Cast members (front L-R) Diego Klattenhoff, James Spader, Megan Boone and (rear L-R) Ryan Eggold and Harry Lennix participate in a panel for "The Blacklist" during the NBC sessions at the Television Critics Association summer press tour
Cast members (front L-R) Diego Klattenhoff, James Spader, Megan Boone and (rear L-R) Ryan Eggold and Harry Lennix participate in a panel for "The Blacklist" during the NBC sessions at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, California July 27, 2013. Reuters/Phil McCarten

NBC’s hit series “The Blacklist” is schedule to return on Thursday, Sept. 24, with Season 3. The new season is expected to introduce a new antagonist, probably someone powerful related to the cabal, as the previous season killed three main antagonists Fitch (Alan Alda), Berlin (Peter Stormore) and Tom Connolly (Reed Birney). Also with Liz (Megan Boone) and Red (James Spader) on the run, the show’s structure is likely to undergo some change and may no longer follow the procedural format.

The opening episode of “The Blacklist” is likely to see Agent Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) and his team trying to determine Liz and Red’s whereabouts and figuring out a way to catch them, rather than catching or killing the most wanted on Red’s blacklist.

“The Blacklist” started with Raymond Reddington, or Red, the most wanted criminal on FBI’s list, surrendering to the FBI voluntarily in the pilot episode and offering a deal -- he would help the FBI catch the most dreaded criminals in exchange for immunity from prosecution -- with the condition that he would only communicate via rookie FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen. He kept quiet about his motive and why he chose Liz. The biggest mystery of the show continues to be how Liz and Red are related and why he cares about her.

Over the course of two seasons, “The Blacklist” kept adding new mysteries and new antagonists. The Season 1 revealed that Red surrendered to FBI to use their resources and manpower to find out the identity of his unknown enemy who was targeting his businesses, interests, people loyal to him and more. Liz’s husband Tom was working for this enemy called Berlin. Red shot Berlin in Season 2 mid-season finale after Berlin's high-tech collar bomb killed Fitch.

The Season 2 of “The Blacklist” solved a number of mysteries, including the Fulcrum, how Red and Tom were related and what happened on the night of the fire. The season finale of Season 2 saw Liz remembering the night of the fire and discovering that Red was her sin-eater, not someone who was using her to serve his own ulterior purpose. Liz, after shooting Connolly, remembered that she had shot her father on the day of the fire because he was hurting her mother during an argument. Red had blocked her memory to protect her. “The Blacklist” Season 2 ended with Liz joining Red on FBI’s 10 most wanted list. They were heading to an undisclosed location in a van.

“The Blacklist” Season 3, according to creator Jon Bokenkamp, will see Red continuing to struggle with the sense that he failed Liz. He told The Hollywood Reporter, "[This storyline] opens and takes us into a new chapter where she is no longer just an FBI agent -- they have a real journey that they're about to go on. They're entering the third season as fugitives."

You may write to the writer at a.shrivastava@IBTimes.com.au, with your comments and feedback.

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