The Blacklist spinoff has been in the works for a couple of weeks now, and a lot of the major players have already signed on. The Blacklist actor Ryan Eggold was rumored to be among the cast members leaving the original show to head to the spinoff, and this week we learned the actor is definitely saying sayonara to NBC’s popular original drama. He’s actually got a pretty sweet deal going with the spinoff, too. Here’s what we know.
If you don’t recognize the name Ryan Eggold, you probably know Tom Keen, the character he plays. The man has been a part of The Blacklist’s cast from the very beginning. He started out as Elizabeth Keen’s husband, but we soon learned he was a spy/assassin and a creative problem solver in his own right. In the new series, he’s going to continue playing Tom Keen, although in this version he will have a relationship to other series lead Famke Janssen’s character, Scottie Halsted. That relationship has been called "similar" to the one that Elizabeth Keen shares with Red Reddington.
Here’s the clincher, though. You always take a chance when signing on for a spinoff. While The Blacklist has already been renewed for Season 4, we have no idea if NBC’s idea for a spinoff will be moving forward to series at this point. The network has agreed to a backdoor pilot to the series that is expected to air on NBC on May 12. Usually May is the time when the networks make decisions about upcoming shows, as well, so we should know soon if the spinoff will be happening fairly soon. The good news for Ryan Eggold is that he has a deal in place no matter what happens with The Blacklist.
Deadline reports that Tom Keen is going to stay a part of the franchise no matter what happens with the spinoff. If the spinoff happens, great. He’ll get to star in the new series and will continue to occasionally pop up on The Blacklist--sort of how the Chicago Fire franchise crossovers work. If the spinoff doesn’t end up panning out, Eggold will simply return to The Blacklist for Season 4 as a regular character. That’s an incredibly sweet deal for the actor, as it ensures he will definitely still have a TV gig next year.
Honestly, I have no idea how interconnected the two shows will be if they both end up making it on to the fall schedule next year. Right now, Tom is still a pretty big character on the show. Red only recently got him out of a diamond robbery jam. Elizabeth Keen is pregnant with his baby. Plus there are photos NBC released that show a potential wedding happening during Thursday’s episode.
Whatever ends up happening, I’m sure The Blacklist will figure out a way to wrap Tom Keen’s storyline up in a way that could see him come back just as easily as not next season. Still, we’re excited to see how the whole thing pans out. New episodes of The Blacklist air on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET, only on NBC. In addition, you can see what else the networks have coming up with our summer TV premiere schedule.
