{"id":286536,"date":"2021-06-29T16:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/"},"modified":"2021-06-29T16:00:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T13:00:57","slug":"ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"#Ask Matt: Spoiling the &#8216;Blacklist&#8217; Finale"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35a32d9d0e7\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35a32d9d0e7\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/#Upstaging_the_Finale_and_More_Thoughts_on_Blacklist\" >Upstaging the Finale, and More Thoughts on Blacklist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/#Not_Laughing_at_Kevin\" >Not Laughing at Kevin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/#Not_Amused_by_Dating_Game\" >Not Amused by Dating Game<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/#How_Tough_a_Sell_Is_Manifest_Post-Cancellation\" >How Tough a Sell Is Manifest Post-Cancellation?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ask-matt-spoiling-the-blacklist-finale\/#And_Finally_%E2%80%A6\" >And Finally \u2026<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Ask Matt: Spoiling the &#8216;Blacklist&#8217; Finale<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/the-blacklist-megan-boone-season-8-1.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div> <em>Welcome to the Q&amp;A with TV critic \u2014 also known to some TV fans as their \u201cTV therapist\u201d \u2014 Matt Roush, who\u2019ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today\u2019s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there\u2019s always closed-captioning.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won\u2019t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it\u2019s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to <\/em><em><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"9effedf5f3ffeaeadeeae8f7f0edf7fafbecb0fdf1f3\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/em><em> (or use the <\/em><em>form at the end of the column<\/em><em>) and follow me on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on many Tuesdays and Fridays.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Upstaging_the_Finale_and_More_Thoughts_on_Blacklist\"><\/span><strong>Upstaging the Finale, and More Thoughts on <em>Blacklist<\/em><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>Why did Megan Boone announce her departure from <em>The Blacklist<\/em> before the finale aired? It took a lot of tension out of the episode because you knew she would be the one not <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earing next year which *SPOILER* meant that Reddington would survive. It wasn\u2019t announced until after the episode aired that creator Jon Bokenkamp would be leaving as well. Why didn\u2019t they do the announcements together? It would have made the season finale much more impactful and suspenseful to watch. \u2014 <em>Tenille<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> I can see that this would be aggravating, which is why I often advise people NOT to seek out stories about their favorite shows at critical times if they\u2019d prefer not to be spoiled. There are very few TV secrets successfully kept nowadays, but in this case, the actress choosing to put her farewell post out there before the episode even aired was a decision made between her and her PR team, and I\u2019m the last person who would know why they felt it was so urgent they couldn\u2019t wait until fans saw Liz\u2019s presumed death scene. But in the bigger picture, for the female lead and the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> creator to bolt simultaneously gives fuel to speculation that next year could or should be the last for <em>The Blacklist<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Comment: <\/strong>I\u2019m glad I bailed on <em>The Blacklist<\/em> years ago. Tuned into the penultimate episode and Season 8 finale that kinda-sorta confirmed the fact that Reddington is Liz\u2019s mom. In my opinion, the show should have ended with this season. With NBC axing so many bubble shows this year, what keeps <em>The Blacklist<\/em> immortal? The Season 9 renewal would have been better spent on a 4-to-8-episode Season 3 of <em>Zoey\u2019s Extraordinary Playlist<\/em> on Peacock. \u2013 <em>Brian<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> Can\u2019t really argue with that reasoning. But the reason <em>Blacklist<\/em> survives when so many others don\u2019t could have something to do with longevity becoming its own self-fulfilling prophecy. NBC has stuck with it this long, meaning an afterlife in syndication, streaming and international sales, so why not a little longer? Since moving the show to Fridays, the ratings haven\u2019t been what they used to be, but that\u2019s the case with just about everything, and as we\u2019ve seen with NBC and long-running franchises, they can be amazingly loyal to shows that have become brand names.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Comment: <\/strong>A quick observation on Standards and Practices: I was watching <em>Law &amp; Order<\/em> on Sundance and the word \u201cbanging\u201d was bleeped from the phrase \u201csome broad I was banging.\u201d This was followed by a cut to commercial, with a promo for <em>Kevin Can F**k Himself<\/em> where the heroine flips a double bird to the camera. My head hurts.<\/p>\n<p>As for <em>The Blacklist<\/em>, I gave up years ago expecting them to pay off the never-ending teases and just watch for the joy of James Spader\u2018s performance. But if they don\u2019t read that damned letter the first episode of Season 9, I\u2019m out. \u2014 <em>Rick C<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> That disconnect between censoring content in a rerun and what\u2019s being advertised on behalf of a sibling network is sort of sadly amusing. (Sundance is a fairly progressive channel, albeit ad-supported, and I wonder if that <em>Law &amp; Order <\/em>syndication package came pre-censored to avoid broadcast sensitivities.)<\/p>\n<p>And point taken on <em>The Blacklist<\/em>: James Spader has always been the best reason to watch.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_Laughing_at_Kevin\"><\/span><strong>Not Laughing at <em>Kevin<\/em><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>I just wondered if there were any plans to get rid of the laugh track on <em>Kevin Can F**k Himself<\/em>, as I have sort of enjoyed the show, but if they keep the laugh track, I probably will not be able to watch it. It\u2019s <em>really <\/em>intrusive, and there are big laughs when the show is not the least bit funny. I tried to send feedback directly to the show or the network, but I can\u2019t figure out how to do it. \u2014 <em>Janice P<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> AMC Networks has a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amcnetworks.com\/contact-us\/\">direct contact line<\/a>, so you could try that. But you\u2019re missing the point, such as it is. The laugh track is meant to be intrusive and annoying, because what they\u2019re parodying in those scenes is the worst sort of laugh-track-laden sitcom, making the contrast even more obvious in the more realistic scenes involving Allison in her non-sitcom world. If the Kevin scenes were even remotely funny, it might help. But they\u2019re not, and as I noted in my review, the problem (among many) with <em>Kevin<\/em> is that it\u2019s both a bad sitcom and a drab drama, and calling the comedy portion a parody doesn\u2019t excuse how painful those portions are to watch.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_Amused_by_Dating_Game\"><\/span><strong>Not Amused by <em>Dating Game<\/em><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>Can you tell me why the stupid show <em>Celebrity Dating <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a><\/em> gets a prime-time slot when the great shows <em>All Rise<\/em> and <em>Rebel<\/em> are canceled? It should be on Bravo or the Game Show Network. I watched for 10 minutes and had to turn it off. \u2014 <em>Jean<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> I wouldn\u2019t defend a vapid show like <em>Celebrity Dating Game<\/em> even if I had the words (and I don\u2019t), but silly and inexpensive summer filler like this has nothing to do with network decisions involving more costly scripted programming that they feel is underperforming, rightly or wrongly. This was a very tough season for shows on the bubble, and as the networks continue to struggle with declining real-time viewership and ad revenue, we\u2019re likely to see more corny and cheap TV filling the void. Not a good look.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Tough_a_Sell_Is_Manifest_Post-Cancellation\"><\/span><strong>How Tough a Sell Is <em>Manifest<\/em> Post-Cancellation?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>In the past, a lot of sci-fi \u2018myth-tery\u2019 series were canceled after just one season (<em>VR-5, The Visitor, Invasion, Surface, Point Pleasant, Emergence<\/em>, to name just a few). Most answered key questions and resolved central mysteries before being forced to sign off. But none have ever been rerun that I know of. <em>Manifest<\/em> went three infuriating seasons without revealing answers or resolving anything. But it did reach the critical three-season mark of having enough episodes for syndication. What are its chances? How likely is any network (even a streamer like Netflix) to pick up reruns of a show that left all its storylines up in the air? And if \u201cnot likely,\u201d could this lack of rerun revenue signal to network heads that they should find ways to give closure to their series? \u2014 <em>Maurice H<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> That\u2019s an intriguing question, one that\u2019s mostly impossible to answer because of how quickly the industry is changing. I assume you\u2019re asking out of idle curiosity since your discontent with <em>Manifest<\/em> would hardly make you the target audience for reliving your frustration with a syndication replay. I\u2019d think this would be a hard sell in syndication because of the genre, its serialized nature, and the fact that it never paid off its central mysteries. Maybe Syfy would give it a shot, but otherwise, the best bet is an afterlife in streaming. The first two seasons are still in Netflix\u2019s Top 10 \u2014 making it even more curious that they didn\u2019t rescue it, although that\u2019s not their priority these days \u2014 and while the third season is currently streaming on Hulu and Peacock, I\u2019d be surprised if once those windows expire that the third season wouldn\u2019t find its way to Netflix, regardless of the lack of resolution.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"And_Finally_%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><strong>And Finally \u2026 <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Question: <\/strong>Is there any possibility that some forward-thinking Hollywood executive would consider bringing a new and improved version of the George Peppard vehicle <em>Banacek<\/em>? \u2014 Steve O<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Roush:<\/strong> Would a reboot of a 1970s private-eye series really be forward-thinking? I loved the randomness of this suggestion, because there were so many higher-profile spokes of NBC\u2019s \u201cMystery Movie\u201d wheel: <em>McCloud, McMillan and Wife<\/em> and of course <em>Columbo<\/em> (which I would argue should never be revived, much like <em>The Rockford Files <\/em>\u2014 and they\u2019ve tried with the latter \u2014 because of the iconic nature of the original star).<\/p>\n<p>Seriously, though, because <em>Banacek<\/em> is lesser known, reviving a show and a hero that had a sense of humor about itself wouldn\u2019t be the worst idea. In the bigger picture, I\u2019d like to see a network try the \u201cmystery wheel\u201d format again, rotating its series on a weekly or monthly basis. Something like that could air year-round with fewer episodes per series, and that might be refreshing.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s all for now\u2014and until after the July 4<sup>th<\/sup> holiday. Remember that we can\u2019t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to <span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"2647554d4b4752526652504f48554f4243540845494b\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/span> or shoot me a line on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush), and you can also submit questions via the handy form below. (Please include a first name with your question.) Happy 4<sup>th<\/sup> of July!<\/p>\n<p><strong><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1-RAe_ksGG-QQ6ei0MT6ZKi2ImbkHs0xjVWvhDItBATw\/viewform?embedded=true#start=embed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"\/><\/span><\/span>Loading\u2026<\/iframe><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1002174\/ask-matt-megan-boone-leaving-blacklist-manifest-celebrity-dating-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Ask Matt: Spoiling the &#8216;Blacklist&#8217; Finale&#8221; Welcome to the Q&amp;A with TV critic \u2014 also known to some TV fans as their \u201cTV therapist\u201d \u2014 Matt Roush, who\u2019ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today\u2019s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":286537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/the-blacklist-megan-boone-season-8-1-1014x570.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}