THE BLACKLIST Saison 04 BEHIND THE BLACKLIST

Harry Lennix:  Adrenline-fueled excitement.  Nail-biting suspense.  A cocktail of the worlds most colorful villains.  After three incredible seasons, fans around the world continue to fall in love with Red Reddington and FBI agent Elizabeth Keen on the worldwide phenomenon The Blacklist.  Hi, Im Harry Lennix.  I play team leader Harold Cooper on The Blacklist.  For the next half hour, Ill be your host for an inside look at one of the worlds biggest TV hits.  Tonight, we sit down for an exclusive conversation with actors on The Blacklist. Then, we turn the tables on the executive producers, locking them in a room with a super fan for a no-holds-barred Q&A.

Troy Heinritz [with Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath]:  Red said your fathers dead.  Tom says Liz, your fathers alive.  Whos lying?

Jon Bokenkamp:  Have you been talking to Spader?

HL:  And, we go inside to unlock the secrets of what lies ahead for the most amazing season yet.  If thats not enough, well enjoy a special sneak peek of the all new season. So exclusive, even I havent seen it yet.   So sit back, relax, and prepare to go Behind the Blacklist with me, your host, Harry Lennix.

HL:  What do you get when the worlds most wanted criminal surrenders to the FBI to pursue and capture 200 of the worlds most elusive villains?  Sprinkle in some amazing action, edge of your seat suspense, and a healthy dose of the most enigmatic criminals ever to grace the small screen, and youve got the makings of an international hit.  Something we call The Blacklist.  Last season was, without question, the most exciting yet with shocking twists that set fans around the world on their heels, including the apparent death of Liz, one of the shows central characters.  Fortunately, Liz is back.  And just as fans around the world breathed a collective sigh of relief, Liz was kidnapped in last seasons thrilling finale.  Folks, as an actor on this show, I can tell you with absolute certainty that you never know what will happen next.  [clip of Kirk telling Liz Im your father.]  Ok.  For three years, fans around the world have had questions.  So we sent super fan Troy Heinritz for a face to face interview to get the answers from Blacklist Executive Producers John Eisendrath and Jon Bokenkamp.  

Troy:  John & Jon.  Thanks so much for having the opportunity to let us come out and talk to you guys.  Because season 3 was probably the best season of The Blacklist so far.  Lets talk about the theory camps.  We have the #daddygate crowd.  Theyre adamant that Red is definitely Lizs father.

John Eisendrath:  I remember in Season 1, Liz says to Red [clip of Liz asking are you my father?] and he takes a moment and he says [clip of Red saying no.] I was like oh my god, its over. This core mystery is just shot. And nobody believed it.  Its amazing to be part of an enterprise that people care enough about to wonder whether what were presenting is real or just artifice and were gonna later tell you the truth.

Troy:  Red said your fathers dead.  Tom says your fathers alive.  Whos lying?  [JB makes zipping motion across his lips]

Troy:  We have #Lizzington.  The shippers.  [definition of shipper flashes on screen as a fan who wants 2 characters to have a romantic relationship].  Do you guys ever cater to the shippers?

JB:  Were aware of them, but it doesnt determine what were gonna do.

Troy:  In the second episode, in Marvin Gerard, theyre in a shipping container, talking about being a ship captain, on a ship.  If youre a shipper, youre like theyre talking to me, the fan.  [counter running at bottom of screen as they show the scenes [ ship count 1, 2, 3] [@ashes452 has this clip available here]

JE:  Its incredibly fun to know that people question every detail including the shipping container which, sadly, Im fairly certain was just a shipping container.  [JB and JE laugh; cut to scene of Liz telling Red I think you would have made a terrific captain and Red laughing as he sips his wine.]

Troy:  So walk with me on this one.  The other third camp is that Red is an imposter.  Hes not really the Raymond Red Reddington that was a Naval Intelligence officer that went off the grid.  The clues are of course, in season 1, he goes and sees the plastic surgeon in Miami [clip].  So then in season 2 we get to the end of the road and Naomis sitting there and this is the woman he was supposedly married to and she says you look a little bit different. [clip].  When we get into season 3, Red is in his own mind and hes reliving this Katarina Rostova  concept. Is, in fact, Raymond Reddington / Katarina Rostova the same person?  

JE:  I love that people take the time to think about these things.  

JB:  I cant deny your idea that Red is an imposter.  Yes, that is a theory that you lay out a good map for.

JE:  Its super fun to guess at and, you know, the truth is even if we said yes to every one of your questions, people will be like theyre lying! Its not true [laughter] The best answers we can give, better than hearing us say it now, are the ones that we give on the show. [Clip of of Naomi saying to Liz Raymond Reddington he is not who you think he is.]

HL:  Just how true to life is this amazing show?  Well we asked legendary FBI agent Brad Garrett to put our show to the test in The Blacklist:  Fact or Fiction?

Brad Garrett:  The Blacklist is real from the standpoint that you could have an informant like Reddington.  They dont tend to fly around in jets and drive expensive cars.  Reddington is ideal.  He is a guy from the world they are going after and he has hooks and connections into them and also has identified them.  I get amused when they send me these scripts for these agents and theyre kicking in doors in some foreign country and I said at least, put somebody in there that would give you authority to kick in a door.  That part is all well and good.  From a reality standpoint, they allow Reddington to do things they would never have authority or get authority to do.  But boy is it fun to watch and if youre in law enforcement its very cathartic because its like boy, Id really like to do it that way.

HL:  Welcome back to Behind the Blacklist.  From her first appearance on the premiere of The Blacklist, FBI agent Elizabeth Keen has undergone an extraordinary transformation from fresh-faced, newly-minted agent to world weary fugitive who has seen the best and worst of the mysterious man who  hasinsinuated himself into the most private aspects of her life.  [clip of Liz telling Red you have ruined my life. But here are answers I need and I cant get them without you. and Red responding And I cant get them without you. And Liz responding So I guess were stuck with each other.]  Now, heres Agent Keen herself.  Megan Boone. Great to see you.

[@ashes452 has this next clip up on her page here]

Megan Boone:  Great to see you!

HL:  I wanted to ask you about the evolution of your character over the last three years.  Whats happened to Liz Keen?

MB:  Well Liz Keen started out this naïve young woman who thought she had a normal life.  Once Reddington came into her life, he revealed a lot of darkness [clip of Red saying what if I were to tell you that all the things youre come to believe about yourself are a lie?]  Those kinds of things are life-altering and she has just matured and grown.  [Clip of Liz telling Red I am not your Lizzy  to control, to be told what to do.]  

HL:  Tom Keen was sent into your life for a certain purpose.  

MB:  Yeah.

HL:  But it seems to have been converted to an actual love relationship.  

MB:  Tom Keen, you know, had all these lies about himself when they first met.  So the relationship that Tom and Liz have now is stronger because theres honesty there. They are, for each other, the first family that either of them has ever known.  [Clip of Tom proposing at the dock & telling Liz in the restaurant in 2.22 that they need to start over with the real me.]

Ryan Eggold:  In some ways, Lizs journey has been kind of opposite of Toms.  She was this really lovely human being who was suddenly thrust into violence and conspiracy and she sort of had to get tougher in a way.  And I think Toms had to get softer.  Hes good at killing guys, and pretending to be someone else. But he has no training on how to be a good husband or a good father and hes really trying his absolute hardest to become the father that he should be.  

MB:  Liz has always had these intangible things that shes fighting for.  And now, with this child, it becomes a much grittier and and fierce fight for her. She wants to have a normal life but the world wont allow that to happen.  And now she has to make a choice about something tangible.  [Clip of Kaplan asking Tom and Liz how far they are willing to go to protect Agnes]

HL:  Last season, just as Agent Keen was settling into her new life, the writers of The Blacklist did the unthinkable.  Or at least thats what they made us think.  Around the world, social media exploded.  We sat down with London-based journalist Stephen Armstrong to learn more about fan reaction to this ground-shaking moment.

Stephen Armstrong:  This time on The Blacklist is one of those moments we almost had a lag.  I was waiting.  I was watching Twitter to see what happened.  And there was this pause while everyone waited for her to come back. And then she didnt.  I think you broke the internet.  And so, when you come back in the next episode and its the funeral they buried her.  I mean they literally buried her.  [Clip of Cooper in the church at the funeral].  What you found afterwards is that people divided into two groups. There were those who thought she was alive and those who absolutely knew she wasnt because they always say youre not dead until youre in a body bag and she was in a body bag.  So thats changed the rules again.  Now you cant believe anyone even when theyre in a body bag. [Clip of Tom saying to Red I cant do this alone then cut to Red saying to Tom shell need protection. Tom replying Only if youre in her life.  I wont let you make the same mistake with her than you made with Liz.]

JE:  Liz Keen came to the crazy decision that the only way for her child to be safe was to get away from Raymond Reddington and the only way that she felt she could successfully do that was to fake her own death.  [Clip of Red saying to Kaplan I saw her die] I hope that the fans appreciated that we took time to have her and Tom try other things a job, moving, and every time they tried, something Raymond Reddington did prevented that from happening. There was really no alternative. [Clip of Red asking Kaplan had it really come to that]

HL:  Shes one of the most intriguing and popular characters on The Blacklist.  Reds accomplice, trusted confidante, and oldest friend, Mr. Kaplan.  Fans love trying to figure her out.  Last season, Mr. Kaplan perpetrated the ultimate betrayal of Red by faking Lizs death and as well all know, no one and I mean no one crosses Red and lives.  [Clip of Red asking Mr. Kaplan what am I going to do with you..]

Susan Blommaert:  I think that Mr. Kaplan knows well that there are consequences for what she does, although I think that she thinks that she does it for the right reason.  I think shes a bit of a mystery.  Shes a woman of many talents and cleaning was one of them.  [Clip from 3.05 in the airport hangar]  

JE:  We have had the most fun writing the characters who are in Reddingtons entourage.  And Mr. Kaplan is singular among them because she is in many ways his closest confidante.

SB:  Its wonderful to play a woman whos competent. [Clip:  My kind of girl as Samar hands over her weapons in 3.10]  Its just not an opportunity that you get often and shes so beautifully written. Im fortunate to have her in my life 

HL:  Welcome back to Behind the Blacklist.  Now, my dear friend, actress Susan Blommaert, shares her Top 3 Mr. Kaplan moments.

SB:  [Clip #3 Meeting Mr. Kaplan] I really have always liked the very first moment.  Coming down that street, shes got a purpose, shes gonna do what she does.  I remember walking through that door, I never even looked at Liz I just went badoom bada and Im going to come in and do this and ok Im done.  [Clip # 2 Mr. Kaplan shoots to kill]   That was the first time I got to shoot somebody on screen.  That was a really really big gun.  Shes serious and shes gonna blow you away.  Youre done.  [#1 Mr. Kaplan says goodbye]  I liked the goodbye to Red after he had been shot.  Its interesting when you see it when I go over to say that goodbye we were not looking at each other.  Its one of those moments where you think if you did look at the person you might not even be capable of feeling what youre feeling at that moment.  

HL:  Weve come to know Red Reddington as many things.  A man of refined taste, self-proclaimed opportunist and ruthless adversary.  [Clips]

JE:  Part of the show is super-dark and it is offset by the fact that Red is a character filled with such joy for life and, you know, has such an enthusiastic embrace for life.  

JB:  The people Red respects the most tend to be the people who feel free to push back and be honest with him.  Glen is one of those people whos happy just to lay into Red. [clip of Red & Glen with the dogs] Mr. Kaplan, Dembe, and oddly enough Aram has sort of become one of those people.

JE:  Red respects people who are earnest and sincere and Arams love and affection for Elizabeth Keen is something that has meant a great deal to Reddington.  [empty grave clip]

James Spader:  For somebody who has experienced death and dying to the degree that he has, in this case I think he was completely ill-equipped to deal with this death.

Hisham Tawfiq:  You have Red, who weve never seen have any moment of weakness, kind of be defeated.  

Stephen Armstrong:  The first episode after Lizs death was completely out of what youd expect from The Blacklist.  And it very much out of what youd expect from Red.  Its Red not being in control.  [There was a woman & her child clip from Cape May]

Spader:  At the beginning of the episode, hes very unsure about how to put one foot in front of another.  Hes lost without really even being aware of it.  

JB:  Now, were seeing this heartbroken Red.  Not only because he lost Elizabeth, but also because hes been betrayed by the person who is probably closest to him.  And how does Red handle this now?  [Clip of Red telling Kaplan I know you were trying to protect her but because of you Elizabeth is in grave danger followed by clip of Kirk with Liz in 3.23 telling her he is her father]

HL:  Coming up the moment youve been waiting for.  The exclusive sneak peek of the season premiere of The Blacklist but first, one might say that much of the success of The Blacklist has hinged on one burning question:  Who is Lizs father?  Is it Red Reddington?  Is it Alexander Kirk?  Watch now as we go Red vs. Kirk.

[clips play with check mark in boxes next to Red or Kirks name title on screen Red vs. Kirk Who is Lizs Father]

[clip 1 Red to Liz in the red dress You have me, and Im not going to let anything happen to you. Marked as Red]

[clip 2 Liz to Red I know you think you care about me, but every time you do something that makes me think that you really do, you do something else that that reminds me that you simply arent capable of it.  Marked as Kirk]

[clip 3 music box scene with Liz and Red marked Red]

[clip 4 Liz asks Red Are you my father? marked Kirk]

[clip 5 Red with Dom Masha was my granddaughter and did you even tell her about me marked Red]

 [clip 6 Kirk with Liz Im your father.  Marked Kirk][Title on screen Who is Lizs real father? followed by clip of Red I wish the answer were as simple as the question seems.]

HL:  Welcome back to Behind the Blacklist.  So how do you top the best season of The Blacklist ever? Watch and learn.  

JB:  Season 4 picks up right where Season 3 left off.  Liz is in some unknown space with Alexander Kirk. Tom is MIA, the baby is gone, Reddington and Kaplan show up in this place in Cuba where Tom and Liz were going to live.  All the pieces of the puzzle have sort of been thrown up into the air and they come crashing down right at the beginning of Season 4.  

JE:  One of the things that we are having fun with in Season 4 is being very specific about what peoples reactions will be to her having faked her death.  [clips show task force members]

JB:  Our whole team, how are they going to grapple with this, how are they going to feel about going back and saving Liz after what shes done to betray them.  [clip of Ressler telling Cooper Liz is alive] 

MB:  Alexander Kirk is claiming to be her father.  And he shows her a whole new world that Reddington was unwilling to show her.  And, what we see is, a huge veil being lifted for her.  In season 4, were starting to really unfold the mythology of the show and actually reveal a lot of the answers about the history of these characters and what their true connection really is.  

Spader:  Theres certainly a great effort on the show to make the present relationship between these different characters on the show compelling in and of itself.  Whats happening right this minute.  And thats a compelling part of the beginning of Season 4.  [Clip of Kaplan saying that poor girlalways in the dark about who she was and why it mattered]   

JB:  Red is faced with the betrayal of Kaplan.

SB:  One of the basic tenets of their relationship was trust. I think theres a little trust problem now.

JB:  Hes got a difficult decision to make.  

JE:  Season 4 has urgency.  Everybody is in full motion and in great peril.

MB:  A lot of energy, a lot of questions get answered. 

Hisham:  Are you getting that adrenaline rush?

JB:  Jumping right back in to the fire 

JE:  Its going to be amazing.  

HL:  And now, without further ado.[the new clip we saw the other day]