NBC has renewed James Spader drama The Blacklist for a 22-episode sixth season, it was confirmed today.
The show has been a respectable performer during its fifth season and still carries a star in series lead James Spader. The delay in renewal came from NBC and Sony trying to negotiate more financially favorable terms, which came about in the form of NBC now owning half of the series vs. the small part that it did for the first five years. The Blacklist has a good streaming deal with Netflix and international appeal with Spader, so it was in Sony’s best interest to continue the show by any means necessary and in NBC’s to try and monetize the show apart from its linear carriage.
22 episodes likely puts The Blacklist in the fall, though we don’t know whether it’ll hold court on Wednesdays and find itself put out to pasture on Fridays. The lineup of Blindspot/Blacklist seems like a no-brainer, but Midnight, Texas is purported to be returning this fall, which throws a wrench in things. I suppose you could have one of the two veterans replace Midnight, Texas after it finishes its season; it’s just that whichever show that is left off the fall schedule will have to air well into the summer and I don’t know if NBC would want to do that, even with them not owning as much of Blindspot as they do Blacklist.
The fifth season finale of The Blacklist is set to air Wednesday, May 16th at 8:00 on NBC.
