Is ‘Blindspot’ season 2, episode 8 new tonight? Why hiatus might be a good thing

Let’s get this out of the way first: There is no new episode of “Blindspot” airing on NBC tonight. Why? Blame the World Series. When the schedule was created, NBC clearly was hedging their bets that the World Series would not run seven games; we understand the logic, but it’s happened. They don’t want any part in that, and understandably so.

As for what this means for the show … we think it’s a positive. Maybe we’re wearing rose-colored glasses (or, in the case of this show, rose-colored tattoos?), but we think that for the sake of the rest of the season, there are positives to taking a week off now.

1. This season started earlier than most – Because of a special preview following “America’s Got Talent” earlier this season, we’re looking at a show now that is already almost a third of the way through its season. We’re just now at the start of November. If we got a new episode tonight, that’d mean that at some point, we would be gearing up for a longer hiatus later. Would you rather wait one week for a new episode to air, or several months when a week can be taken off of the latter?

2. Ratings – This is a show that is venturing into bubble territory this year. It’s not exactly golden anymore in the numbers. It’s coming off of a series-low 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and is down a good 30% from the season 1 average. That number is even more drastic when you compare the first seven episodes of season 2 to the first seven of season 1. If you aired an episode tonight, it’d only plummet that down further. Yes, we know people have DVRs and you can watch via the internet, but those don’t help to monetize the show you love nearly as much.

3. Catch-up – Hey, sometimes viewers fall behind. We don’t think that it’s so much of a bad thing that people have a little bit of time to get back with the program. It’s a busy fall! Also, “Blindspot” airs against some other great shows.

In the end, relax — “Blindspot” will be back next week, and you’ll get a chance to see more of what happens with Jane, Weller, Nas, and everyone else then. If you do want to watch something to prepare for it now, you can do so by heading over here and seeing a promo. (Here’s a hint: Somebody will be missing.)

If there is a way you think NBC can avoid the World Series problem in the future, such as avoiding scheduling new episodes at this time altogether, we welcome you to share in the comments! (Photo: NBC.)