The Blacklist (2013)
The Blacklist is a 2013 drama series created by Jon Bokenkamp and Dave Porter. It stars James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff and Harry Lennix.
Raymond Reddington walks into FBI headquarters and gives himself up, then offers a deal: he will help hunt the criminals no one else can find, but he will talk only to rookie profiler Elizabeth Keen. James Spader plays him as a purring, well-tailored predator who always seems three moves ahead. Each week brings a new name off his list and a fresh negotiation over how much he actually knows. The pleasure is in the performance and the slow, teasing reveal of why this fugitive singled out Liz in the first place.
Quick answers
What is The Blacklist about?
Raymond Reddington walks into FBI headquarters and gives himself up, then offers a deal: he will help hunt the criminals no one else can find, but he will talk only to rookie profiler Elizabeth Keen. James Spader plays him as a purring, well-tailored predator who always seems three moves ahead. Each week brings a new name off his list and a fresh negotiation over how much he actually knows. The pleasure is in the performance and the slow, teasing reveal of why this fugitive singled out Liz in the first place.
When was The Blacklist released?
The Blacklist was released on 23 September 2013.
How many episodes does The Blacklist have?
The Blacklist has 218 episodes across 10 seasons.
Who made The Blacklist?
The Blacklist was created by Jon Bokenkamp, Dave Porter and James S. Levine.
Where can I watch The Blacklist?
The Blacklist is available on Netflix, AppleTV and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Blacklist
Stream: Netflix
Buy: AppleTV, Fandango at Home
Official site
Cast
- James Spader as Raymond 'Red' Reddington
- Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
- Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper
- Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma
- Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
- Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
- Mozhan Navabi as Samar Navabi
- Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen
- Laura Sohn as Alina Park
- Susan Blommaert as Mr. Kaplan
- Deirdre Lovejoy as Cynthia Panabaker
- Jonathan Holtzman as Chuck
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A few thoughts on The Blacklist
Anyone hooked on the charismatic-criminal-guides-the-investigator dynamic should read Death Note, a lethal battle of wits between a brilliant killer and the detective chasing him. On screen, The Silence of the Lambs runs the same current, with an incarcerated genius trading insight for leverage while the agent across the table wonders how much of it is manipulation.
Brilliant criminals who stay two steps ahead of everyone hunting them
Raymond Reddington survives by staying smarter than every agent assigned to catch him, and these four share that same coiled danger. Hannibal Lecter charms the FBI in both The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal while hiding worse crimes, Joe Carroll runs a cult from custody, and Patrick Jane cons killers with their own tricks. None of them are ever quite as caught as they look.
Procedural dramas built around a genius who reads killers before they act
The Blacklist keeps its case-of-the-week engine running on Reddington's uncanny read of people, the same trick these shows lean on. Criminal Minds and Profiler build entire teams around behavioral analysis, Cracker and Millennium put a single haunted expert inside the killer's head, and Medium and The X-Files add a psychic or paranormal edge to the same hunt.
Crime families where the biggest secret is hiding in plain sight
Liz Keen spends The Blacklist unraveling exactly how Reddington fits into her own family history, and these books build on that same slow-burn reveal. The Godfather hides its violence inside loyalty and blood ties, Crooked House and Flowers in the Attic bury a killer or a captor inside a "normal" household, and Matahari follows a woman whose double life could unravel everyone around her.
Mind games between manipulators who always seem to be one step ahead
Every episode of The Blacklist is really a negotiation, Reddington giving up just enough to stay one move ahead of Liz and the Task Force. Liar Game and Kaiji strip that same dynamic down to pure high-stakes gambling, Death Note turns it into a battle between two geniuses who never meet as equals, and Poker Face uses a human lie detector to flip the con back on the con artist.