The Blacklist is coming back to NBC in less than two months. Season 7 will premiere on Friday, October 4 at 8/7c on NBC.
It also appears that Season 7 will be a full season with 22 episodes despite having a delayed Season 6, as the network tried to figure out what to do with the show.
Season 6 ended with a cliff-hanger as someone stabbed Red (James Spader). However, he has been confirmed for Season 7, so fans know that he survived.
The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp and showrunner John Eisendrath opened up about Season 7 in May of this year before the premiere date was released.
“He’s not dead, I don’t think we should pretend that James Spader is no longer going to be on The Blacklist,” Eisendrath previously revealed in an interview with Variety. “He’s alive, but despite that, the end opens up an incredible number of possibilities.”
Given the cliff-hanger from Season 6, there is plenty of fan speculation as to what will happen during Season 7. But it sounds like the writers don’t think that far ahead when it comes to planning out the season. In fact, before Season 6 was approved, the writers didn’t even know if the show would return.
“We get about the same distance every year. At the end of 22 episodes, it’s a very long season, and we’re all very tired,” Eisendrath said at the time. “We come up with the end of the season based on what we think the best end will be.
“There are tentpole ideas that we will start fleshing out when we get back in June,” he revealed
Eisendrath also shared that the writers didn’t even really know what to expect from Season 7 two months ago.
There will be no Season 7 delay, as there was in Season 6. As Monsters & Critics previously reported, Season 6 was delayed until January 2019, making some fans think the network canceled the show.
Not only was the show four months delayed, but it also moved to a Friday night timeslot. This move caused panic and concern, with fans convinced the Friday night timeslot would be the kiss of death for the show.
However, the ratings remained high enough to keep the show alive for Season 7.
Spader will return to play Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington. Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff and Harry Lennix will also return.
The Blacklist premieres Friday, October 4 at 8/7c on NBC.