James Spader, The Blacklist
Will Hart/NBCNBC's The Blacklist ended Season 8 with its wildest twist ever: continuing on without FBI Agent Liz Keen [Megan Boone], the show's point-of-view character. The thriller somehow managed to keep its many secrets close to the vest of its natty three-piece suit even after criminal mastermind Raymond "Red" Reddington [James Spader] revealed his head-spinning true identity to Agent Keen, paving the way for a ninth season. Season 9 picks up two years after the events of Season 8, with the task force continuing to track down Blacklisters with help from Reddington, who's as enigmatic as ever. Season 9 is taking a hiatus until Dec. 9, so in the meantime you can catch up with some other great shows that feel a bit like The Blacklist.
The series below include action shows with a combination of serialized and purely episodic storytelling, a dynamic like the one between Red and Liz, a task force with funny sidekicks, and The Blacklist's most important ingredient, James Spader himself. This list reminds us of the time we were eating breakfast octopus on the Adriatic coast with the most beautiful Romanian textile heiress...
Looking for more recommendations of what to watch next? We have a ton of them!And if you're looking for more hand-picked recommendations based on shows you love,we have those too.
Jaimie Alexander, Blindspot
If you like The Blacklist, chances are you watchedBlindspot, too, but if you didn't, it's definitely worth checking out. It's one of the shows most likeThe Blackliston this list, in terms of overall vibe [and title]. It was even paired withThe Blackliston NBC's schedule on several occasions throughout both shows' runs [Blindspotended in 2020 after 100 episodes]. LikeThe Blacklist, it's a show about an improbable ally helping the FBI solve crimes, in this case a tattooed amnesiac ass-kicker known only as Jane Doe [Jaimie Alexander], who was found in a duffel bag in Times Square. Like The Blacklist and the "Who is Red Reddington?" question, the show gets a lot of mileage out of untangling Jane's mysterious identity. It's a twisty and action-packed conspiracy thriller with a quirky sense of humor.
Michael Emerson, Jim Caviezel;Person of Interest
Giovanni Rufino/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.The Blacklist's core idea of a new bad guy each episode is shared by CBS' very underrated Person of Interest, in which an advanced artificial intelligence spits out the social security number of a person predicted to commit or be involved in a crime to a pair of dudes who investigate the situation and then act accordingly. Those two dudes are the Odd Couple pairing of computer nerd Harold Finch [Michael Emerson] and former secret op John Reese [Jim Caviezel], who forge one of TV's best bromances as the seasons go on. But beyond the basic procedural format, Person of Interest, from Westworld creator Jonathan Nolan, explores artificial intelligence and government corruption better than just about anything else. It's also disarmingly funny, features a great LGBTQ storyline, and features an adorable dog named Bear who will rip your throat out.
Jennifer Garner, Alias
Norman Jean Roy, ABC via Getty ImagesIf you're looking for another show with Russian spies, a shadowy criminal empire, and a complicated father/daughter dynamic, look no further than Alias. This action classic was created by J.J. Abrams and ran for five seasons between 2001 and 2006. It stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, a CIA agent working undercover as a member of an elite criminal organization called SD-6. Her father, Jack [Victor Garber, one of the only actors who can match James Spader for idiosyncratic charisma], is also a CIA agent who's infiltrated SD-6, so espionage becomes a family affair. Along the way, Sydney falls in love with her handler Michael Vaughn [Michael Vartan] and wears many, many wigs.
Matt Bomer and Tim Dekay, White Collar
USA Network, USA Network/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesLike The Blacklist, this is a "crook helps law enforcement" show. FBI Special Agent Peter Burke [Tim DeKay] makes a deal with con man Neal Caffrey [Matt Bomer], a brilliant con artist the agent put behind bars, to do a sort of work-release program to help Burke and his team catch other white collar criminals. The six-season USA series has a similarly fun tone, a mix of standalone case-of-the-week episodes and season-long arcs, great guest stars, and a crack team helping the two main guys [shout-out to Mozzie [Willie Garson], Neal's partner in crime and law enforcement].
Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller, Elementary
JEFF NEIRA, CBSIf you love watching a quirky guy be one step ahead of everybody all over New York [The Blacklist barely pretends that it's in D.C., where it's set, and not NYC, where it actually films], tuning in to this show should be Elementary. Jonny Lee Miller stars as a modern version of Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant but addiction-plagued English police consultant who offers his expertise to the NYPD alongside Dr. Joan Watson [Lucy Liu], who's originally hired to be his sober companion but eventually becomes his apprentice as it becomes clear her medical knowledge is useful and she has a talent for investigation. Their mentor-mentee relationship is sort of like Red and Liz's, without all the parent/child complications. It ran for seven seasons on CBS and wrapped up in 2019.
Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice
USA's breezy seven-season action drama has a lot in common withThe Blacklist. It has an episodic case-of-the-week format and a quippy sense of humor, as well as broader season-long arcs about conspiracies that will be easily digestible for any Blacklist fan. The charmingJeffrey Donovanstars as Michael Westen, a CIA operative who is suddenly and without explanation blacklisted from the agency and sent home to Miami, where he has to work as an unlicensed private investigator to make ends meet while trying to figure out who burned him and why. It boasts arguably the most entertaining supporting character of any show on this list,Bruce Campbell's well-connected, wisecracking intelligence operative Sam Axe.
William Shatner and James Spader, Boston Legal
The best part of The Blacklist is James Spader's performance as Raymond Reddington. He has a magnetic energy that's completely unique, and it's impossible to imagine the show without him. Boston Legal, the legal dramedy he led before The Blacklist, is very different than our beloved Blacklist, but no less Spaderific. He plays Alan Shore, a brilliant lawyer working for Denny Crane [William Shatner], the firm's founder and his best friend. Spader won three Emmys for playing Alan Shore -- once for The Practice, from which Boston Legal spun off, and twice for Boston Legal, which ultimately ran for five seasons on ABC.
Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, Billions
Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIMEBillions, Showtime's drama series about the ongoing personal and professional conflicts of attorney Chuck Rhoades [Paul Giamatti] and hedge fund titan Bobby Axelrod [Damian Lewis], is the show least like The Blacklist on this list. It's hard to compare them on a plot level, but there's definitely a certain feeling both shows have. There are a few things contributing to that vibe, like the New York filming locations, the color palettes, the use of a lot of the same actors [at least seven people have appeared on both shows, including Amir Arison and Harry Lennix], and the unpredictable sense of double-crossy fun the shows share. Red Reddington just kinda feels like he could be a character on Billions. Like Bobby Axelrod, he sees and knows all, he just happens to do violent crimes in addition to white collar ones.
The BlacklistSeasons 1-8 are available on Netflix. The current season is streaming on Peacock.