Crime drama doesn’t get any better than The Blacklist, and after eight years, the sight of Raymond Reddington still thrills the fans. The show’s eight-season was full of bombshells about Reddington’s relationship with Katarina Rostova and Elizabeth Keen’s past although it ended without revealing Red’s true identity once again, but the mystery is what gives the show its big hit status. NBC renewed it for a ninth season but it will be some time before it hits the screens. Elizabeth Keen won’t be a major player in the ninth season either as she was killed off in the finale of the eighth season. Jon Bokenkamp, the creator also announced his exit meaning Season 9 will be a totally new Blacklist, which might be more interesting than most fans think. As you wait for the Concierge of Crime to come back, you could binge on these 10 and stay entertained.
Cypher
What happens when the FBI’s best crypto analyst discovers that a piece of paper found at a crime scene is actually a hit list and he is also on it. Will Scott was fired from the FBI for multiple mistakes but he gets a lifeline when the FBI discovers a piece of paper with encrypted messages that no one can decipher except him.
When called on the scene, he takes a photo of the message, which is illegal, but the crime scene explodes anyway so he remains one of the few people in the world with that message and also the only one who can help the FBI decrypt is. However, he finds himself in the crossfire as the bad guys and the FBI both need his help and his life and that of his family is on the line. Will Scott finds himself in the same place as Elizabeth Keen, having to choose between what is legal and what is right.
Prodigal Son
How does the life of the son of a serial killer look like? Malcolm Bright was the son of Dr Martin Whitley, a surgeon who was also a serial killer and now in prison. Malcolm works as a profiler for the serious crimes unit of the NYPD helping them catch other serial killers, but he can’t figure out everything on his own, so he is forced to consult his serial killer father to profile some of the killers he is trying to catch.
Things go wrong from time to time as the family is caught up in Martin Whitley’s history and Malcolm is forced to make some decisions that cross the line to save the ones he loves. The show was cancelled after the second season but not before providing a perfect alternative for any The Blacklist fan.
Blindspot
The FBI finds a naked woman in Times Square dumped inside a bag with no recollection of who she is or what her previous life looked like. The tattoos on her body turn out to be perfect crime solvers for the FBI but the mysteries surrounding the woman uncover bigger threats to national security than the task force could imagine. The task force is forced to adopt her as they solve crimes and put together the many pieces surrounding the life of Jane Doe. It is a story of love and betrayal just like The Blacklist with lots of mystery and shaky allegiances.
Homeland
Can a CIA agent who is struggling with bipolar disorder save America and the world? Homeland is the story of Carrie Mathison, an agent who despite being volatile and unpredictable, carries the weight of the whole nation on her shoulders. She risks everything including family and sanity to fight off the worst of threats facing America all over the world from Afghanistan to the White House itself. Her loyalty is not black and white though as she has to cross lots of line becoming a wanted person more times than she gets credit for her dedication to the nation. She has the loyal support of her long-time confidant Saul Berenson who rises to the level of a National Security Advisor but Carrie has to betray him more times than he can forgive. The entire series will keep you on the edge of your seat just like The Blacklist.
FBI
How much crime can a single elite task force of the FBI in the New York Field Office solve? Well, if you have watched The Blacklist, then you have an idea where this leads. Special agents Maggie Bell and Omar Adom are partners in the unit just like Elizabeth Keen and Donald Ressler in The Blacklist. Raymond Reddington is the only thing the Dick Wolf series doesn’t have but you won’t be short of some scary criminals in the show. CBS renewed it for the fourth season back in March, and with the many positive reviews, it may be the next hit crime drama after The Blacklist.
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds went down as one of the longest-running crime dramas on CBS and in the US lasting over 15 years on the screens until February 2020. It is one of the most versatile TV shows you will ever see and every Blacklist fan will love it. It is all about profilers who work for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit to match crimes to criminals and solve cases. Lots of mystery and investigation are what made every episode worth watching, but love and betrayal are never far behind here either. It is like having another Reddington task force, except one that investigates all crimes rather than ones brought by a criminal mastermind.
The Sinner
Some people consider The Sinner to be a horror series but it is more of a crime drama. The show follows the life of the troubled detective Harry Ambrose as he tries to understand the mental state of murder suspects. He investigates mysterious murders and interacts with the suspects, sometimes too closely that he gets in danger trying to understand their reasons why people committed murder or why their darkest thoughts may cause them to kill people. The series investigates everything from serial killers to innocent people that that cant explain their reasons for committing murder.
Mindhunter
This is another thriller where serial killers are used to catch other serial killers but this time around, it is just two FBI agents and a psychologist at the FBI training academy in Quantico. Wendy Carr is the psychologist that helps agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench to interview serial killers and seek their help to solve open cases that the FBI can’t solve. It is set back in the 70s but as you will realize, crime back then wasn’t any different from that in Reddington’s murky world. Things get personal sometimes and the hunters become the hunted and all the fun comes to life. Netflix hasn’t given a comment on when the third season will be out but the first two were just too thrilling to miss.
Killing Eve
Eva Polastri gets bored with her work in MI6 which won’t allow her to bring the change she wants to the world and thus decides to join an undercover task force that hunts down a secret organization of assassins. Her main focus is a female assassin named Villanelle whose bosses use to kill people that don’t seem to be related in any way. The agent and the assassin finally meet but instead of taking down the assassin, Eve falls in love with her and their lives get intertwined in a rather awkward manner. They soon realize that they have similar enemies and that the assassin is not exactly the devil she expected when she started her hunt. Killing Eve is the best British version of The Blacklist on the screens with the fourth season expected in early 2022.
Manifest
Now to some supernatural drama which is also full of thrill and crime just like The Blacklist. It all starts when a plane that disappeared over five years ago and passengers and crew presumed dead suddenly reappear and the passengers and crew haven’t aged a single day. The members of the crew and the passengers seem to have been intertwined in some way as they all see visions that seem to help two agents solve or even prevent crimes before they happen.
Things are grim though as most of them find it hard to fit back into a world that forgot about them and families that have divided opinions about them. While mystery and supernatural are at the core of the show, investigation and crime-solving are the catch and the series, though cancelled after the third season, is just awesome and still one of Netflix’s most-watched shows.
