#When will it kick off in New York?

We know now that The Blacklist season 9 is premiering close to the end of October, but what about filming? When’s that going to kick off?

As it turns out (and just like with the premiere), you’re going to be waiting for a while. In a new Instagram Live (which you can see below), cast member Amir Arison made it clear that filming should begin in September — things are always subject to change, so you should know that far in advance.

Have you watched our new The Blacklist video all about Reddington’s illness? Then remember to watch that below! Once you do so, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess on YouTube — there are other updates coming that you don’t want to miss.

So why such a long wait, especially since so many other shows are already kicking off production now? One of the major reasons may be that unlike many shows over the past year, The Blacklist did end up filming a full 22-episode order — that meant that they kept filming until early June. If they were to kick off production either late this month or in early August, the cast and crew would have almost no break at all. That wouldn’t leave much time, either, for pre-production to start preparing things in advance. Because production periods are so intense and include so many long days, filming is hardly your typical 9-to-5 job. It requires a pretty lengthy period of recovery after the fact just to ensure your life feels balanced.

While there’s no official news on the episode count as of yet for season 9, we’re hoping once again that it is 22. Arison notes that he hasn’t seen any scripts yet, so it’s hard to tell at present just what is going to happen next for Aram, Reddington, or any other character. The only cast member who may know many of the secrets is James Spader, and that is due to his executive-producer credit that he has on the show.

Related – The Blacklist is moving to Thursday nights!

What are you hoping to see on The Blacklist season 9?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! After you do that, stick around to ensure you don’t miss any other updates. (Photo: NBC.)