NBC has set a January 22nd premiere date for the remainder of the eighth season of “The Blacklist” following just two episodes airing this month.
The show normally runs twenty-two episodes per season but that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic which abruptly cut things off at the nineteenth episode last season. Filming didn’t get underway on the new season until September so the show’s return the other week came as a surprise.
Now it appears the two episodes that have aired, though labelled as the start of the eighth season, act much more like the proper conclusion to the seventh season that was originally intended. It not only closes out storylines that dominated the seventh season run, but also leaves a key thread dangling that will serve as the main thrust of the next run.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “THE BLACKLIST” UP TO 8×02
In the wake of the most recent episode, executive producer John Eisendrath confirmed to TV Line this was the planned end for the seventh season and spoke what comes next for the series. It seems the conflict between Red and Katarina will now turn into the conflict between Red and Liz for Reddington’s act of violence:
“Liz and Red are going to war. The death of Katarina makes Liz more resolute than ever about getting answers to questions she’s been asking for seven years. She’s willing to burn every bridge and cross every line in search of the truth. Her resolution, plus all she’s learned from Red over the years about thinking like a criminal, makes her one of Red’s most formidable adversaries.”
Due to the pandemic, it’s not certain how many episodes we’ll get in the new season though it’s likely not going to be a further twenty as per usual. Several other NBC series, including “This Is Us,” have similarly gone on hiatus.
