With 'The Blacklist' Season 8 looming large as a constant reminder that this is the last time we will see Red and Liz on the screen, the need for a spin-off of the NBC crime drama has never been more. But what a lot of people still don't know is that there was already a spin-off in the history of the long-running parent show. Anybody remember 'The Blacklist: Redemption'? Wonder whatever happened to that show? No? Well, you can't be blamed. 'Redemption' ran only for a far than impressive debut season that NBC decided to can just after that isolated stint; the reason being its viewership compared to a still chart-topping original series.

When did 'The Blacklist: Redemption' Premiere?

Premiering four years ago in 2017, 'The Blacklist: Redemption' first aired on February 23 at 10 pm only on NBC. Perhaps it was the 'Chicago' franchise's stellar ratings after two spin-offs that spurred NBC to decide they could make the same work for 'The Blacklist'. Or it was the massive ratings and viewership the original show had raked in, leaving audiences mesmerized by the chemistry between the show's leading duo — Megan Boone's Elizabeth Keen and James Spader's Raymond 'Red' Reddington. In the last eight years, the FBI agent and former crook turned their lead resource have caught one titular outlaw after the other while enemies have constantly targetted them.

What is 'The Blacklist' about?

The final season of the show presents to us the dilemma Liz faces when her dead KGB mother Katarina Rostova returns to spite her against her trusted Red. The drama also piques surrounding her relationship with fellow agent Donald Kessler (Diego Klattenhoff) while she continues to be a single mother to her daughter. With all of these loose ends expecting to be tied as Red's health comes to an arc closed, nothing would be better to know somewhere in another timeline their story lives on. Sadly, when it was attempted by NBC, surrounding Liz's now dead husband Tom Keen, things were more of a miss than hit for the network.

What was the plot of 'The Blacklist: Redemption'?

Following another successful franchise, CBS's 'NCIS' format, NBC spun The Blacklist's spinoff into its original character's relatively less significant, significant other. The story of Redemption followed Tom Keen with The Blacklist's original actor for the role, Ryan Eggold reprising his role as the Covert operative. His personal Red happens to be Susan 'Scottie' Hargrave, the brilliant and cunning chief of a covert mercenary organization played by Famke Janssen. Keen teams up with Hargrave, who's a pro at solving problems that are too dangerous for the government. And even though their's was a win win partnership, they didn't manage to win their viewers' hearts the way 'The Blacklist' did.

Who was in the cast of 'The Blacklist: Redemption'?

Janssen stars as Hargraves, the head of Halcyon Aegis' Grey Matters branch, a covert mercenary organization. Eggold of course is Keen, her son and a skilled operative. Quite like Liz and Katarina, if you ask us, only if Katarina wasn't a self-serving psychopath and actually cared for Liz. And helped her solve cases, not add to her woes, of course. The cast of 'Redemption' also sees Edi Gathegi as Matias Solomon and Tawny Cypress as Nez Rowan, both mercenaries. Adrian Martinez played Dumont, a brilliant computer hacker while Terry O'Quinn starred as the founder of Halcyon Aegis and Keen's father, Howard Hargrave. The show also stars Theodora Miranne as Kat Carlson, Scottie's personal assistant, and Dan Amboyer as Daniel / "Trevor", Scottie's frequently visited male prostitute who later dates Kat. The original show's Harry Lennix also made a guest appearance through the season. 

Why was 'The Blacklist: Redemption' canceled?

Although the show premiered the original's signature Thursday night time slot, 'Redemption' couldn't rake in more than an average 1.2 rating and 6.3M viewers. And this was far more abysmal than the original show that had premiered in 2013 and still continued to work wonders for NBC. Even with Boone's Liz drifting in and out in a recurring arc, the show couldn't go on for longer than a year. Although this was the most recent cancellation among many for independent studio Sony, after they had also produced and canned the debut time travel drama 'Timeless' which garnered a shockingly massive fanbase in its short run.

Is there a new 'The Blacklist' spinoff coming?

As of now, there is no news of another spin-off in the works. Looks like this will be the last time we ever see Spader's prolific and suave Red on the screen, so hold on to your episodes when 'The Blacklist' returns with its final set of episodes of Season 8 on Friday, January 22, at 8 pm, only on NBC.

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