49 Fun Facts About The Blacklist

Who plays Raymond 'Red' Reddington?

James Spader plays Reddington in all ten seasons, a part that brought him a Golden Globe nomination in 2014.

On which network did The Blacklist air from 2013 to 2023?

NBC aired all ten seasons, launching it in the post-Voice Monday slot in September 2013 and ending it in July 2023.

Who created the series?

Jon Bokenkamp created the series and shared showrunning duties for its first eight seasons before stepping away in 2021.

What was Reddington's rank on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list when he surrendered?

Number four: the pilot introduces Reddington as number four on the Ten Most Wanted list, a former Naval Intelligence officer who vanished two decades earlier.

To whom does Reddington surrender in the pilot?

Assistant Director Harold Cooper: Reddington walks into FBI headquarters, the J. Edgar Hoover Building, and gives himself up to Cooper, who runs the task force that follows.

What are Reddington's two conditions for helping the FBI?

Immunity, and working only with Elizabeth Keen: Red demands full immunity and insists he will speak only to the rookie profiler, whom he calls 'very special'.

Who was the first name on the Blacklist, hunted in the pilot episode?

Ranko Zamani, a Serbian terrorist believed dead, is the pilot's target; his plot to kidnap a general's daughter proves Red's intel is real.

Who plays Elizabeth Keen?

Megan Boone played Liz from the 2013 pilot through season eight, leaving the series in 2021.

What was Liz Keen's birth name?

Masha Rostova: Liz was born Masha, the daughter of a KGB operative, and was raised in America as Elizabeth Scott by her adoptive father Sam.

Who plays Tom Keen, Liz's husband with a secret past?

Ryan Eggold plays Tom Keen, the fourth-grade teacher revealed as a deep-cover operative born Christopher Hargrave.

Who plays Harold Cooper?

Harry Lennix plays Harold Cooper, head of the task force, in all ten seasons; Lennix is also General Swanwick in Man of Steel.

Which agent is the task force's cyber expert?

Aram Mojtabai, played by Amir Arison, is the task force's computer specialist, promoted from guest to series regular in season two.

Which intelligence agency did Samar Navabi come from?

Mossad: Samar Navabi arrives in season two as an Israeli Mossad agent seconded to the task force, where she stays for five seasons.

Who is Dembe Zuma?

Reddington's bodyguard and confidant: Dembe, played by Hisham Tawfiq, guards Red from the pilot onward and only joins the FBI task force in season nine.

What is the real name of Mr. Kaplan, Red's 'cleaner'?

Kathryn Nemec: Mr. Kaplan, Red's cleaner played by Susan Blommaert, is revealed as Kate Nemec, who once looked after the young Liz.

Which veteran actor played Fitch, a senior member of the Cabal?

Alan Alda plays Alan Fitch, the deputy director and Cabal figure who dies in a bomb collar in season two.

Which actor played the season-one villain Berlin?

Peter Stormare plays Berlin, the Russian crime lord whose vendetta drives season one and who is killed midway through season two.

What unusual interrogation methods does Teddy Brimley use?

Ones involving various animals: Brimley, played by Teddy Coluca, tortures Red's captives with creatures such as a wolverine, usually off-screen to comic effect.

What is Glen 'Jellybean' Carter's job for Reddington?

Tracker: Glen, a DMV clerk played by Clark Middleton, is Red's irritating but brilliant skip tracer, the man he turns to when someone must be found.

Who plays Marvin Gerard, Red's lawyer?

Fisher Stevens plays Marvin Gerard, Red's disbarred lawyer, introduced in the season-three episode titled after the character.

Which real-life fugitive financier did Stacy Keach play in season six?

Vesco fled the US with $200 million and was rumoured to have died in 2007, amid theories he faked it.

What do the task force call their black-site headquarters?

The Post Office: the task force works from a converted postal facility turned black site, nicknamed the Post Office throughout the series.

Which hat is part of Reddington's signature look?

A fedora: Red's hat, worn with a three-piece suit and overcoat, is his trademark from the pilot on, a look built around Spader's shaved head.

How was the season-seven finale completed after the pandemic shut down filming?

With graphic-novel-style animation: the unfinished scenes of 'The Kazanjian Brothers' were rendered as animation mixed with live footage, and season seven stopped at 19 of 22 planned episodes.

Where is The Blacklist actually filmed, despite being set in Washington, D.C.?

New York: the series shot in New York City, with its main set built on a Chelsea Piers sound stage once used by Law & Order.

How does Reddington die in the series finale?

Gored by a bull in Andalusia: in the 2023 finale Red walks into a Spanish pasture and is killed by a bull; Ressler finds his body.

How does Liz Keen die at the end of season eight?

Shot by a hitman avenging a crime lord Red killed: Elias Vandyke, bodyguard to the slain Neville Townsend, guns Liz down in the street in the season-eight finale 'Konets'.

Which congressman investigates the task force in the final season?

Arthur Hudson, a congressman played by Toby Leonard Moore, probes the task force's lavish, unexplained funding in season ten.

Where does Red promise to retire with his girlfriend at the start of season nine?

Cuba: season nine opens two years after Liz's death with Red living quietly in Cuba with Mierce, until the task force draws him back into the game.

Which season-ten character is the daughter of season-one agent Meera?

Siya Malik, an MI6 officer played by Anya Banerjee, joins the task force in season ten to learn about her mother Meera's death.

What was the Tom Keen spin-off called?

The Blacklist: Redemption followed Tom Keen for eight episodes in early 2017 before the network cancelled it.

Which two actors played Tom Keen's parents in the spin-off?

Famke Janssen and Terry O'Quinn play Scottie and Howard Hargrave, the security-firm owners revealed as Tom's parents in the spin-off.

Roughly how much per episode did Netflix reportedly pay for the show in its 2014 deal?

$2 million: Netflix's 2014 deal for streaming rights was reported at about $2 million an episode, a record for a single series at the time.

Which episode aired after Super Bowl XLIX in 2015?

Luther Braxton: the post-Super Bowl episode, with Ron Perlman as the title villain, drew about 26 million viewers and launched the show's move to Thursdays.

Which Broadway star played a blacklister in the show's 100th episode?

Nathan Lane plays Abraham Stern, the title blacklister of the 100th episode in January 2018, numbered No. 100 to match the milestone.

Which TV weatherman appeared as himself in the 150th episode?

Al Roker, the Today show weatherman, plays himself in the 150th episode during season seven, a cameo the network promoted for the milestone.

Which actress played Carla Reddington, one of Red's ex-wives, in season two?

Mary-Louise Parker plays Carla Reddington, living as Naomi Hyland in witness protection when Berlin kidnaps her in season two.

Which company published the official Blacklist comic series starting in 2015?

Titan also released two tie-in novels, The Beekeeper and The Dead Ring.

What was the 2016 mobile game based on the show called?

The Blacklist: Conspiracy, a hidden-object mobile game from Gameloft, launched in 2016 for Android, iOS and Windows devices.

What is eventually revealed about the man calling himself Red?

The real Reddington died, likely at the hands of a young Elizabeth; the impostor's true identity is never given.

Which lawyer did The Blacklist's star play in The Practice and Boston Legal, winning three Emmys?

Alan Shore: the slippery lawyer brought the star Emmys in 2004 for The Practice and in 2005 and 2007 for Boston Legal; Denny Crane was William Shatner's role.

Who directed the pilot episode?

Joe Carnahan, director of The Grey and Smokin' Aces, directed the 2013 pilot and stayed on as an executive producer.

David Strathairn plays which Cabal leader in seasons two and three?

The Director: David Strathairn's Peter Kotsiopulos directs the Cabal's operations against Liz and Red across seasons two and three.

Who plays FBI special agent Donald Ressler throughout The Blacklist?

Diego Klattenhoff plays Donald Ressler, the by-the-book agent who hunted Red for years and is the one who finds his body in the finale.

Roughly how many US viewers watched The Blacklist's 2013 pilot episode?

12.6 million: the September 2013 premiere drew 12.6 million viewers, and the network soon extended the planned 13-episode first season to 22.

Who co-ran the show from the start and became sole showrunner after season eight?

John Eisendrath, executive producer and co-showrunner since the pilot, ran the final two seasons alone after the creator left in June 2021.

Which former KGB spy is revealed to be Liz Keen's biological mother?

Katarina Rostova, the KGB operative played in flashbacks by Lotte Verbeek, is Liz's mother; Laila Robins's later 'Katarina' turns out to be a body double, Tatiana Petrova.

What job does Cynthia Panabaker hold when she first appears in season three?

White House counsel: Cynthia Panabaker, played by Deirdre Lovejoy, enters in season three as counsel to the President before later becoming a senator who oversees the task force.

Which three companies produced The Blacklist?

Davis Entertainment, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television: John Davis's company developed it, Sony Pictures Television was the lead studio, and Universal Television co-produced for the network.