This real-life criminal was the inspiration behind The Blacklist (& not many fans know about it)

The Blacklist, now among Netflix's most popular crime thrillers, originally premiered on NBC back in 2013. The thriller has grown popular in recent years, owing much to its brilliant plot, where one of the most sought-after criminals surrenders himself to the FBI and offers to help them with the insider knowledge he's gathered in his business, but on his conditions.

What makes this thriller even more enigmatic is the fact that the character Raymond "Red" Reddington, who has charmed audiences over the 10 seasons, almost making us forget that he's a calculating criminal, is actually based on a real-life criminal, James Whitey Bulger. Here's everything we know.

James Whitey Bulger, the real-life inspiration behind The Blacklist's Raymond Reddington

James Spader's Raymond Reddington was majorly responsible for The Blacklist's success, as his performance kept the audience invested throughout the decade-long run of the show. The dichotomy of being charmed by a most-wanted criminal who turns into an asset for the organization he spent years eluding had a tight grip on the audience.

In The Blacklist, Reddington was a Navy officer who turned to international crimes and later surrendered to the FBI and helped them by giving insider knowledge about criminals, some of whom even the FBI didn't know existed. His motivations were mysterious throughout the show's run, adding to his character and drawing in the viewers. The fact that his character was based on a dangerous Boston criminal, Whitey Bulger, only added to his character's appeal.

Whitey Bulger, one of the FBI's most-wanted criminals, was a big name in the organized crime scene in the latter half of the 20th century. He was a notorious criminal until he turned into an FBI informant. However, this setup did not last too long, and he was captured and convicted in 2013. Reportedly, he offered insider information, but it was a leverage he was using to eliminate rival gangs while protecting his criminal enterprise. Bulger's character was a major inspiration behind Reddington's character, as revealed by John Eisendrath, The Blacklist showrunner and executive producer, in a conversation with Collider:

"So, the idea was, “Well, what would happen if a man like Whitey Bulger turned himself in and said, ‘I am here. I have some rules that I want you to follow, but if you follow them I will give you the names of people that I have worked with, during the 20 years that I have been a fugitive.’” So, there was a real world influence that affected the shaping of the show that was already being thought about...It was a fortuitous turn of events, where the idea for a show was being considered, and then here comes a real life story that helped give it some shape."

Similar to Bulger, Reddington in The Blacklist was also manipulating his list to get particular rival gangs eliminated, but each criminal that he helped the FBI find had a deeper and mysterious motivation behind it.

All 10 seasons of The Blacklist are available to stream on Netflix!

Trending

Keep following Soap Central for more such pieces!

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback