The Blacklist season 8 explained

Season Number:	8
Bgcolour:	055F4D
Network:	NBC
Num Episodes:	22
Episode List:	List of The Blacklist episodes

The eighth season of the American crime thriller television series The Blacklist^[1] premiered on November 13, 2020 and ended on June 23, 2021.^[2]

The series was created by Jon Bokenkamp, and continues to be produced by Davis Entertainment, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television, and executive produced by Jon Bokenkamp, John Davis, John Eisendrath, John Fox and Joe Carnahan. This is the last season to star Megan Boone.^[3]

Premise

The eighth season follows Elizabeth Keen and her mother Katarina Rostova in their attempts to take down Reddington, who eventually kills Rostova. Elizabeth then goes on a vengeful crusade against Reddington, going rogue from the FBI and gathering her own resources and people to destroy him. She enters into an alliance with a powerful, dangerous criminal Neville Townsend, the author of Townsend's Directive. This alliance however, puts Elizabeth, Reddington, the FBI task force, and her attempts to discover more about her and Reddington's past in great jeopardy.

Cast

See also: List of The Blacklist characters.

Main

• James Spader as Raymond Reddington
• Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
• Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
• Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper
• Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
• Laura Sohn as Alina Park
• Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma

Recurring

• Laila Robins as Katarina Rostova/Tatiana Petrova
• Reg Rogers as Neville Townsend
• Ron Raines as DominicWilkinson
• Ginger Mason as Agnes Keen
• Kecia Lewis as Esi Jackson
• Drew Gehling as Skip Hadley
• Deirdre Lovejoy as Cynthia Panabaker
• LaChanze as Anne Foster
• David E. Harrison as Ivan Stepanov
• Lukas Hassel as Vandyke
• Christopher Gurr as Godwin Page
• Rana Roy as Priya Laghari

Guest stars

• Huey Lewis as himself
• Laverne Cox as Dr. Laken Perillos
• Susan Blommaert as Mr. Kaplan
• Lotte Verbeek as younger Katarina Rostova
• Dikran Tulaine as Maxwell Ruddiger
• Valarie Pettiford as Charlene Cooper
• Fisher Stevens as Marvin Gerard
• Brett Cullen as Frank Bloom / Ilya Kozlov
• Jonathan Holtzman as Chuck
• Dane West as The Storyteller

Tribute to

• Brian Dennehy as Dominic Wilkinson
• Clark Middleton as Glen Carter
• Tobias Core (art department / carpenter)^[4]

Episodes

See main article: List of The Blacklist episodes.

Production

Casting

• Laura Sohn, who had a recurring role in the previous season as Alina Park, had become a series regular.^[5]
• Ron Raines replaced Brian Dennehy as Dominic Wilkinson, due to the death of the latter prior to production.^[6]
• Clark Middleton, who portrayed Glen Carter, Reddington's tracker, died in October 2020.^[7]
• Megan Boone left the series after eight seasons.^[3] She was also absent from episodes 5 through 13; stand-ins were used when necessary.

Filming

Production for the eighth season began in September 2020 with full safety protocols in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

Departure of Jon Bokenkamp

Series creator Jon Bokenkamp announced in June 2021 to leave the series after eight seasons to move on new projects.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. 'The Blacklist' Renewed For Season 8 By NBC. Deadline Hollywood. February 20, 2020. February 20, 2020.
2. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. NBC Sets Premiere Dates For Tweaked Fall Schedule; Scripted Series Delayed; 'New Amsterdam', 'Brooklyn', 'Manifest', 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Held For 2021. Deadline Hollywood. August 27, 2020.
3. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. 'The Blacklist' Star Megan Boone Leaving NBC Series After 8 Seasons. Deadline Hollywood. June 15, 2021.
4. https://www.looper.com/1372102/the-blacklist-who-is-toby-core/ Looper
5. Web site: 'The Blacklist': Laura Sohn promoted to Series Regular for Season 8. TV Line. Iannucci. Rebecca. May 7, 2020. May 12, 2020.
6. Web site: Viewers Met the New Dom on 'The Blacklist' After Ron Raines Replaced Brian Dennehy. November 20, 2020 .
7. Web site: How The Blacklist Will Say Goodbye To Clark Middleton's Glen In Season 8 . Lawrence . Britt . 12 November 2020 . CinemaBlend . 29 January 2021.
8. Web site: Production Dates - Various Shows. SpoilerTV. October 29, 2020.
9. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. 2021-06-24. 'The Blacklist' Creator Jon Bokenkamp Exits NBC Series After 8 Seasons. 2021-06-25. Deadline. en-US.