The Blacklist has been picked up for a full season by NBC.
The network announced Friday that it has ordered nine more episodes of the procedural, which stars James Spader as Raymond “Red” Reddington, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives. Megan Boone plays FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Keen, a profiler, and the only person with whom Reddington will speak.
“The many layers of Red Reddington and his mysterious reasons for getting into bed with the FBI seem to be fascinating to fans of this show,” NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said in a press release. “With great talent like James Spader and Megan Boone on board, as well our stellar executive producers and the whole cast and crew, we believe this outstanding series will continue to make NBC a big destination on Monday nights.”
The Blacklist premiered September 23, drawing 12.58 million viewers and scoring a 3.8 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. The following episode drew 11.35 million viewers, earning a 3.3 rating in the 18-49 demo. Despite the dip, The Blacklist actually broke the live + 3 record set by its premiere in its second week, becoming the first broadcast network to add more than 5 million viewers to its live plus three day audience result. In its first week, The Blacklist added 4.362 million viewers in its live + 3 day result.
The pickup brings the first season of The Blacklist to 22 episodes.
The surprise breakout of the fall season, however, has been Fox’s Sleepy Hollow , which earned a surprise season two renewal earlier this week. The series, a modern retelling of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow , premiered September 16 and drew 10.10 million viewers. Instead of ordering a back nine, Fox will keep the season at 13 episodes. Season two will also consist of 13 episodes.
The Blacklist airs Monday at 10:00 pm on NBC.
