The Blacklist is one of the most popular crime-drama shows of the past decade, having lasted ten seasons with the brilliant James Spader in the lead role. In the series, Spader played Raymond “Red” Reddington, a notorious criminal hunted down by the FBI who turns himself in for unknown reasons and becomes an informant.
The series is a deep dive into the world of some of the most dangerous and clever criminals in fiction. As a result, it shouldn’t surprise fans to learn that its basic premise was based on a real-life most wanted criminal. In an interview, showrunner John Eisendrath revealed how the series drew inspiration from a real criminal, and here is what he had to say.
The Blacklist showrunner John Eisendrath revealed the real criminal who inspired the series
John Eisendrath served as an executive producer and showrunner on the hit crime-drama series The Blacklist. The series was created by Jon Bokenkamp and premiered in 2013. Ahead of the show’s premiere, Eisendrath sat down for a chat with Collider, where he discussed various aspects of the series.
During the interview, Eisendrath was asked about the inspiration behind the show’s premise which the showrunner confirmed was inspired by one of the most notorious criminals in American history. Eisendrath stated:
The idea was well, what would happen if a man like Whitey Bulger turned himself in and said, ‘I am here. I have some rules that I want you to follow, but if you follow them I will give you the names of people that I have worked with, during the 20 years that I have been a fugitive.’
In his comment, Eisendrath referenced James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr, a real-life organized crime boss who operated in Somerville, Massachusetts, for several decades until he became a fugitive in the 1990s and was arrested in 2011.
Eisendrath explained that the show’s core premise was born from the fictional idea of a criminal like Bulger turning himself in and working alongside the FBI. Interestingly, Bulger was reportedly an FBI informant (via History.com) in the 1970s, similar to how Red works with the organization after he surrenders.
John Eisendrath explained how The Blacklist writers approached James Spader’s character
From Eisendrath’s words, it is clear that Whitey Bulger served as the primary inspiration behind the character of Raymond “Red” Reddington. As a result. the showrunner was asked about the thought processes of criminals that shaped the show’s writing.
I do think that one of the incredibly fun things about working on a show like this is that you are trying to imagine how a criminal would look at things.
Eisendrath made the above comment, admitting that the writing team did try to think like a criminal when writing James Spader‘s character. At the same time, the executive producer revealed that while there was a real-world influence behind the core premise, the show itself was mostly fictional.
Hence, it is safe to say that the writing team approaches the character of Red from a fresh perspective instead of simply continuing to draw parallels with his real-life counterpart. The series certainly benefitted from this approach in the long run as Red is arguably one of the most distinguishable fictional criminals.
The Blacklist is streaming on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
