It's that time of year, ladies and gentlemen. The time when our favorite shows start moving forward for the impending TV season. This means scripts are being written and, perhaps more importantly, the cast is going back into production on some of your favorite shows!
The Blacklist cast recently celebrated their Season 7 return with a super sweet photo. Megan Boone posted a shot of her and her co-stars. However, fans will be quick to notice that one of the actors' frequent on-screen partners is not in it. Take a look.
Amir Arison (Aram), Harry Lennix (Cooper), Megan Boone (Liz), Hisham Tawfiq (Dembe), and Diego Klattenhoff (Ressler) are all pictured in the brand new image. As you'll notice, however, James Spader (Red) is nowhere to be seen, a development that is not entirely unexpected given that Red was kidnapped at the end of The Blacklist’s last episode.
Having James Spader present in this image from set could potentially undermine the cliffhanger at hand, hence, a possible reason for his absence. On-screen, Spader’s Raymond Reddington is a world away from Liz, Dembe, and the Task Force.
Having left for Paris, France to meet up with Liz’s long-lost mother, Katarina, he ended up meeting the pointy end of a needle! Katarina actually drugged Red, had him put in a van, and carried him off to parts unknown. Meanwhile, she strolled away with his trusty fedora. Give it back!
Luckily, The Blacklist will be back before you know it to deal with the fallout. Does this photo mean that Dembe will be coming to the Post Office (the Task Force’s headquarters) to tell Liz about Red? Please, let this be the case. I honestly love when Dembe and the Task Force collaborate.
As Blacklist fans will recall, for whatever bizarre TV reason, Red went to see Katarina, without Dembe. I sincerely hope this picture means that Dembe is already working to find Red along with the Task Force, as they should be able to locate him in no time.
Regardless of what happens with Red, there are a lot of questions for Season 7 to sift through. Of course, one is: Why on earth Katarina has kidnapped her supposed friend? Will Red will be able to get himself free of her grip? Red has been in hot spots before, but none supposedly at Katarina’s mercy. Will Season 7 find the friends become foes? I sure hope so.
With Season 7 now underway, fans will need to stay even closer tuned to what is ahead. Will the Task Force end up adding a new member following Samar’s exit last season? The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp, has weighed in on the possibility. Heading into the seventh season, there are some other things to anticipate.
The Blacklist’s creator has teased that questions surrounding Red’s true identity will continue to cause friction in Season 7. Whether or not the series did introduce the real Ilya in the season finale, Liz currently believes Red and Ilya Koslov are one and the same. I also thought it was possible for a time. Maybe not as much anymore.
There a lot of missing pieces regarding the supposed identity reveal. Perhaps, too many, in fact. Wherever the truth lies, The Blacklist’s creator teased that the series’ endgame would “snap into focus.” I am in no rush.
After this summer’s premieres finish up, The Blacklist will return for its Season 7 premiere on Friday, October 4 on NBC. New episodes of the crime drama will air on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET. For now, you can catch up/relive previous seasons of the series via Netflix along with lots of newly released content.
