The Blacklist
★★★★
SKY MAX/NOW, WEDNESDAY 11 MAY, 9PM
The enduring charisma of James Spader (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) goes a long way towards explaining the success of this thriller series, which kicks off its ninth season tonight. The show is also awash with surprising twists and has proven itself all too willing to kill off major characters. When we rejoin the action, one such character has been dead for two years, and super-slippery crim Raymond Reddington (Spader) has gone AWOL after parting ways with the FBI task force. Before long, though, everyone decides to band back together and renew their original mission: to take down dangerous, vicious and eccentric Blacklisters, with the team led by Reddington himself. Cue a new string of deadly enemies, dark conspiracies and shocking betrayals.