Through the years, some Netflix titles will take over the stratosphere after their launch. In 2025, these included the long-awaited Season 5 of Stranger Issues, which airs its finale tonight, the headline-making British collection Adolescence, and KPop Demon Hunters, simply to call a couple of. However whereas new reveals and films will all the time generate some buzz, some titles which have been round for years are additionally stacking up some spectacular numbers.
In keeping with FlixPatrol, the 2013 crime drama The Blacklist, which aired for 10 seasons till its remaining season in 2023, was the fifteenth hottest crime present within the first half of 2025. From simply January to June, the collection earned a powerful 24 million views, and a complete of 376.1 million hours. The numbers are actually astronomical, however it reveals precisely what Netflix subscribers are craving.
‘The Blacklist’ Proves That Netflix Wants Procedurals Extra Than Ever
For these unfamiliar with the plot, The Blacklist partly capabilities as a procedural, however with a significant twist. In Episode 1, one of many world’s largest criminals, Raymond Reddington (James Spader), turns himself in to the FBI on one situation: that he solely communicate to rookie FBI profiler, Elizabeth Eager (Megan Boone). Regardless of everybody’s suspicions at first, Reddington shortly proves himself to be an asset to the FBI, with experience in not solely what the most important criminals are as much as, however in how they assume. Over the seasons, Reddington and Elizabeth grow to be a staff, and take down the most important criminals on the earth, aka “The Blacklist,” in addition to uncovering the mysterious connection between them.
However whereas The Blacklist has a singular twist with Reddington’s prison previous and his connection to Elizabeth, the collection is, essentially, a procedural. A collection through which the police tackle dangerous guys one episode at a time, investigating and placing collectively the puzzle items and coming to a decision by the tip of it. As such, the collection is an informal, consolation look ahead to viewers. There isn’t any main drama from one episode to the following, and few cliffhangers in between, making it straightforward for viewers to observe episodes out of order or sporadically with out lacking a beat.
By doing so, the collection has grow to be invaluable for Netflix. In any case, reveals like Stranger Issues or Wednesday are extremely profitable however require extra effort and dedication from viewers. These reveals want extra targeted watching, in addition to information of the mythological world they’re in and all of the previous occasions which have occurred in seasons prior. These reveals take effort and are value it, however The Blacklist requires much less, and can be endlessly entertaining.
‘The Blacklist’ Ought to’ve Ended After This Season
The cop procedural simply stopped making sense after this character’s dying.
‘The Blacklist’ Success Is All About High quality Over Reinvention
The Blacklist‘s easy-watching apart, the collection proves that high quality can stand the check of time. Over its 10 seasons, The Blacklist was a favourite amongst viewers, incomes a median 91% amongst critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 75% amongst followers. In every season, regardless of the formulaic set-up, the collection nonetheless continued to shock and entertain its viewers, with every time extra sudden and high-stakes threats. Seasons 5 and 6, for example, have a 100% rating from critics – a powerful feat for a long-running present.
After all, no point out of the present’s high quality could be full with out highlighting Spader’s efficiency as a ruthless prison with a secret smooth spot. As Reddington, the three-time Emmy winner is an absolute scene-stealer, taking part in a personality who’s as spine-chilling as he’s layered and sophisticated. Unsurprisingly, the function landed him some main nominations, together with two Golden Globe nods. Along with Spader and his trusty sidekick in Boone, The Blacklist, created by Jon Bokenkamp, rounds out the gifted solid with Ryan Eggold, Diego Klattenhoff, Harry Lennix and Hisham Tawfiq.
With all that stated, The Blacklist‘s success on Netflix in 2025 isn’t solely an unbelievable feat, however a glimpse into what viewers are searching for. As a substitute of solely watching bingeworthy reveals with their very own dense, mythological worlds, viewers have been searching for reveals that entertain and have nice high quality however are additionally a straightforward and comforting watch. The Blacklist definitely checks all these bins, and the numbers definitely verify it.
- Launch Date
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2013 – 2023
- Showrunner
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Jon Bokenkamp
