The Blacklist is returning for Season 9 with some big changes from what fans were used to from the first eight seasons, not the least of which will be the absence of Megan Boone following Liz Keen’s death. A two-year time jump will find the surviving characters in some new positions, and now a new actress is on the way after a role on the first season of Law & Order: Organized Crime. Blacklist fans, prepare to say hello to Diany Rodriguez, whose character definitely doesn’t sound like Liz 2.0.
Diany Rodriguez, who appeared on NBC earlier in 2021 to play ADA Maria Delgado for Organized Crime, has joined The Blacklist Season 9 to play a recurring character by the name of Weecha Xiu, according to Deadline. Weecha Xiu will reportedly be a tough character who can and will hold her own when it comes to protecting her interests and her people. It’s not clear what role she’ll play in Season 9 or who she’ll interact with most, but she certainly doesn’t sound like she’ll be on the side of the FBI.
It’s not clear at this point when Diany Rodriguez will make her debut as Weechu Xiu on The Blacklist, which premieres on October 21. Rodriguez has had a presence on NBC over the years, however, most recently with some appearances on Christopher Meloni’s hit Law & Order: Organized Crime, which may be on the verge of some change. She previously appeared in episodes of Manifest and New Amsterdam as well. The Blacklist’s two-year time jump means there are more questions than answers about the returning characters, let alone how new characters like Weecha Xiu will fit in.
There is one key thing that fans who keep up with The Blacklist news do know about a change that happened between the end of Season 8 and beginning of Season 9, and it’s not just Ressler with a beard. In that two-year time jump, the FBI task force disbanded and their lives have changed in the aftermath of Liz’s death.
It’s not surprising that they would be affected by what happened to her, especially Ressler after he found her body and ended the season all but collapsed over her while Red fled the scene, and the rest of the team wasn’t far off. Still, it should be interesting to see how close the members of the former task force have been – or haven’t been – over the two years. Series creator Jon Bokenkamp also left the series along with Megan Boone at the end of Season 8, so fans may be in for new kinds of plot twists with the ninth season.
The time jump may mean that the period of most intense mourning has passed, so fans won’t have to relive the fresh loss of Liz to start Season 9, which opens the door for new characters. See Diany Rodriguez in the mix as Weecha Xiu in The Blacklist Season 9, which makes its long-awaited premiere in a new time slot on Thursday, October 21 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. That’ll be a big night on NBC during a big week, with The Blacklist’s ninth season premiere followed by Law & Order: SVU’s 500th episode, so be sure to tune in!
