The Blacklist Season 10 - What We Know So Far

Renewed early in 2021 for another season, hit series "The Blacklist" Season 9 will arrive on October 21, 2021 (via Deadline). The new episodes won't come soon enough for fans of the long-running crime drama, who have long been hooked on the central mystery of the enigmatic, entrancing main character.

Originally inspired by the capture of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet), "The Blacklist" has become an unusual procedural because of its unique perspective. In an interview with Collider, former showrunner John Eisendrath commented that "One of the incredibly fun things about working on a show like this is that you are trying to imagine how a criminal would look at things."

With Season 9 premiering this fall, it's easy for viewers to now wonder about a prospective Season 10. What will the show look like after another season of unexpected betrayals and fresh plot twists? Here's what we currently know about the release date, the likely cast, and the plotlines for Season 10 of "The Blacklist."

With Season 9 not premiering on NBC til October, the network hasn't officially renewed "The Blacklist" for a tenth season of television yet.

There are a few likely factors in why NBC hasn't ordered another season. For one, it's a nearly decade-old drama, and while it's had stable and decent-sized ratings for years, the company may wait to see what the ratings for the early unaired Season 9 episodes are like first before they decide to make another season. NBC also moved Season 9 to Thursday nights after "Law & Order: For The Defense" fell through, so they likely want to be sure the show will remain strong in another time slot (Deadline).

"The Blacklist" remains a popular streaming choice on Netflix, which adds another reason why NBC might choose to renew it for a 10th season. Assuming Season 9 continues the show's streak of good viewership, expect another season of the hit drama to be on the way — just don't expect it until 2022, as it takes a lot of effort to make 18-22 episodes of television a year.

The cast of "The Blacklist" Season 10 will probably look very different compared to previous seasons after the shocking conclusion of Season 8. For one, Megan Boone, who played FBI Handler Elizabeth Keen, announced that she was leaving the show after the most recent season (via Deadline). Accordingly Elizabeth Keen seemingly died at the end of the Season 8 finale "Konets" at the hands of Townsend and his associates.

However, several other regulars are likely to return. Lead actor James Spader will probably come back for another season, in part because the show would have a hard time telling its stories without his character, Raymond "Red" Reddington. Diego Klattenhoff is also likely to return as Agent Donald Ressler, as is Harry Lennix as FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Harold Cooper.

That being said, it is still difficult to say what the full cast will look like in Season 10 without knowing what the plot of Season 9 is, but we do know that Boone will not be returning — meaning "The Blacklist" will have to make future seasons without the presence of Elizabeth Keen.

"The Blacklist" is centered around Raymond "Red" Reddington, a notorious criminal and fugitive, who has given himself up to the FBI, along with the "blacklist" of the title: a long list of dangerous criminals and terrorists he has known and associated with. Over the course of the show, Red aided the FBI in apprehending these individuals, albeit using his own unconventional methods, while the mystery of his interest in FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen was gradually revealed.

Obviously the upcoming season will determine most of the storylines in Season 10, but it seems very likely that the show will continue to focus on Red and the FBI team he assists, while building on the huge revelations made about Red's past at the end of Season 8. One question remains, after all: If the real Red died long ago, then who exactly is the man who took his identity?

If you want to catch up on the various bombshells and plot twists of the NBC drama, the first seven seasons of "The Blacklist" are currently streaming on Netflix.