The Blacklist season 9 premiere: The ratings without Megan Boone

Last night’s The Blacklist season 9 premiere was the first formal episode without Megan Boone in the cast. Sure, she’s been absent from certain episodes in the past, but this situation is different. Elizabeth Keen is dead. With that in mind, we have to prepare ourselves for a totally new era of the series.

Now that we’ve spelled that out, let’s raise another question: How were the ratings without Liz on board? Were there still viewers curious in the next chapter of the story?

New The Blacklist video! Take a look below at all of our thoughts on the show’s big premiere. Once you take a look at that, remember to SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess on YouTube! We review the show every week, so of course we don’t want you to miss that.

For the time being, it feels like the best way we can describe the premiere is a mixed bag. “The Skinner” drew a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is about on par with the show’s season 8 average. It’s also an improvement over the season 8 finale, which aired at an unusual time in the summer. In total viewers, meanwhile, it drew just under 3 million — a slight decrease from the season 8 average, though also an increase from the finale.

If the ratings hold at this spot, it continues to put NBC in a difficult spot when it comes to assessing the show’s future. The Blacklist is one of their lowest-rated scripted shows and yet, that hasn’t stopped them from renewing it before. Our hope at this point is that we could get a season 10 and with that, a proper final season; however, they will be the ones to make a firm decision here down the road. It’s far too early to tell.

What do you think about the ratings for The Blacklist season 9 premiere?

Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, stick around — there are other updates ahead and we don’t want you to miss them. (Photo: NBC.)