The Blacklist Picked Up for a Full Season By NBC

James Spaders' freshman drama series' first two episodes averaged 12 million viewers

By Tierney Bricker Oct 04, 2013 10:22 PMTags
BlacklistNBC

NBC isn't crossing James Spader off their list anytime soon.

The actor's freshman drama series The Blacklist was picked up for a full season of 22 episodes, the network announced on Friday, making it the second new show of the fall to receive a pickup. (Fox renewed Sleepy Hollow for a 13-episode second season earlier in the week.) 

"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," Jennifer Salke, NBC Entertainment president, said in a statement. "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."

After two episodes, the crime drama has averaged 12 million viewers and a 3.6 rating in the all-important 18-49 demo. When Live+3 DVR playback is factored in, the series premiere added 4.4 million viewers, which is the biggest gain for any broadcast network telecast.

In our Save It or Sink It poll, which asks readers to vote on whether or not they will continue to watch a new series, The Blacklist received a whopping 87.66 percent Save It score. The drama centers on notorious criminal Red Reddington (Spader) turning himself into the FBI, promising to help them catch other baddies (his "blacklist," get it?!). The catch? He'll only work with new agent Elizabeth Keen (Boone), who he seemingly has no connection to.

But not every new fall series was as lucky as The Blacklist. ABC made the first cut of the season, canceling Lucky 7 after just two episodes.

The Blacklist airs Monday at 10 p.m. on NBC.