The Blacklist was renewed for Season 8 back in February, before the coronavirus pandemic shut down physical production on Season 7 early. The people who make The Blacklist scrambled to put together a half-animated finale, which looked crazy, but ended the season in a place that set up Season 8, which will premiereNov. 13. And now that The Blacklist Season 7 is streaming on Netflix, people are thinking about what to expect next season even more.
Here's what else we know about The Blacklist Season 8.
It premieres in November. The Blacklist Season 8 is set to premiere Friday, Nov. 13 at 8/7c on NBC.
A trailer has been released. In November, NBC released a trailer for the new season of The Blacklist, above. In the footage, Raymond Reddington [James Spader] says of Elizabeth Keen [Megan Boone], "I've met my share of killers, but not one like Elizabeth."
Production started in October.Star Megan Boone said onInstagramwhen the premiere date was announced that production would begin shortly after, with stringent health and safety protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Shelater postedthat the show had begun filming in October. "We are taking COVID very seriously," she wrote. New York City was cleared by the governor's office tobegin production againin July, as long as the state'ssafety guidelines for media productionare met. Boone also confirmed that the season will be "live-action, not animated."
Season 8 will begin where Season 7 left off, because Season 7 wasn't supposed to end where it did. "This year, we have all the big stuff that we were unable to finish at the end of the last season that is going to start this season," executive producer John Eisendrath said during The Blacklist's Comic Con @ Home panel. "So, the next season, Season 8, starts in a much more heightened and dramatic place than normal seasons do because we are gonna tell the story that we were unable to tell at the end of last season."
Liz and Red will be enemies like never before.Red taught Liz everything she knows about lies, deceit, and having a moral code so flexible it could be certified as a yoga teacher. And in Season 8, she'll be using what she's learned against him more openly than she ever has before. In the Season 7 finale, in a full antiheroic turn, she definitively chose to ally herself with her mother, Katarina Rostova [Laila Robins], against her father figure, and will help Katarina try to stop the mysterious Townsend Directive that's a death sentence for Liz's mother -- which Red can put a stop to but won't. Liz is probably pledging loyalty to the wrong person, but we'll see. Meanwhile, Red is experiencing undisclosed health problems, and Liz turning against him will surely complicate his plans for choosing a successor for his criminal empire.
The regular cast will return, plus one. James Spader, Megan Boone, and the rest of the regular cast are slated to return, along with a new series regular. Laura Sohn, who recurred as new Task Force member Agent Alina Park in Season 7, has been promoted to the main cast for Season 8, according to TVLine. Park replaces Samar Navabi [Mozhan Marno], who left the team in Season 6.
It will stream on Peacock. Season 8 will be the first one that comes out on NBCUniversal's new streaming service Peacock. New episodes will be available to stream there during the season. Currently, the last five episodes of Season 7 are available to stream for free on Peacock. Seasons 1-7 are available on Netflix.
The BlacklistSeason 8 premieres Friday, Nov. 13 at 8/7c on NBC.
James Spader, The Blacklist
NBC