The Blacklist Creator Jon Bokenkamp Exiting Ahead of Season 9: ‘I Genuinely Believe the Series Remains Full of Life’
Megan Boone won’t be The Blacklist‘s only major loss ahead of Season 9: Series creator Jon Bokenkamp, who has served as a writer and executive producer for all eight seasons thus far, is also departing.
“I wanted to write you directly to let you know that I’ve made the difficult decision to leave The Blacklist,” Bokenkamp told fans in a tweet on Thursday. “I love this show with all of my heart, and it’s been an incredible journey, but after eight years I feel it’s time for me to step out of my comfort zone, try something new, and explore a few of the other characters and stories that have been crawling around in my head.”
Bokenkamp went on to detail his “mixed emotions” about exiting the NBC drama, adding his gratitude for the show’s devoted fans.
“I am likely biased, but the Blacklist fanbase is not only the most dedicated and ravenous in television, but whip smart and hard as hell to fool,” he continued. “You are the lifeblood of our show, and it’s your enthusiasm that leaves me feeling — more than anything — grateful. I genuinely believe the series remains full of life, creatively strong, and that bright days lie ahead.”
Bokenkamp’s announcement comes just hours after The Blacklist aired its Season 8 finale, which — spoiler alert! — killed off Elizabeth Keen in Boone’s final appearance as a series regular. The episode also dropped the biggest clues yet about Raymond Reddington’s real identity (is he actually Liz’s biological mother, Katarina Rostova?), but stopped short of ever explicitly revealing the truth. TVLine readers gave the finale an average grade of “B-“; read our full recap here.
Ahead of Wednesday’s finale, Boone posted her own farewell to the show on Instagram, and Bokenkamp praised her run on The Blacklist in a tweet, writing, “You have been an incredible collaborator, a tireless partner, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this incredible ride.”
How do you feel about Bokenkamp’s departure from The Blacklist? Tell us in a comment below.
Whew, I haven’t watched in a while but have been keeping up with the recent news (re: MB’s exit). I was thinking the show would try to recreate itself to go on for as long as possible, but with the creator leaving? They should try to go for an even 10 seasons and call it a day.
So if Red is her mother, than she’s a lesbian? Just a few episodes ago he/she was in love with a black woman who got killed.. W T F ?
So? Red felt a much needed human connection with Ann. Doesn’t matter which gender she was born or became.
Its even worse than sick psychoticness now. The writer planned this cut and run from the beginning, its obvious. A cut and run right before confirmation of a character thats sicker than anything breathing on this planet. This whole show was a complete joke to him and an opportunity to force millions of people to support a show throughout with an incredibly twisted sick leftist obsession. Jon Bokenramp is a horribly sick man.
I think it’s clue someone is sick, and that someone is you.
As a degenerate, you lack the self awareness to realize anything, get yourself cured with lead instead.
Your comment was as unoriginal as the series in question… give them a call, maybe they’re looking for writers!
I truly believe it was mistake to kill Liz off.
Most people wanted her to stay dead back in season 3. It was a mistake to keep her for so long…
Agreed, most people wanted her gone seasons ago.
Being a lesbian could be believable… But the FBI having access to his DNA and blood tests and not noticing he’s a woman (which would be super noticable) is what would be an insult to the viewers’ intelligence and make the show too dumb to buy.
i dont understand ,in the flashback Liz had Red dies in Katarinas arms in her Car.
But end of season 1 the clearly show the burn marks on Reddingtons back???how can it be katarina?
I sincerely hope Red isn’t her mother. That’s an insult to my intelligence. Keep it real and believable. I do think Red and Dimbe along with the rest of the cast are strong enough characters to keep the show going as long as there’s good writing. I had lost interest in Keen. I hope the show comes back stronger than ever with some good writing.
NBC should unrenew the show. It served it’s purpose. The story (other that who Red is) is over and without Liz, no one will care who Red is.
It’s time to stick a fork in it.
The only reason why the answer doesn’t matter anymore is because the guy who created the show couldn’t even answer it. Even after 8 seasons and a lead character’s death(and exit) he STILL couldn’t give the answer. Absolute nonsense. 8 years of build up, questions, and he still couldn’t give a direct answer to the question even when killing off the Elizabeth keen character, just more speculation. Good riddance. Hopefully whoever takes over this show will answer the question that should have been answered over 5 years ago.
I think Megan Boone deserved better after eight seasons. She gave eight years to the show and had such a meaningless sendoff.
well from today’s news that came out killing her off might have been the only option and she probably started these negoations the same day she gave notice and now it could give a possible reason of why she missed half the season, as today it was announced megan boone will have her own production company under the banner of stp called twisted sister prodcutions that will have first look deals with her new production company
Please put a period in there at least twice.
I agree!
Absolutely. I stopped watching around season 5 thinking tptb are never gonna give us answers, just drag it out forever. Who knew! I was right! Be there done that. Came back season 8 and still screwing the fans. Shame on you John B you suck!
The series has gotten to a point of ridiculousness.
We’ve been taken for a ride only to be disappointed for the anticlimax.
It no longer matters who Red is or why Elizabeth Keen seems to be so dense as to overreact with trying to kill the only person who seemed to be genuinely on her side.
Episode 22 of Season 8 is the last episode for me.
Got weary of the overly dragged suspense.
Even one of the main characters, and the creator of the series for fatigue.
Same here.
I believe that it’s ‘seasons not years’.
And uncancel Manifest
… and a big Amen to that thought!
Yes for the LOVE!!! I hate when writers cancel a show and leave us hanging but this one was cruel!!! Why would you leave the faithful who have been with MANIFEST since the beginning with ZERO closure?! Just wait til the people on Netflix watching now find out there is no ending….yeah. that was a crappy thing to do.
That is unlikely.
Cal is Keen’s mother.
Who is Cal?
I agree!
I think many people stopped caring about who Red is long before now. Losing Liz didn’t matter, that ship sailed.
Agree
I totally agree. Townsend is dead, Liz is dead, we know that Red is N13. What’s the point no
Still too many unanswered questions!
I think Red makes the show, with his ability to be whatever he needs to be for the episode they are filming. It’s too bad that they had to be mortal enemies at the end, but I never thought they would both ride happily into the sunset. I could still follow the show all eight seasons which is more than I could say for a lot of shows that have gotten canceled, but most of what I like has gotten canceled.
really? they should un-renew the show?
“ok everyone, you actually don’t have jobs now. Stuart wants it unrenewed”
I hardly watched this season with Megan missing from many episodes…and now Bokenkamp leaving!?! I don’t plan on watching next season.
Just cal it a day with this show, already. There’s no point.
I hope that doesn’t affect the quality of the show…I LOVE the Blacklist!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The series is only “full of life” because of him! There’s only one season left – cantcha hang in there for one more????
Agree 100%. Love Him also!! He is the whole show!!❤️
I can’t agree with u here. Spader is the reason the show goes on. Don’t get me wrong, the writers are amazing, but without James I don’t see this show making it 4 seasons
Right on!!!!! Why leave when u have gone this far with it? Were really at a point where we all are left standing with our mouths open Doesn’t make sense. Guess you and big many theory guy have eaten too well in these years. We do get sick of too much good even if we don’t want to admit it. You were one of the few highlights of my week! I don’t want to see Kardashian’s, bachelor’s, lost islands etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I enjoyed the suspense of Blacklist but then even the good in real life does not gone n forever but it would have been nice to have closure and I have been dragged on long enough too. But I did love you!!
How long realistically can the show even exist on NBC with its current ratings? Do they drag the show out till its under 2 million viewers?
Like many shows.. this has an international audience.. It has low ratings because of how it has been scheduled.. Sounds like NBC didn’t really care… They shot a complete full season which is one of the few shows that did… That tells me that they want episodes… If the show didn’t make money.. it wouldn’t exist.. bottom line… 1 season shows like Manifest or Debris may be better shows now but they don’t make any money because there is not worldwide audience for them…
Manifest has three seasons….
I’d hate to see such a beautiful mind depart from such a vigorous television show. But needless to say “the show must go on” and in doing so it would be nice to see someone else with so much optimism such as Bokenkamp. I believe the only predecessor to accomplish this task would be Arturo Perez-Reverte considering the excellent job that was done with the Queen of the South TV series
Must agree with you on The Queen of the South… Loved this show and loved the ending.. I figured it would be the end of everyone and done! It was nicely done… Hoping they end Blacklist with the same class.
Agreed, Queen of the South was a great show and it had one of the best finale that I have ever seen. It was perfectly done.
It’s very sad that Jon Bokenkamp is leaving The Blacklist. He created it and he should stay until the end. He says he has other ideas in his head so why doesn’t he use them for this show. It’s wrong and it’s a copout for him to do this. He should be ashamed of himself. I have no respect for him.
He said that he has ideas rolling around in his head about for the characters.is he going to make a spinoff? I am lost.
Kane’s obsession with finding the truth became very boring! Demba (Tawfig) is great, Lennix (Harold Cooper) is a terrible actor. I for one am glad Kane is not coming back! She is not a very good actress!
James Spader is fantastic! All of the rest of the regular cast were good & all of the evil guys were believable.
I wish we got more Dembe talking scenes. The actor is kinda just there in a lot of episodes. If they can do one thing next season it should be to use him more.
I totally agree why is he a fixture?
I agree. Dembe, Mustabia, and Red made the show. I’ve been screaming for someone to off Liz for years. I’m not sure if it’s the character or actor but I dislike her. Let Coopers boss take his place and run the team. I like the blacklister of the week format just fine without Liz whining and crying half the episode.
Agree.
With or without Liz makes no difference.
This is Spader’s show. Without him blacklist doesn’t exist.
I’d guess the writers are my #2 favorites. Not sure it will lose anything with Jon gone, as long as Spader is left free to be Red, and Dembe remains a part of that duo
Finally someone says it. She had become to whiny to watch. Good that she is gone. The show is all because of Spader. As long as Red and Dembe are there, it can go on.
She whines and cries way too much! Cooper and her are the worst in acting. Red and Dembe, along with the Blacklister of the week makes the show.
Kane? It’s Keen. You probably didn’t watch
Keene had to go. Everybody I know that watched the show hated her. She was an incompetent agent and even worse crook, but no matter how dumb she was everyone fawned over her. Even as a wanted fugitive they’re still calling her, “Agent Keene.” Good riddance, James Spader is the whole show and you could kill everyone off as long as Red remains it will be worth watching.
Well, as it turns out Red is dying, as we now know… So the final season is going to be about him mourning losing Elizabeth, and doing everything possible for Agnes. Doing right by her.
Kane was a wonderful actor. Also all the others. I’m very disappointed that she left the show.
It’s Dembe and Keen.
Sad,this series is mind bending
I do believe we will see the series come to an end,after next year
The series by this point should be working toward a final arc, an endgame of sorts. This is why I think NBC should make an upfront final season announcement with the show so they can wind down the story.
The show has far exceeded its ” sell by date” The never ending secret gambit has alienated many of us who fell in love with this show. The finale still left the audience in doubt about whether Liz figured it out or not. The fact that ” Red” could be Liz’s mother is not just ” jumping the shark”… it’s stomping it into a bloody pulp. Now that the writer is bailing out of the show, I think it’s time to close the iron door on this once riveting show.
Yep, I gave up a while back. I got so tired of the teasing of reveals and then it not being a reveal. I watched the last two episodes of this season when I saw Liz was being written out and there was the “promise” of some sort of answer to Red’s identity. I can’t believe they killed her off and it’s STILL ambiguous! I have thought Red was her mother for a long time now. But, they should not have killed Liz and not let her know who Red is for sure. It would have been an interesting story spin for the audience to know who Red is even if they wanted the other characters not to know. If Liz and the audience knew and then Liz died, there could have been some interesting things they could do with that. This show is done. They need to have an endgame in sight. I always wanted to come back to see how it ends. But, I don’t think I even care to do that anymore when it is finally over. This show used to be appointment viewing for me. I almost always watched it live. There is such a thing as drawing it out too much. Good for those who still want to watch it. I guess it’s good it’s continuing for them. But, many of us gave up a long time ago.
It would have been a better ending if she died in his arms knowing that he was either her mother or her father, but someone who loved her dearly, though I think the montagne of memories as she lay in her arms dying might have been her way of figuring it out.
I totally agree with you. It would have nice to know who Red is. They keep dragging it out. And seriously, her mother. I don’t care to watch anymore
To all the commenters calling for the show to end now – that’s your take and you’re entitled to it, but not everyone feels the same way. There are a lot of us who love James Spader and the rest of the cast and want the show to continue! Although I’ll admit it’s hard to see exactly how that will happen since Red’s raison d’etre was just killed off. I mean, going forward what’s the point? That doesn’t mean I don’t want the Blacklist staff to try to craft another compelling season.
To all the commenters calling for the show to continue – that’s your take and you’re entitled to it, but not everyone feels the same way. There are a lot of us who love James Spader and the compelling mystery the show has crafted. But the thing about a mystery is that at some point it needs to be answered. Although I’ll admit it’s hard to see exactly how that will happen since Red’s raison d’etre was just killed off. I mean, going forward what’s the point? Even in this episode where they appeared to answer, they left themselves enough wiggle room that they can reverse course again. This show has proven they won’t actually answer questions until the very final episode of the show. So it needs to be announced as the end so that the show will be forced to give us definitive answers to the show’s central mystery.
plus now we found out a possible reason why megan boone missed half the season, as deadline reporting that she now has her own production company under sony teleivision productions
She now thinks she’s big time and intends to prove it with a production company?! 🤣😂. She’s still a low level actress who most fans wanted to stay dead back in season 3. We finally got our wish. I’m sorry Meghan but a production company is not going to make you a better actor; it will only drain your bank account. Whatever. Honestly , even though she’s not a great actor, the character and the fans deserved a better send off and ending of E Keen. Just don’t go getting too big for your britches Boone.
Red as transgender is absurd, no way going under the knife can conjure up incredible strength, brilliance, charm and masculinity without a brain transplant. So glad Liz (Nany Drew reincarnated) and that unnecessary sister is eradicated, now next season restore Red and the team to magnificent. Liz was a drag trying to be agent but really the girl next door. and the creator ran out of creativity, if he thought we could be convinced that Liz was Reddington’s equal.
All the more reason to have wrapped it up last night with a “No…*I* am your mother” moment, Red riding off into the sunset and Keen and Agnes departing happily to Europe.
Is she really dead? I think they left it where she can be brought back to life in a couple of seasons to really learn the truth about Red while he goes and keeps his organization going and helping the FBI.
She was shot through the heart (🎶 and you’re to blame. 🎵 you give love a bad name) – oh sorry, She was shot through the heart so yeah, she’s dead.
😀😃🙂
That show is phenomenal but would be nothing if not left in the brilliant acting skills of James Spader!
What a powerhouse of an actor.
Really, is there anything he can’t do.
Also commands to an awesome supporting cast including the actor who plays Denver!
I’ve been part of this show since it came on TV. I love it and I hate!!! My sister in New York and my friend in Goldsboro have a weekly discussion trying to figure out Red’s next move along with Liz. Thank you for the series
Wonderful creative and entertaining writing. Not sure anyone else will be able to foil shoes. Sorry you are moving on
With Liz gone I’m actually excited and looking forward to season nine now, where I wasn’t before. I’m guessing one, maybe two more seasons is all it’s got left though.
Totally agree. Terrible actor and even worse character. The first half of season 8 had the best episodes in a loooong time, but then Keen returned to ruin it. She was just annoyingly stupid to the point it breaks the third wall and made the show unwatchable!
And now they want to make it look like Red is a woman. The FBI have had access to his DNA and blood tests, something like that would be dead obvious. One again, the writers have decided to make the show too stupid to be believable. So it’s for the best that Boone and Brokencamp are leaving. Season 9 may be the best yet!
8 years was a super long run and I don’t understand why keep it going. It’s way past its appointment viewing peak and it’s gotta be costly to produce. It’s taking up space that could be used to develop something with upward potential.
Very flat season finale! Predictable Megan demise. Hopefully Redington it’s not Boone’s mother
so disappointed that we still do not know.. I am done with it if Red had a sex change and for 8 years we had no clue?
She was the costar of the show, and a good one by the way. What happen Holyrood, how could you make so many similar mistakes this days. This could kill the show. The same thing happens too in other shows as, NCIS all of them. Come on do your jobs agents.
“a good one”? There was only one star in that show and it’s pretty obvious if you watched it. Maybe the first for seasons she was decent, but ever since, she totally held it back. The best episodes were the ones she was absent from, by far!
But is Liz really dead? On this show things are not always what they appear to be.
Well I didn’t know they were having a new season. Well I thought that Red was or could have been Liz’s Mother, but Red having a affair that threw that off so maybe he had backed his self in a corner.
I haven’t watched any of this season yet, but will on HULU. In the long run, I think it would have been better off for Spader and Shatner to do a spin-off of Boston Legal, their own firm, new cast, and still have David Kelley at the helm. But as Reddington would say, “that’s just me.”
you won’t find it on hulu you either find it on peacock or netflix
Boston Legal was the best. I am a huge Spader fan!