Here and now, The Blacklist is top-of-the-list escapism.
I think Megan Boone could develop her own following – she’s engaging and believable – but this is Spader’s game and he plays...
USA Today September 23, 2013 A solid weekly crime show built around a genuine TV star. That’s the kind of series the networks have to be able to pull off to survive...
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 m...
New York Daily News September 23, 2013 It’s a fast-paced mystery that’s just plain entertaining.
Blacklist came out like gangbusters, quite literally, even though James Spader is really all the reason we need to keep watching for now.
Huffington Post September 23, 2013 The Blacklist is never going to be anyone’s idea of great art, but at least it has a pulpy kind of momentum that may well be worth watching f...
AV Club September 24, 2013 None of the characters are a fair match for Red, and most of the actors are less than a fair match for Spader.
online.wsj.com September 19, 2013 How this works out over its many episodes isn’t easy to predict, but we have, at minimum, a strong beginning-Zamani notwithstanding-one that...
Spader plays his scenes with relish. It’s fun to watch. So are the stylish action scenes.
Grantland September 23, 2013 Luckily for everyone, Avengers director (and all-around nerdcore godhead) Joss Whedon is around to make the action figures move like real people.
HitFix September 23, 2013 Do I need to see another episode of this? Probably not. Will I watch it more just to enjoy Spader and see if Red’s motivation is the thi...
New York Post September 19, 2013 He’s [James Spader] magnetic, chewing on the scenery so much that you can’t look away from him.
The Blacklist, though, seems to be setting itself up to be largely a bad-guy-of-the-week show, and the pilot’s first caper is not too pr...
Los Angeles Times September 23, 2013 There’s a more desirable reason to watch a show… and that is the sheer swoony pleasure of watching James Spader chew through scenes and scene...
Hollywood Reporter September 20, 2013 Spader devours the script and steals every scene, basking in the power he has – more than the FBI thinks he has – the audience isn&rsquo...
The Blacklist is both utterly shameless and, in its way, genuinely (if cynically) sophisticated.
Salon.com October 22, 2013 Where the problem lies… is in finding criminals as colorful as Reddington himself.
Variety September 18, 2013 Few series can boast such a compelling central figure.
Newsday September 23, 2013 C’mon, producers. Upend the procedural. Let Spader run loose.
