Liz Keen is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
JON BOKENKAMP:Exactly where the last season left off.
We have plenty of things that were juggling right now.
Credit: Peter Kramer/NBC
Its like the immediate aftermath.
So, yeah, immediately after.
Whats Lizs mindset when we pick up with her?
That is a big question mark out there.
Whats happened with this child?
What is Kirk doing?
I think any new parent would be just like, Oh my god?!
What does Kirk want with Tom?
Tom is seen as a threat and somebody that Kirk wants to dispose of.
At the end of season 3, we had said Kirk had ordered, Get the kid.
Kirk has zero interest in Tom Keen, and in fact probably sees him as a threat.
He is in the trunk of a car.
I wouldnt say more than that.
He does not find himself in a good position when the season begins.
What lengths will he go to find Liz?
Will he team up with Red?
Thats one of the interesting dynamics of the show now is that everyones fragmented.
They didnt quite make it [through the wedding].
They didnt quite say, I do.
How is the team dealing with the truth that Liz is actually alive?
We were looking at a scene [recently] that was dealing with just that.
They all really developed strong and unique points of view.
I would just say its unexpected, but yes, its a very complex situation to be in.
Theyve all been played whether they wanted to or not.
This was never part of their job.
Its not something they signed up for.
It has nothing to do with catching blacklisters.
This is now about one of their own.
Theyre going to have to look inward and decide how far they want to go to bail out Liz.
Alexander Kirk is purporting to be Lizs father.
Should we actually believe hes telling the truth?
I think hes going to make an incredibly compelling [argument].
He is going to show her things that Reddington has either skillfully avoided or not discussed.
He has his own set of truths that I would certainly believe in.
So, yes, I think we should believe him.
I think we should take him at his word.
It is certainly not a trick.
What does he want from Liz?
Her husband, Tom, hes willing to murder.
Its a very precarious situation shes in in terms of how much does she want to let him in?
Will you finally explore who exactly Red is to Liz this season?
I dont know how to answer that.
Im holding firm to that promise, and James would articulate that.
Youre going to have to wait to the very end to really understand the depth of the relationship.
Were really going back to that core, simple, emotional question.
Lotte Verbeek is returning as Lizs mother this season.
What might we learn from her return?
I think Lotte Verbeek was so good in the episode Cape May in the immediate aftermath of Lizs death.
Its a really interesting coloring for the show in filling out answers.
We believe her to be dead at this point, but could she be alive?
Yes, absolutely she could be alive.
As far as the world knows, she is dead.
ItsThe Blacklist, so I suppose anything is possible.
How will the first half of the season set upBlacklist: Redemption?
Redemption, we dont know exactly when it will air, but we know it wont be until midseason.
Were going to feel our way through that.
Well see how that develops.
Right now were questioning whether shes his mom.
Yeah, I think we want to answer that incredibly quickly.
I feel like that is canon in the embedded episode where we met Scottie; episode 22 last season.
Its a secret that Tom knows that shes not aware of, and thats a different dynamic.
I dont think the paternity issue is going to have nearly as much relevance in that show.
Its a bit of a different animal.
Its a little more of a spy show.
Its a little more fun, sexier.
We think ofThe Blacklistas like a crime drama, whereas thats a little bit more of a spy show.
It shares specific DNA, but it really is its own animal and will be its own show.
I think it needs to stand on its own.
Somebody should be able to watch that show without having ever seenThe Blacklist.
Theres obviously a question of why Tom will leave Liz forRedemption.
Is this a case of their quest for answers about family ultimately driving them apart?
Its an incredibly tricky situation that weve written ourselves into.
We knew where we were going to go with it, but are we really doing this?
I have a kid.
We know that, in some way, those two characters are going to have to drift apart.
That is story that is yet to be revealed to her.
Its going to be really interesting to see how we handle this situation.
Were still finding our way.
Are there any returning faces you’re able to tease coming from the new season ofBlacklist?
Theres an incredibly awkward and difficult story to tell of Mr. Kaplan.
She betrayed Red in what some may consider to be unforgivable way.
Weve seen how he handles betrayals in the past.
Its fun to diverge from that.
What themes do you plan to explore this season?
Betrayal is huge, and it plays on a number of different levels for a number of different characters.
Maybe this is of no surprise, but secrets.
And can you move forward from it?
Whats next for Ressler this season?
People may be surprised by the way that Ressler handles this betrayal.
Its fun writing for Diego.
How about with Cooper?
Well the guys the rock.
Hes a father figure in another way.
Cooper is just this emotional rock for the team and hes the foundation.
How about for Aram?
Aram, again, secrets.
I think Aram might have a secret or two that we might not expect.
What about for Samar?
Betrayals and how does she handle what Liz has done?
What does this do to the task force?
The Blacklistreturns Thursday at 10 p.m.
