Raymond Reddington isn’t hanging up his fedora just yet. NBC’s crime drama The Blacklist has been renewed for a ninth season, the network announced Tuesday.

Across this season’s first three episodes (which spanned a nine-week holiday break!), The Blacklist is averaging 3.5 million total viewers and a 0.4 demo rating (in Live+Same Day numbers), down 19 and 28 percent from its Season 7 averages. With DVR playback and such factored in, however, NBC reports that the first two episodes amassed a 1.2 demo rating.

During the Jan. 22 winter premiere, Megan Boone’s Liz attempted to kill James Spader’s Red by causing him to perish in an explosion, as revenge for Red murdering Liz’s mother, Katarina Rostova. But Liz’s plan went awry — and not only did she fail to kill Red, but she further damaged her relationships with colleagues at the FBI.

Thus, the upcoming Jan. 29 installment (8/7c) will put Liz herself at the top of Red’s titular list of criminals. (Red, meanwhile, is contending with some serious health issues that have now hospitalized him more than once.)

2021 Broadcast-TV Renewal Scorecard

Launch Gallery

“Liz and Red are going to war,” executive producer John Eisendrath told TVLine after Katarina’s demise. “The death of Katarina makes Liz more resolute than ever about getting answers to questions she’s been asking for seven years. She’s willing to burn every bridge and cross every line in search of the truth. Her resolution, plus all she’s learned from Red over the years about thinking like a criminal, makes her one of Red’s most formidable adversaries.”

TVLine’s 2021 Renewal Scorecard has been updated with The Blacklist‘s pickup. How do you feel about this Season 9 announcement?

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