Well Blacklisters, we can all stop wondering now that we’ve heard the news, The Blacklist has been renewed for season 7! The original cast is set to return, so a whole new series of Red’s antics with the Task Force is on the horizon. We have yet to see what is in store for the finale of season 6, but whatever happens it will have a massive impact on the overarching plot for season 7. Especially if Red’s fate is as grim as it looks right now.
With the renewal however, it’s pretty safe to say that the writers wouldn’t dream of continuing without James Spader. That in itself seems like a good indication of Red’s season 6 fate. I do hope that The Blacklist is one of those shows that can avoid the season 7 curse when a television series really starts to circle the drain. I can’t really think of a single long running television show that had a good season 7. It’s anyone’s guess why this trend is so widespread, but it might be because writers start to run out of creative plots after so many years of a show, and character development starts to stagnate.
If the writers can reverse Liz Keen’s frustrating character direction and steer away from her drama with Red in season 7 once this whole identity crisis storyline is resolved in season 6, I might be a little more excited about the renewal. If the show continues in the direction it is now and Liz takes even more of a center stage role, season 7 would be really difficult to watch.
I still care about the characters, but only if they go back to what made the show so fun to watch in the first place, Red’s interaction with the entire Task Force (not just Liz) working together to catch Blacklisters. The family drama angle has been a central theme of the show for years now, and it’s time to conclude all of that for good if they want season 7 to keep fans coming back for more.
The direction of season 7 is uncertain until we see the end of season 6, so we’ll just have to wait patiently. Regardless of how I might feel about the show right now, it’s pretty rare anymore for a show to continue this long, as a Blacklist fan I’m grateful for that. Really all any fan of a show wants is to be rewarded with a good ending to each of their favorite series, so I hope The Blacklist can find that ending in season 7. The last thing any fan wants is their last memory of a favorite show to be of how bad the final season was.
For now, tune in next Friday at 9/8c on NBC for the next episode of The Blacklist.