After watching The Blacklist’s Season 7 finale, many fans probably wondered how in the world it came together. To quell those curiosities, we have two exclusive new videos to promote Season 7 hitting Blu-ray and DVD today, August 11, which also provide some answers for how the show arrived at its elaborate solution.
Fans will recall that Season 7 got cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic causing an industry-wide shutdown, and The Blacklist was in the midst of its nineteenth episode when the decision came down for the crime drama to wrap up. Filming was only halfway through on the already impromptu Season 7 finale, which meant some very creative thinking had to get implemented to bring it to life. Check out this bonus feature clip, which you can only find on the Season 7 Blu-ray, for all of the behind-the-scenes info:
As you can tell from the video above, The Blacklist’s cast was incredibly excited about the solution that the show's creative team came up with to complete the season. The crime drama had surprised the cast and the fans with the announcement that The Blacklist would finish the improvised Season 7 finale by animating the footage that had not gotten filmed.
The Blacklist’s showrunner Jon Bokenkamp previously explained several of the ideas that he and executive producer John Eisendrath had gone through before arriving at the animated remedy. To not miss a beat between the 150th episode and the newly anointed Season 7 finale, The Blacklist’s creative team probably had to move fast. Check out the second making-of clip below:
How cool is it to see how everything came together by the animated skin of everyone's teeth? From the greyscale mentioned in the video to the finished product that ended up taking root, it's pretty staggering. Personally speaking, it is quite insightful to watch this video to realize how it all came together. Plus, it gives you a whole new appreciation for everything The Blacklist’s behind-the-scenes team did to make this happen along with the pre-visualization company Proof.
In a shocking conclusion to all of their hard work, the Season 7 finale’s animation turned out great. The Blacklist’s capper has arguably been one of the most-talked-about season-enders of the 2019-2020 TV season, and it is for a good reason. The James Spader starrer went out in a creative way that allowed it to produce one more episode than it would have otherwise.
One behind-the-scenes aspect that fans did not get to see in these bonus features was how Jason Statham’s likeness came in handy. The action superstar’s image got used to stand in for some of The Blacklist’s stars as Proof did its wondrous work. I have to imagine that it was a fun time at work, even as stressful as it was.
Picking up the new Blacklist Season 7 Blu-ray and/or DVD set will also be a good time for all involved. While only the Blu-ray boasts the exclusive "Uncharted Territory: A Season Cut Short" featurette, they both have a selection of other extras, including cast and crew commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, a blooper real, and a "Behind The Blacklist: Season 7" feature. As well, both feature a special tribute to the late, great Brian Dennehy.
The Blacklist Season 7 is now out on Blu-ray and DVD. Stay tuned to see if anything on The Blacklist ever gets animated again when the crime drama returns for its eighth season on NBC. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it ends up as one of this fall’s premieres. Past seasons of the long-running series are on Netflix, along with lots of 2020 arrivals.
