If the recent exits from NBC’s The Blacklist have made you a bit nostalgic for seasons past, this news about the upcoming 10th season should make you happy (and perhaps hold you over until its midseason premiere).
When the NBC drama returns, a new character is coming in: MI6 intelligence officer Siya Malik, daughter of CIA agent Meera Malik (Parminder Nagra), according to TVLine. Meera was part of Red’s (James Spader) special task force in the first season, with her murder, at the hands of an assassin, coming in the finale. There aren’t too many details on what brings her daughter into the mix on The Blacklist, though according to the report, she “will arrive to the task force in pursuit of answers about her mother’s work and death.” There is no casting news yet for Siya.
This new character with ties to the past comes as The Blacklist has said goodbye to a few notable cast members in recent seasons. Megan Boone, who played Liz Keen, exited at the end of the eighth season. Liz was killed off, and for Season 9, they jumped forward three years.
Then, at the end of Season 9, two more series regulars departed: Amir Arison (who played Aram Mojtabi) and Laura Sohn (who played Alina Park). Their characters were written out in such a way that they could return, with Aram taking time away (and mentioning he might take in a Broadway show, a nod to his role in The Kite Runner) and the pregnant Alina going on medical leave.
We’ll have to wait and see what bringing in Siya means for those who will be part of Season 10: Red, Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff), Dembe Zuma (Hisham Tawfiq), and Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix). This blast from the past (in a way) is also coming as we can’t help but wonder, with the drama entering its 10th season, how much longer the series will continue. Final seasons do tend to include callbacks to the beginning, after all. Could this be a sign of that, or might bringing in Siya be back about breathing new life into the show?
The Blacklist, Season 10, Midseason, NBC