The third season of the American crime thriller television series ''
The Blacklist
''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...
'' premiered on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
on October 1, 2015 and concluded on May 19, 2016. The season consisted of 23 episodes.
The season was produced by
Davis Entertainment
Davis Entertainment (also known as Davis Entertainment Company) is an American film and television production company, founded by John Davis in 1984.
Davis's three divisions–feature film, independent film, and television–develop and produc ...
,
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...
, and
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
, and the executive producers were
Jon Bokenkamp
Jon Bokenkamp (born September 9, 1974 in Kearney, Nebraska) is an American writer and producer best known for his role in writing the screenplays for '' Taking Lives'' and '' The Call'', and creating the NBC series ''The Blacklist'' along with ' ...
,
John Davis,
John Eisendrath
John Eisendrath is an American television series producer and writer. He created and served as the executive producer and showrunner for the series ''Outlaw'', ''Playmakers'', and currently serves as executive producer on NBC's ''The Blacklist''. ...
, John Fox, and
Joe Carnahan
Joseph Aaron Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor whose films include '' Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane''; '' Narc''; ''Smokin' Aces''; ''The A-Team''; '' The Grey''; and ''Boss Level''. He a ...
.
Premise
The third season sees Liz and Reddington on the run from the government and the Task Force. The first part of the season explores The Cabal's efforts to capture Liz and Reddington and their efforts to clear Liz's name. The Cabal is represented by the ruthless Director of the National Clandestine Service Peter Kotsiopulos (
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John Dos ...
). The season also introduces Susan "Scottie" Hargrave (
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen (; born ) is a Dutch actress. She played Xenia Onatopp in ''GoldenEye'' (1995), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2014), and Lenore Mills in the ''Taken'' film trilogy (2008–2014). In 2008, she ...
), the mother of Tom Keen, Mattias Solomon (
Edi Gathegi
Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series '' House'', as Cheese in the 2007 film ''Gone Baby Gone'', Laurent in the films ''Twi ...
) and Nez Rowan (
Tawny Cypress
Tawny Cypress is an American actress. She has appeared in various television and stage plays. She starred as art dealer Simone Deveaux on the TV series ''Heroes (U.S. TV series), Heroes''. She previously held roles on several TV series, includin ...
), key characters for the spin-off series ''
The Blacklist: Redemption'', focusing on Tom and Scottie Hargrave. The final episodes of the season also introduce a new series antagonist Alexander Kirk, AKA Konstantin Rostov, who claims to be Liz's father and will stop at nothing to protect her and win her loyalty. An important subplot for the season is Liz's pregnancy and Mr. Kaplan's (
Susan Blommaert
Susan J. Blommaert (born October 13, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mr. Kaplan (The Blacklist), Mr. Kaplan on the NBC drama series The Blacklist (TV series), ''The Blacklist'', and for her recurring role as Judge ...
) efforts to protect Liz and Tom's daughter from Reddington.
Cast
Main
*
James Spader
James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scien ...
as
Raymond Reddington
''The Blacklist'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former government agent turned high-profile criminal, who had eluded capture for decades, vol ...
*
Megan Boone
Megan Boone (born April 29, 1983) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent and profiler Elizabeth Keen on the NBC drama series ''The Blacklist''. She had a recurring role in '' Law & Order: LA'' and an episodic appeara ...
as
Elizabeth Keen
*
Diego Klattenhoff
Diego Klattenhoff is a Canadian actor known for his portrayals of Mike Faber in the Showtime series ''Homeland'' and as FBI Special Agent Donald Ressler in ''The Blacklist''. He has also appeared as Derek in '' Whistler'', Ivan in ''Men in Tre ...
as
Donald Ressler
*
Ryan Eggold
Ryan James Eggold (born August 10, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for playing Ryan Matthews on the CW teen drama series '' 90210'' and Tom Keen on the NBC crime drama series ''The Blacklist'' and its short-lived spin-off series '' Th ...
as
Tom Keen
*
Harry Lennix
Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series ''Dollh ...
as
Harold Cooper
*
Amir Arison
Amir Arison (born March 24, 1978) is an American actor, best known for his work as FBI tech expert Aram Mojtabai on NBC’s ''The Blacklist'' for nine seasons.
Early life and education
Arison was born in Saint Louis, MO to father Ron Arison, ...
as
Aram Mojtabai
*
Mozhan Marnò
Mozhan Marnò (born May 3, 1980) is an Iranian-American film and television actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Blacklist'' and ''House of Cards''.
Early life and education
Marnò was born in Los Angeles. Her parents are from Iran an ...
as
Samar Navabi
*
Hisham Tawfiq
Hisham Tawfiq (born May 17, 1970) is an American actor, best known for playing Dembe Zuma, part of the security detail and very close friend to Raymond "Red" Reddington in NBC's ''The Blacklist''.
Early life
Born in New York City, Tawfiq disco ...
as
Dembe Zuma
Recurring
*
Susan Blommaert
Susan J. Blommaert (born October 13, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mr. Kaplan (The Blacklist), Mr. Kaplan on the NBC drama series The Blacklist (TV series), ''The Blacklist'', and for her recurring role as Judge ...
as Mr. Kaplan.
*
Deidre Lovejoy
Deirdre Lovejoy (born June 30, 1962) is an American actress.
She is best known for her role as Assistant State's Attorney Rhonda Pearlman on HBO’s ''The Wire''. She is also known for her roles as a serial killer Heather Taffet (aka "The Gr ...
as Cynthia Panabaker.
*
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn (; born January 26, 1949) is an American actor. Known for his leading roles on stage and screen, he has often portrayed historical figures such as Edward R. Murrow, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William H. Seward, and John Dos ...
as Peter Kotsiopulos, the Director of the National Clandestine Service.
*
Edi Gathegi
Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series '' House'', as Cheese in the 2007 film ''Gone Baby Gone'', Laurent in the films ''Twi ...
as Matias Solomon, a Cabal operative sent to hunt down Reddington.
*
Adriane Lenox
Adriane Lenox is an American actress, best known for her performances in Broadway theatre. Her performance in the play ''Doubt: A Parable'' garnered her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2005. She received another Tony Award ...
as Deputy Attorney General Reven Wright, the Department of Justice liaison to the Task Force.
*
Christine Lahti
Christine Ann Lahti (born April 4, 1950) is an American actress and filmmaker. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1984 film '' Swing Shift''. Her other film roles include '' ...And Justice for All'' (19 ...
as Laurel Hitchin, National Security Advisor and chairman of the commission tasked with investigating the OREA bombing.
*
Margarita Levieva
Margarita Vladimirovna Levieva (russian: Маргари́та Влади́мировна Леви́ева; born 9 February 1980) is a Russian-American actress.
Early life
Levieva was born in then Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, ...
as Gina Zanetakos, a corporate terrorist turned master criminal who recruits Tom for a heist.
*
Andrew Divoff as Karakurt, a Russian assassin responsible for the OREA bombing and killing of Senator Hawkins.
*
Fisher Stevens
Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and ''Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televis ...
as Marvin Gerard, Reddington's lawyer.
*
Peter Vack
Peter S. Brown (born September 19, 1986), better known his stage name Peter Vack, is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He is best known for portraying Jason Strider in the MTV comedy series ''I Just Want My Pants Back'' (2011–201 ...
as Asher Sutton, a socialite whom Tom Keen exploits to track Karakurt.
*
Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...
as Mr. Vargas, Reddington's double agent.
*
Tony Plana
José Antonio Plana (born April 19, 1952) is a Cuban actor and director. He is known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC television show ''Ugly Betty'' and for voicing Manuel "Manny" Calavera in the video game ''Grim ...
as Mr. Diaz, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister whom Reddington asks for help.
*
Conor Leslie
Conor Marie Leslie (born April 10, 1991) is an American actress. Beginning her career in the late 2000s, her first major role was in the thriller film '' Chained'' (2012). She has worked frequently in television, including as a series regular on ...
as Gwen Hollander, Asher Sutton's girlfriend.
*
Clark Middleton
Clark Tinsley Middleton (April 13, 1957 – October 4, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' Kill Bill: Vol. 2'', ''Sin City'', ''Fringe'', ''Snowpiercer'', and ''The Blacklist''.
Career
Middleton's first ...
as Glen Carter, a DMV employee occasionally employed by Reddington.
* Ned van Zandt as Leonard Caul, an operative of Reddington's and an expert on computer security.
*
Tawny Cypress
Tawny Cypress is an American actress. She has appeared in various television and stage plays. She starred as art dealer Simone Deveaux on the TV series ''Heroes (U.S. TV series), Heroes''. She previously held roles on several TV series, includin ...
as Nez Rowan, a mercenary.
*
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen (; born ) is a Dutch actress. She played Xenia Onatopp in ''GoldenEye'' (1995), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2014), and Lenore Mills in the ''Taken'' film trilogy (2008–2014). In 2008, she ...
as Susan "Scottie" Hargrave and the mother of Tom Keen.
*
Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen (born 6 December 1963) is a Danish actor and filmmaker, known for his role of Kai Proctor in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'' (2013-2016).
Biography
Ulrich Thomsen was born in (Næsby) Odense, Denmark and graduated from th ...
as Alexander Kirk/Konstantin Rostov, the man claiming to be Liz's father.
*
Benito Martinez as Senator Robert Diaz, a presidential candidate being supported by Alexander Kirk.
*
Murphy Guyer
Murphy Guyer (born December 25, 1952) is an American actor, playwright, writer and director, best known for his plays and for appearances in the films '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1997), '' The Jackal'' (1997), ''Arthur'' (2011) and '' Joker'' (20 ...
as The Eye in the Sky.
* Piter Marek as Nik, Liz's former boyfriend and Reddington's emergency doctor.
*
Raoul Trujillo
Raoul Maximiano Trujillo de Chauvelon (born May 8, 1955) is an American and Canadian actor, dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. A former soloist with the Nikolais Dance Theatre, he is the original choreographer and co-director for the ...
as Mato, a hitman employed by Alexander Kirk.
Episodes
Production
Hisham Tawfiq
Hisham Tawfiq (born May 17, 1970) is an American actor, best known for playing Dembe Zuma, part of the security detail and very close friend to Raymond "Red" Reddington in NBC's ''The Blacklist''.
Early life
Born in New York City, Tawfiq disco ...
, who plays Red's
body man
In U.S. political jargon, a civilian personal assistant who accompanies the president of the United States virtually everywhere is referred to as a body man or body woman. These personal aides to the president are often responsible for arrangin ...
, Dembe Zuma, was promoted to series regular beginning with Season 3.
Potential spin-off
Episode 22 was written by Bokenkamp and Eisendrath and directed by
Michael Dinner
Michael Dinner (born May 20, 1953) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter for television.
Biography
Prior to his TV career, Dinner was a singer-songwriter and recording artist for Fantasy Records, where he released two albums, ''The ...
as a potential
spin-off of the series. It aired on May 12, 2016.
The spin-off was ordered titled ''
The Blacklist: Redemption''.
Reception
The third season of ''The Blacklist'' received positive reviews from critics. The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports a 93% approval rating based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 7.41/10. The consensus reads: "''The Blacklist'' is back in top form with fresh dangers that put Red on the ropes while giving James Spader room to shine".
Ratings
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blacklist (season 3)
2015 American television seasons
2016 American television seasons
3