THE BLACKLIST: John Eisendrath on Season 2’s Scheduling

THE BLACKLIST was one of the biggest breakout hits of the 2013-2014 seasons, and when it’ll face a several month break (the series will go on hiatus starting in November), and then return to one of the biggest audiences a television show can get: the post-Super Bowl slot.

During the Television Critics Association press tour, NBC held a showrunner panel, and THE BLACKLIST executive producer John Eisendrath talked a little bit about how they are handling their production schedule in season 2…

“First of all, we are very pleased we got to stay on Mondays for the amount of time we’re staying on. We weren’t certain that was going to happen. Being on and off the air is partially a function of just how long it takes to produce every episode. Last year, where we had more episodes on consecutively…that’s part of the problem of scheduling shows that take 9, 10, sometimes 11 days to do. The air dates get so tight that sometimes you only get seven days from the time you end up finishing filming an episode to the time it airs. So, if you have to that every week, week after week, it becomes very difficult — particularly if there are effects in the show — to have it done. So, that’s part of the reason to have a built-in break.

“And I think part of the obstacle we have to face is coming up with a big enough moment at the end of what is in this case our eighth episode to carry people forward. And NBC has made the judgment — and I agree with them — that fans of the show are invested enough to stay with us until we return. And obviously the fact that we get to return on the Super Bowl guarantees that people will be there when we come back.

“It gets back to telling the right story, and the momentum in the proper place. And again, we’re trying to imagine our eight episode story that will allow the show to be done in not just a way that we wait until episode eight to have that moment, but it’ll seem organic enough, and will build a reaction enough, that it’ll earn the break in between.”

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Are you excited for THE BLACKLIST season 2?

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