James Spader Talks About The Blacklist Season 11 And Why It's Not Happening

10 years of criminal energy, courtesy of Raymond "Red" Reddington: that's The Blacklist in a nutshell. But one question remains: will the story continue with season 11? James Spader himself has the answer.

The Blacklist James Spader
James Spader addresses The Blacklist season 11 | © NBC

Gracing us for the first time in the pre-historic year 2013, The Blacklist was one hell of a show for fans of the crime drama genre. Led by James Spader (kind of hard to imagine anyone else as Red, but did you know Walter White himself was considered for the role?), the series blessed us with a whole bunch of absolutely iconic antagonists and even more twists that were nothing short of mind-boggling. It's hard to not wish for more, so here we go: how about The Blacklist Season 11?

James Spader talks business yet again, but fans may be disappointed, even though his reasoning is fair. But first up: some hard facts about the show.

Somehow missed what The Blacklist is about?

Plunging deep into the twisted world of Raymond "Red" Reddington, a crime lord who collaborates with the FBI, The Blacklist offers its fair share of mysteries. All we know is that Red has some ulterior motives, and his smooth gangster persona just makes it all the more intriguing to follow his journey. Moreover, each episode introduces a new high-profile villain, keeping things interesting with a lot of variation.

The show already boasts a shocking 218 episodes, spanning ten seasons. You would think that the show had gotten boring by now, but The Blacklist still delivers ample entertainment and people are longing for more. Thankfully, James Spader sheds some light on this subject and the speculations can come to a rest.

James Spader Opens Up About The Chances Of A Blacklist Season 11

I'm going to pull that tooth right away: there won't be a Season 11 of The Blacklist. James Spader has a pretty good explanation for that, though.

As hard as it is to say goodbye, Spader is not wrong in his assessment of why the show needs to end after Season 10. As Red's actor and executive producer himself, he spoke to NBC about why The Blacklist ended with Season 10.

I think if the show went beyond this year, it would turn into a very different show. Tonally the show shifts a lot from episode to episode, and I think that even the show has taken strange turns, and I suspect that the show, if it went much further, would just become something that would be less recognizable to me.

Honestly? Good call. We've already seen way too many shows that didn't know when they should end and continued on without any good stories to tell, burning out and leaving fans more bitter than anything. It's smart to end a show when audiences are still sad about it and not angry because the last season was basically unwatchable.

Tanja Haimerl

Tanja is obsessed with gripping stories in all kinds of media: games, TV shows and books alike. She did her Bachelor's thesis on The Last of Us, got her degree in media studies thanks to that and can't stop talking about it....