Home > The Blacklist > Season 1 « TV Series Page The Blacklist: Season 1 (2013 - 2014) SEASON: Season 1 Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Episode List All Critics | Top Critics TOMATOMETER 82% Average Rating: 7.18/10 Season Reviews: 57 Fresh: 47 Rotten: 10 Critics Consensus: James Spader is riveting as a criminal-turned-informant, and his presence goes a long way toward making this twisty but occasionally implausible crime procedural compelling. 73% Average Rating: 6.53/10 Season Reviews: 26 Fresh: 19 Rotten: 7 Critics Consensus: No consensus yet. Critic Consensus: James Spader is riveting as a criminal-turned-informant, and his presence goes a long way toward making this twisty but occasionally implausible crime procedural compelling. AUDIENCE SCORE 89% liked it Average Rating: 4.3/5 User Ratings: 1109 ADD YOUR RATING - NOT INTERESTED + WANT TO SEE Share on Facebook Post Want to See Not Interested Add Rating My Rating × Want to See Not Interested Post Share on Facebook Episodes 1 Pilot Air date: Sep 23, 2013 The race to stop an terrorist begins in the premiere of this crime series about a most-wanted fugitive who works with a rookie FBI profiler to take down criminals and evildoers. More 2 The Freelancer Air date: Sep 30, 2013 Red predicts a catastrophe will occur and will stem from the work of an assassin called the Freelancer. When Red and Liz go undercover to protect the killer's next target (Isabella Rossellini), Ressler and a rehired CIA agent monitor the duo from afar. More 3 Wujing Air date: Oct 7, 2013 Red and Liz go undercover to pursue a high-level Chinese spy who may be involved in a shadowy scheme to decode a classified CIA transmission. Elsewhere, Liz puts the investigative focus on Tom. More 4 The Stewmaker Air date: Oct 14, 2013 Liz testifies against a drug lord. Danger lurks when a witness in the case is abducted at the hands of possibly "the Stewmaker," a man responsible for hundreds of missing people. Meanwhile, Red and Ressler join forces for the first time. More 5 The Courier Air date: Oct 21, 2013 The hunt is on for an elusive courier who's delivering a package worth millions to an Iranian spy. As she scrambles to stop the transaction, Liz gets swept up in a kidnapping scheme. Meanwhile, Ressler is forced to accept Liz's importance to the team. More 6 Gina Zanetakos Air date: Oct 28, 2013 A beautiful yet menacing corporate terrorist is tracked. Meanwhile, Tom confronts Liz about a mysterious box. More 7 Frederick Barnes Air date: Nov 4, 2013 Liz and the FBI track the criminal responsible for a chemical attack on a subway. Elsewhere, Liz reluctantly reaches out to Red to help nab a brilliant scientist (Robert Sean Leonard). More 8 General Ludd Air date: Nov 11, 2013 A plot to destroy the U.S. financial system is uncovered by Liz. Meanwhile, Tom helps Liz when a family member becomes ill. More 9 Anslo Garrick Air date: Nov 25, 2013 Part 1 of 2. Donald tries to protect Red from a possible assassination attempt. Meanwhile, the next blacklist target infiltrates the FBI's black site and hunts down Red; and Liz gets caught in an elevator. More 10 Anslo Garrick - Part 2 Air date: Dec 2, 2013 While Red bargains with his captor to spare Agent Ressler's life, Liz tries to disable the signal jammers preventing a call for back-up. More Show More Episodes The Blacklist: Season 1 Photos View All Photos (114) Tv Season Info Series 1 sees our introduction to former government agent turned criminal Raymond Reddington who, after turning himself into the FBI, says that he will help them capture some of the world's most dangerous criminals. However, he will only talk to one agent, Elizabeth Keen and as the series progresses we slowly get hints of why this might be while simultaneously following the FBI's progress in catching the criminals Reddington is pointing his finger at. Genre: Drama Network: NBC Premiere Date: Sep 23, 2013 Creator: John Bokenkamp Exec. Producers: John Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath, John Davis, John Fox Cast James Spader as Raymond "Red" Reddington Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper Parminder Nagra as Meera Malik Ilfenesh Hadera as Jennifer Palmer Ritchie Coster as Anslo Garrick Rachel Brosnahan as Jolene Clifton Collins Jr. as Hector Lorca Isabella Rossellini as Floriana Campo Jennifer Ehle as Madeline Pratt Mark Ivanir as Ivan Chin Han as Wujing Robert Sean Leonard as Frederick Barnes Ryan O'Nan as The Alchemist Linus Roache as The Kingmaker Alan Alda as Mr. Fitch Hoon Lee as Mako Tanida Frank Whaley as Karl Hoffman Campbell Scott as Owen Mallory Dianne Wiest as Ruth Kipling Robert Knepper as The Courier Margarita Levieva as Gina Zanetakos Justin Kirk as Nathaniel Wolff Damian Young as The Undertaker Aja Naomi King as Elisa Rubin Deborah S. Craig as Luli Pat Squire as Louise Hoffman Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai Will Denton as Harrison Lee Show More Cast News & Interviews for The Blacklist: Season 1 10 TV Shows You Should Binge-Watch This December 2016 Emmy Winners Announced: Game of Thrones and Veep Win Top Awards 2016 Emmy Award Nominations View All The Blacklist: Season 1 News Episodes 1 Pilot Air date: Sep 23, 2013 The race to stop an terrorist begins in the premiere of this crime series about a most-wanted fugitive who works with a rookie FBI profiler to take down criminals and evildoers. More 2 The Freelancer Air date: Sep 30, 2013 Red predicts a catastrophe will occur and will stem from the work of an assassin called the Freelancer. When Red and Liz go undercover to protect the killer's next target (Isabella Rossellini), Ressler and a rehired CIA agent monitor the duo from afar. More 3 Wujing Air date: Oct 7, 2013 Red and Liz go undercover to pursue a high-level Chinese spy who may be involved in a shadowy scheme to decode a classified CIA transmission. Elsewhere, Liz puts the investigative focus on Tom. More 4 The Stewmaker Air date: Oct 14, 2013 Liz testifies against a drug lord. Danger lurks when a witness in the case is abducted at the hands of possibly "the Stewmaker," a man responsible for hundreds of missing people. Meanwhile, Red and Ressler join forces for the first time. More 5 The Courier Air date: Oct 21, 2013 The hunt is on for an elusive courier who's delivering a package worth millions to an Iranian spy. As she scrambles to stop the transaction, Liz gets swept up in a kidnapping scheme. Meanwhile, Ressler is forced to accept Liz's importance to the team. More 6 Gina Zanetakos Air date: Oct 28, 2013 A beautiful yet menacing corporate terrorist is tracked. Meanwhile, Tom confronts Liz about a mysterious box. More 7 Frederick Barnes Air date: Nov 4, 2013 Liz and the FBI track the criminal responsible for a chemical attack on a subway. Elsewhere, Liz reluctantly reaches out to Red to help nab a brilliant scientist (Robert Sean Leonard). More 8 General Ludd Air date: Nov 11, 2013 A plot to destroy the U.S. financial system is uncovered by Liz. Meanwhile, Tom helps Liz when a family member becomes ill. More 9 Anslo Garrick Air date: Nov 25, 2013 Part 1 of 2. Donald tries to protect Red from a possible assassination attempt. Meanwhile, the next blacklist target infiltrates the FBI's black site and hunts down Red; and Liz gets caught in an elevator. More 10 Anslo Garrick - Part 2 Air date: Dec 2, 2013 While Red bargains with his captor to spare Agent Ressler's life, Liz tries to disable the signal jammers preventing a call for back-up. More Show More Episodes Critic Reviews for The Blacklist Season 1 All Critics (57) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (10) Yes, it's a preposterous premise, and Boone as well as the character she plays are in over their heads, but if NBC is willing to spend money to make this formula work, it could have a hit on its hands. Sep 23, 2013 | Full Review… David Hiltbrand Philadelphia Inquirer Top Critic It's a fast-paced mystery that's just plain entertaining. Sep 23, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… David Hinckley New York Daily News Top Critic Spader is amusingly smug and hammy, as he manipulates the FBI honchos, Keen, and the criminals who think he's on their team. Even so, there is nothing in the pilot that makes me eager to return. Sep 23, 2013 | Full Review… Matthew Gilbert Boston Globe Top Critic C'mon, producers. Upend the procedural. Let Spader run loose. Sep 23, 2013 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… Diane Werts Newsday Top Critic The Blacklist is watchable but patently unbelievable and increasingly unpalatable. Sep 19, 2013 | Rating: C+ | Full Review… Ed Bark Uncle Barky Top Critic Portraying a brilliant criminal mastermind who opens the drama by turning himself in to the FBI, demanding the presence of a specific rookie agent, he (Spader) is effortlessly captivating. Sep 6, 2013 | Full Review… Joanne Ostrow Denver Post Top Critic Blacklist is the more purely and criminally enjoyable of the night's new melodramas, largely because James Spader is so good at being playfully bad. Dec 7, 2018 | Full Review… Matt Roush TV Guide A lot of the snazzy action and spiffy pacing may be a cover-up for subpar writing, but the pilot kept things entertaining enough that I'd like to see the second episode. Hopefully it will clear up a few things. Dec 7, 2018 | Full Review… Tim Surette TV.com The Blacklist, a slick and surprisingly brutal spies-and-black-ops drama that speeds along blithely without an original thought in its head. Jul 22, 2018 | Full Review… Adam Sweeting The Arts Desk The Blacklist is mysterious and compelling without being too over the top and complicated. May 7, 2018 | Rating: 4.3/5 | Full Review… Sean McKenna TV Fanatic View All Critic Reviews (57) Audience Reviews for The Blacklist: Season 1 JoshG Super Reviewer Marc-AndréB Super Reviewer The only reason to watch this is to see James Spader act circles around the weird wig girl. JulieB Super Reviewer The Blacklist is the wildly innovative new crime drama that took network television by storm four seasons ago. The show did so well in the ratings in fact, that Netflix shelled out a ton for the exclusive streaming rights, but was it a good investment, lets find out. Raymond Reddington (James Spader) is number one on the FBI's most wanted list. There isn't a crime that this former government agent hasn't committed, so everyone is shocked, when after years on the run, he turns himself in under the condition that he speak with Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), an agent who just started working at the FBI, that very day. Eventually Reddington comes to an understanding, that he will provide information about the worst criminals out there, from what he calls his blacklist, but he will only do this for Agent Keen. On the surface this show is ingenious and was originally very addictive. The writers of this show have a way of developing the bad guy that would put Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to shame. Some of these guys have committed acts and exhibit personalities like you have never seen, but they all fail in comparison to Red. The show is extremely addicting, but it is somewhat narrowly focused for a continuous show. What I mean by this, is that the show features continuously running story lines and you have to see every episode to keep up, but these are such a small piece of each episode, that the series almost plays as though it were episonic. Some of these story lines run in circles and drag out throughout entire seasons, long after the audience has figured them out, as a viewer that can be quite frustrating. All that aside, James Spader is the star and he is as good as he has ever been. Most actors come across their career defining roles early on, and its somewhat unusual for someone to find the character they will forever be associated with, after they've been doing this for decades, but much like with Anthony Hopkins and Hannibal Lechter, James Spader has found his role. Spader will be forever known as Red and for good reason. The bottom line, sometimes the story lines are frustrating, but James Spader is as good as it gets, particularly on a network show. The writing isn't always amazing, but the character development for the Blacklist is top notch. This show is unusual in that it's more about the personalities than it is about the actual stories, but that really is the point isn't it, something different? ToddS Super Reviewer View All News & Features 150 Erotic Movies Ranked worst to best! 2019's Most Anticipated 63 movies coming up this year 200 Essential Movies Chosen by RT staff! 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