent Tom Keen returned from his now-cancelled spinoff in order to retrieve the mysterious suitcase that Mr. Kaplan had stowed away for a rainy day as a way to give Red trouble. She made it clear that it contains something that both Red and Kaplan have kept secret for possibly as long as Liz has been alive: skeletal remains. The question now becomes whose bones those belonged to, and whether or not Liz's newfound affinity for immoral behavior will drive a new wedge between her and Red. So many questions, and so many months until we'll get answers.

The Blacklist may be finished with Season 4, but that doesn't mean there aren't a ton of other shows that are willing and able to catch your attention. After checking up on NBC's fall schedule to see that The Blacklist will air on a new night later this year, head to our summer TV schedule to see all the awesome stuff that's returning and debuting on the small screen soon.

TV shows often have to work around the randomness of actors' lives and health issues, but The Blacklist should win some kind of award for how the creative team embraced actress Megan Boone's pregnancy leave by spinning it into a jaw-dropping series of twists during a surprisingly intense and moving back end of Season 3. But that doesn't mean fans want Boone's Liz Keen to be gone forever, and creator Jon Bokenkamp has some good news for everyone concerning the actress' involvement in Season 4.

Woo! Sure, some people might not have had any worries about The Blacklist's co-lead returning to the show on a full-time basis, but let's not forget that she was gone because of a pregnancy, which means she's a new mother now. That's not only an emotionally fraught time in a woman's life, but also physically, given all the re-adjusting one has to do. It wouldn't have been out of the cards for Megan Boone to take some more time for herself, returning to the drama later in the season after everything had calmed down.

But hey, if the actress is comfortable, you'll get zero complaints from me. The end of Season 3 blew the story open in a way that would have made delayed resolutions an exercise in torture. That said, we might still be waiting a short while to get Liz and Red back together, as Bokenkamp told TVLine it will be "a beat or two" before the two of them get to bounce their anger off of each other again. You can bet Red is going to have a lot to say about it.

When Season 4 kicks off, Liz is the captive of Alexanderk Kirk, who revealed himself to be her father, maybe. He's heavily tied to her past in any case, and that's something that will be developed as fans get used to seeing her back on the show again. Here's how Bokenkamp put it.

One thing is for sure. Kirk would be very wise to make sure Red is okay with Liz learning some of these things, or hell will have to be paid. Of course, Kirk and Red go way back as well, so there's almost definitely ulterior motives at play here, too. Will any of this storyline go into further developing the upcoming spinoff? We'll have to wait and see.

The Blacklist will return to NBC for Season 4 on Thursday, September 22, at 10:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else is heading to the small screen later this year, check out our fall premiere schedule.

Major spoilers for The Blacklist are below.

The Blacklist has been bringing plot twists left and right in the latter chunk of Season 3, and tonight’s season finale pulled off the rare twist-atop-a-twist that other dramas could only dream of. (Probably while also dreaming about looking as good in hats as Red does.) “Alexander Kirk: Conclusion” dropped the reveal that Liz is not dead as previously thought, and that she actually faked her death so that she could specifically fool Red into thinking she’s gone. Apparently this is the end of the line for Liz and Red’s tried and tangled partnership, at least in its most recent form, and her motives can now exist outside his bubble of influence.

We also found out that the villainous Alexander Kirk is apparently maybe perhaps Liz’s father, and while we’re certainly interested in learning more about Liz’s heritage (considering the lack of information there has played a large part in the character’s development),we’re more concerned right now with why Liz’s need to be away from Red would require a scheme as grand and as complicated. Here’s why actress Megan Boone says it’s necessary for Liz to escape Red’s vicinity.

That’s the kind of direct truth that you just won’t get from Red no matter how genuinely interested you are in something. He’s always got an angle, which obviously makes it extremely hard to remain in his close company for too long while sincerely seeking information from him. And really, who needs to ask Red about unknown family members when one of those very people is more than willing to kidnap Liz and reveal his genetic role in her biology?

It isn’t just a matter of redacted talking points and twisty head games, either. If you’ve been watching The Blacklist over the past 67 episodes, you’ve noticed that quite a bit of physically threatening events seem to follow Red around wherever he goes. (Which is kind of why we love him, but anyway.) And Liz the Mother just couldn’t have that, according to Boone.

If somebody goes through the trouble of changing their name and their entire identity just to get away from you, perhaps it’s time to do some soul searching. Red, you troublesome coot. So moving forward, hopefully Liz will get a little breathing room to readjust and plow forward in her missions without a particular someone butting in.

The Blacklist may be done with Season 3 for now, but 2016 is going to feature a whole lot more from this universe, as both Season 4 of the flagship series and Season 1 of the upcoming spinoff will likely debut on NBC in the fall.

Were you guys shocked by tonight’s episode, or did you totally see all of it coming from a mile away?