The Blacklist
For decades, ex-government agent Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader, “The Office,” “Boston Legal”) has been one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives. Brokering shadowy deals for criminals across the globe, Red was known by many as “The Concierge of Crime.” Now, he’s mysteriously surrendered to the FBI with an explosive offer: He will help catch a long-thought-dead terrorist, Ranko Zamani, under the condition that he speaks only to Elizabeth “Liz” Keen (Megan Boone, “Law & Order: Los Angeles”), an FBI profiler fresh out of Quantico. For Liz, it’s going to be one hell of a first day on the job.
What follows is a twisting series of events as the race to stop a terrorist begins. What are Red’s true intentions? Why has he chosen Liz, a woman with whom he seemingly has no connection? Does Liz have secrets of her own? Zamani is only the first of many on a list that Red has compiled over the years: a “blacklist” of politicians, mobsters, spies and international terrorists. He will help catch them all… with the caveat that Liz continues to work as his partner. Red will teach Liz to think like a criminal to “see the bigger picture” - whether she wants to or not.
Also starring are Diego Klattenhoff (“Homeland”), Harry Lennix (“Man of Steel”) and Ryan Eggold (“90210”). Jon Bokenkamp (“The Call,” “Taking Lives”), John Eisendrath (“Alias”), John Davis (“Predator,” “I, Robot,” “Chronicle”) and John Fox serve as executive producers. The pilot was directed by Joe Carnahan (“The A-Team,” “The Grey”). “The Blacklist” is a production of Sony Pictures Television and Davis Entertainment.
Parminder Nagra (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “ER,” “Alcatraz”) has also joined the cast. ;)
NOTE: NBC made a surprisingly spoilery promo for their first episode. O_O But if you're on the fence about trying out the show or you don't mind a few plot twist spoilers between friends, I hope you'll give it a go! ;)
Click to viewRight now, we’re 4 episodes in so there’s plenty of time to jump onto this awesome show right from the start! James Spader is aMAAAAAAYzing in this role, IMO. If you’re a fan of Hannibal, this definitely has several of the same sorts of notes, though is not as gory or visceral. It’s more on the line with Silence of the Lambs in that the master criminal is already a known criminal who is working with the FBI for reasons completely of his own and there’s a definite Hannibal/Clarice vibe with Red and Lizzie.
The main problem I’m having is in trying NOT to ship Lizzie/Red because I have a feeling that they’re going to be related in some way. *blush* But I love their chemistry and the way that she brings out the hints of caring and compassion in Red that absolutely nobody else does. 1x04 “The Stewmaker” is an awesome example of this! *squees softly*
So I encourage you to give this one a try if you haven’t yet! It's gotten better and better every week and I'm really enjoying it a lot! :D ♥♥♥
The Blacklist main site
The Blacklist on Hulu
*crosses fingers that it's not country-blocked but doesn't hold breath* Country-blocking = NOT COOL, COOKIE :( ;)