Article Highlights:
- The Blacklist Season 9 synopsis says that Raymond Reddington is on the run.
- Watch The Blacklist Season 9 premiere on NBC and Peacock, plus other Live TV options.
- The series moved from Fridays to Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET.
RELATED: ‘The Blacklist’ Star James Spader Says Season 8 Was ‘Driven by Misinterpretation’
It’s been more than three months since fans of The Blacklist watched things go down. The death of Megan Boone’s character Elizabeth Keen looks to be something the story moves quickly into from the start. According to NBC’s official synopsis, we’re getting a two-year jump in time.
“In the two years following the death of Elizabeth Keen, Raymond Reddington [James Spader] and the members of the FBI Task Force have disbanded – their lives now changed in unexpected ways and with Reddington’s whereabouts unknown. Finding themselves each at a crossroads, a common purpose compels them to renew their original mission: to take down dangerous, vicious and eccentric Blacklisters.
In the process, they begin to uncover lethal adversaries, unimaginable conspiracies and surprising betrayals that will threaten alliances and spur vengeance for the past, led by the most devious criminal of them all – Raymond Reddington.”
NBC
With so much speculation about how writers will continue without creator Jon Bokenkamp, the premiere can’t come fast enough.
How to watch ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 premiere
RELATED: ‘The Blacklist’: Will Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington Die in Season 9?
To watch The Blacklist premiere on its new night — Thursday, Oct. 21., — viewers have a few options. NBC and its streaming sister Peacock will have the premiere and subsequent episodes available weekly. There’s the basic free version, Peacock Premium Plus for $4.99/month [$49.99/year] and Peacock Premium Plus for $9.99/month [$99.99/year]. If neither works, additional live TV options include Spectrum TV, Fubo TV, City, TV, and DirecTV.
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, streaming mogul Netflix added season 8 to its queue so fans can catch up on all things Raymond Reddington [James Spader] before the big premiere. We suggest you dig into the pilot episode ASAP.
A new night could make or break the series
RELATED: ‘The Blacklist’: Could Another Spinoff Work?
With the move from Friday night to Thursday, we don’t yet know how the show will perform with network competitor ABC [Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy]. The 8:00 p.m. ET timeslot could fare well enough with back-to-back Law & Order shows — SVU and Organized Crime — to follow.
If you plan to watch The Blacklist on premiere night, a few key details to remember from the season 8 finale are not mentioned in the synopsis. Reddington closed out the season with a terminal illness, Cynthia Panabaker [Deirdre Lovejoy] is the one who ordered the task force team to be disbanded. Despite theories and supposed conclusions, we’re no closer to knowing Reddington’s true identity than at the start of the series.
If you’ve never hopped onto this bandwagon, there’s no better time to start than the season 9 premiere, as it’s sure to address at least some of those lingering questions [we hope].
The Blacklist Season 9 premieres Thursday, Oct. 21 at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.
“The Blacklist” season 9 returns after hiatus on NBC on Friday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. You can also watch it on Peacock or on FuboTV.
The series, according to NBC, follows the most-wanted fugitive, Raymond Reddington, as he works with the FBI to catch his blacklist of criminals. This season promises that “The Blacklist” crew will “uncover lethal adversaries, unimaginable conspiracies and surprising betrayals that will threaten alliances and spur vengeance for the past, led by the most devious criminal of them all: Raymond Reddington.”
Ahead of its season 9 return, “The Blacklist” was renewed for a 10th season. It has already been confirmed that James Spader – the star and executive producer of the series – will return to the series for season 10.
The cast also includes Diego Klattenhoff, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq, Laura Sohn and Harry Lennix.
You can find which channels NBC is on by using the channel finders here: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV and Dish.
Where can I watch ‘The Blacklist’ if I don’t have cable?
You can watch it on FuboTV [$64.99/month, free trial], a streaming service that offers you access to your favorite TV shows, live sports events and much more. You can also watch it on Peacock TV, the new NBC streaming service with access to your favorite NBC shows.
After a shocking end to season 8, some of the players of The Blacklist may have changed, but the NBC thriller starring James Spader is still here to entertain viewers [and will continue to do so with a recently announced pickup of The Blacklist season 10].
The Blacklist season 9 is currently airing, so here is everything you need to know about the series.
When is the next 'The Blacklist' episode?
The Blacklist season 9 began airing on Thursdays on NBC at 8 pm ET/PT, but the continuation of the original Law & Order will now be occupying that slot to put it on the same night as Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime. So when does The Blacklist air now?
For the rest of its ninth season, The Blacklist will air on Fridays at 8 pm ET/PT, with a brand new episode airing on March 4. Here is the synopsis for the next episode of The Blacklist, "The Conglomerate":
"An investigation into the Conglomerate, a group of former government-sponsored assassins, becomes complicated when the Task Force learns one of their own may have ties to the group. Red digs deeper into the events leading up to Liz's death."
Viewers will still be able to catchup with the latest episodes of The Blacklist the day after they air on NBC and either Hulu or Peacock, just now that day will be Saturday.
What is the plot of The Blacklist?
The Blacklist was created by Jon Bokenkamp and debuted on NBC in 2013. The series began with a young FBI profiler, Elizabeth “Liz” Keen, who has her life uprooted when a mysterious criminal, Raymond “Red” Reddington, who has eluded capture for decades, turns himself in and insists on speaking only to her. This inciting incident led to Liz and Reddington teaming up to take down some of the most nefarious criminals in the world using what is called “the Blacklist.”
In the show’s eight seasons this has seen Liz and Reddington deal with numerous aspects of the world of crime, while also having to deal with plenty of twists and turns and a greater exploration of the mysterious origin of their relationship.
SPOILER ALERT if you are not caught up with The Blacklist as we’re about to go over the ending to season 8 [may be best to go catch up as soon as possible because it has some series-changing events].
Early on in the finale of season 8, viewers are told to expect a death. Reddington tells Liz that he is dying but that he wants her to be the one to kill him so that she can take over his criminal empire. To sweeten the pot, he reveals that he has a note from Liz’s mother explaining exactly who Red is, but she can only have it after she has killed him. Liz begrudgingly accepts, but when the time comes to shoot Red she can’t do it, which he understands. However, a rival associate pieced together Red’s plan and arrives on the scene and shoots Liz in the back. Red holds her as she dies.
Season 9 will jump forward into the future with its premiere episode “The Skinner.” Here is the synopsis:
“In the two years following Elizabeth Keen’s death, Reddington and the task force have disbanded, with Red’s whereabouts unknown; but when one of their own is injured in the line of duty, they are drawn back together to bring down a global conspiracy.”
Who is in The Blacklist cast?
The Blacklist has always featured the tenuous partnership between Red and Liz, played for the entire series by James Spader and Megan Boone, respectively. Of course, following the events of season 8, that partnership has come to an end, with only Spader continuing with the show.
Of course, there have been other members of the team that will still be around for Red to work with, including Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler, Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper, Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma, Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai and Laura Sohn as Alina Park.
While not part of the cast, creator Jon Bokenkamp also exited the series as showrunner at the end of season 8, with John Eisendrath taking over lead creative duties after having been with the show since 2014.
How to watch The Blacklist
NBC is one of the four major broadcast networks that has a local affiliate station in just about every TV market across the U.S. As such, it is included on just about every traditional cable/satellite pay-TV subscription, all of the major live TV streaming services [including Fubo TV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV] and can even be received the old-fashioned way, with a TV antenna picking up the local station’s signal.
There are also multiple streaming options available to viewers if they aren’t able to watch the show live or have cut the cord from cable. The first is the NBCUniversal-owned Peacock streaming service. Via Peacock Premium, which is available at either $4.99 per month [with ads] or $9.99 per month [ad free], subscribers can get the latest episode of The Blacklist the day after it airs on broadcast. The same option is available for Hulu subscribers as well. These streaming services also offer previous seasons of The Blacklist.
Subscribers to pay-TV or live TV streaming service can also watch The Blacklist on-demand through the NBC website.
Past seasons of The Blacklist are also available to watch on Netflix.