The third day of Comic Con 2014 found acclaimed actor James Spader, who stars as Raymond “Red†Reddington on the NBC drama The Blacklist joined by the show’s executive producers Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath, taking to the stage of the San Diego Convention Center to talk about their hit series.
James, of course, first spoke about how playing Red has been “quite a journey†for him and that he wanted to extend a “thank you to (everyone) for watching†the show. He also shared that he “has just a few less questions than (the fans)†about the mysteries behind the show, such as who is Elizabeth’s real father and just where Red got the blacklist. The executive producers also shared that the mystery about Elizabeth’s real father will “continue to be exploredâ€, but a reveal won’t be made just yet.
Among the reveals made for season two included:
• Berlin (guest star Peter Stomare) is on the run and we will see more of him;
• Fans will see how the team recovers from all of the aftermath in the season one finale;
• Fans will see how Red lives with what happened;
• Fans will learn if Tom (series regular Ryan Eggold) is really dead or not;
• Actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) will have a recurring role in the show; and,
• Fans will see more of Alan Alda’s character and will learn more about the Cabal too.
James shared that it has been “interesting running into people all over the place who are entertained by the procedural style of the show, but they (also) love the serialized style of the show (too)â€.
When asked by an audience member what it is like to be an anti-hero, James responded that he “loved watching old movies when he was growing up and many of those movies featured characters who were anti-heroesâ€; in short he said “I love themâ€. He further shared that “everything I’ve learned about him, (Red) knows his capacity for goodness and his capacity for badness. I am confident that we won’t learn that he is fully righteousâ€.
The executive producers also briefly talked about the music that is featured in the episodes, sharing that Jon Bokenkamp is responsible for all of that; the music “changes and shifts the tone of (each) episode in ways you won’t expect. Jon is also responsible for the “one-liners†uttered by Red, as he likes to put the character in as many weird position as possible to (explore) the moral ambiguity of Redâ€.
The DVD of the first season of ‘The Blacklist’ will be available on August 12 while the season premiere of the NBC drama will air on Monday, September 22 at 10/9c.