Is Ryan Eggold leaving The Blacklist as Tom Keen after fall finale? NBC statement

Is Ryan Eggold leaving The Blacklist and the role of Tom Keen behind? It was the question at the center of almost everything entering the fall finale.

While for the longest time we felt as though Tom’s life-or-death crisis, (which was teased in the season premiere) was going to end with him making it out of this situation alive, that didn’t happen. Instead, Ryan Eggold is done with the show and Tom is gone. The shock here is that the producers actually went there after so much hype. The surprise was that there was no surprise, but it was beautifully done in an episode that really kicked you right in the heart.

In a statement, Eggold confirmed his exit with the following:

I feel incredibly lucky to have played a role with such a uniquely dynamic evolution. I’m grateful for the time spent working with Megan, James and the entire cast. I’m thankful to the incredibly hard-working crew for consistently making the show better. Sony and NBC have both been deeply supportive, conscientious and adept in managing the show. Mostly I’m indebted to Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath and the writers for continuing to elevate the show creatively and always impassioning me to further explore the true nature of this character. I will miss this TV family immensely and diligently look forward to the opportunity to embody new characters and tell new stories.

Here are a couple more important statements to go along with that.

John Eisendrath, executive producer – “Of all the words I’ve written on the show, two of the hardest were when Red told Liz: ‘Tom’s dead.’ Nooooo!  We’ll miss the intensity, range and just plain bad ass-ness Ryan brought to the part.  Won’t come as any surprise — but he went down swinging!.”

Jon Bokenkamp, executive producer – “I have such tremendous respect for Ryan and everything he brought to The Blacklist.  The character of Tom Keen was a blast to write, and that’s only because we knew Ryan could pull off whatever we threw at him.  That said, we always knew Tom’s exploits would one day get him killed — the Blacklist won’t be the same without him.  Looking ahead, Tom’s death upends the show in a way we’re very excited about, and our next episode is unlike anything we’ve done before.  But it won’t be the same around here without Mr. Keen.  As for Mr. Eggold, I think he’s gonna be just fine — he’s gonna have a long and rewarding career.”

The Blacklist returns from its hiatus on Wednesday, January 3, and from there the show can try to pick up the pieces a little bit. This is a game-changing move, one that alters the show in many different ways. We’re very interested in seeing what Eggold does next — this exit gives him time to do a wide array of other things if he so chooses for the 2018-19 season.

What did you think about the Blacklist fall finale, and are you going to miss Tom Keen on the show? Share in the comments below!

(Photo: NBC.)