Midseason Report Card: Is ‘the Blacklist’ really the best new network show?

When “The Blacklist” first started to get traction in pilot season, the early buzz that was coming out from NBC and various reports was that this was going to be one of the biggest hits for the network in some time. Those who saw the pilot loved it, and there was reason to be hopeful for the future. It was procedural enough so viewers could handle missing a week, but also serialized to the extent that there was a reason to be hooked. Also, it had James Spader signed on as the leading man giving a great, vintage James Spader sort of performance.

So did the show live up to the hype this fall? Almost entirely so. While it wasn’t perfect, this was the best new drama on network television, and there is no reason to doubt that it will continue its winning ways moving into the second half of the season.

The shining stars -Without a doubt, the biggest one is simply Spader, who makes Raymond Reddington into the perfect sort of enigmatic TV villain. You want to keep watching him, and you want to even feel for him … even though he is not someone who makes that easy all of the time.

But, this show is not just the Reddington hour. You’ve got some great performances as well from Megan Boone and many others, and the writing is intelligent and surprising. If that reveal about Reddington not being Keen’s father is true, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the most obvious answer to the “who is Red?” question is not that he’s her father.

What needs works – Mostly with this show, it’s a little more about character building. Until the midseason finale, we really only felt like we knew about Elizabeth, Tom, and Red. We’re starting to find out more about Ressler and the others at the FBI. Also, there were a few episodes that aired during the middle portion of the first 10 that were weaker, mostly because they were almost entirely standalone and inconsequential. There were times like in “The Stewmaker” we didn’t mind, because we had a great villain, but this is the sort of story that is almost dependent on you having a great adversary on the blacklist, and that’s risky.

Overall – “The Blacklist” is the best thing to happen to NBC in a while. During a year where most of their scripted TV is falling, this is a shining star. It’s so dominant now on Mondays that they are even confident enough to air it without “The Voice.” So long as the quality stays the same in the spring, NBC has a serious winner on their hands. Grade: A-.

Photo: NBC