Created by Jon Bokenkamp, ”The Blacklist” is a crime television series that follows the life of Raymond Reddington, a high-profile criminal who was formerly a United States Navy officer. After eluding the police for decades, he decides to voluntarily surrender to the FBI. He has a list of the most dangerous criminals he has compiled over the years and uses it as leverage for his immunity from prosecution. On top of that, Raymond demands to work exclusively with Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.
“The Blacklist” features some of the most talented actors in the business, including James Spader as Raymond Reddington, Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler, Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen and Harry Lennix as that of Harold Cooper. Looking at their realistic and dramatic performances throughout the series, one might wonder if the story and characters are based on true events. Let’s find out if ‘The Blacklist’ is rooted in reality in any way!
Is The Blacklist Based On A True Story?
‘The Blacklist’ is partly based on a true story. To be more specific, this crime thriller series is inspired by an infamous Boston-based supercriminal, James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger, who was convicted for his involvement in 11 murders, among other things. After appearing on several federal agencies’ 10 most wanted lists for more than 20 years, Raymond Reddington, also known as Red, turns himself in, but on the condition that he choose who he works with.
Elizabeth Keen, a fresher Quantico profiler, is the chosen one as Red promises to deliver several dangerous criminals of which no branch of law enforcement is aware. However, to say that Whitey Bulger and Raymond Reddington are exactly the same would be incorrect. Indeed, Reddington in the series surrenders, while Bulger, on the other hand, was simply captured by federal agents. Although not every detail is the same in the TV series or the characters, Bulger was the main inspiration behind the birth of the mysterious Reddington character.
Over the years, there have been quite a few TV series and movies that follow a similar plot to “The Blacklist,” but the series that comes closest to this list is “The Endgame.” Much like “The Blacklist”, “The Endgame” also involves the leader of a criminal empire turning himself in to the FBI while demanding to work closely with a particular agent. That said, many movies and shows have loosely based their lead characters on the notorious mobster-turned-FBI informant; some of them are ‘Brotherhood’, ‘The Departed’, ‘Black Mass’ and ‘Whitey: United States of America vs. James J. Bulger’.
The creator and producers revealed that “The Blacklist” was inspired when Whitey Bulger was captured after more than two decades of failed attempts by various federal agencies. In a 2013 interview with Collider, the crime thriller’s executive producer and showrunner, John Eisendrath, said, “So the idea was, ‘Well, what if a man like Whitey Bulger surrendered and said, ‘I’m here. I have rules that I want you to follow, but if you follow them, I’ll give you the names of the people I worked with, during the 20 years that I was a fugitive .
Eisendrath added, “So there was a real-world influence that affected the shaping of the show that was already thought about. How can you put someone you don’t trust at the center of a show about finding criminals? And here is a real-world example of such a person. It was a serendipitous turn of events, where the idea for a show was considered, and then here’s an actual story that helped shape it.
James Spader, who plays Red, also had something to say about his character. As noted in The Hollywood Reporter in their 2013 Comic-Con coverage, Spader revealed, “I’ve done a bit of serial work in the past, and the little I knew was that you better to choose to play a character that will last, [one] which you may be curious about over a long period of time.
The actor further added, “The questions will go unanswered for a while, not just for the audience but also for me. That character looked like that. That guy was such a weird mix of someone who is sometimes dangerous and scary but also compelling, and part of that is his sense of humor, so considering the aforementioned point, it’s quite clear that the original concept of “The Blacklist” is heavily inspired by the leader of the organized crime and FBI informant, Whitey Bulger.
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