James Spader Goes Bald and Bad for `The Blacklist’, Did He Pull It Off?

“Blacklist,” starring James Spader as a criminal mastermind that bares more than a passing resemblance to Hannibal Lecter from "The Silence of the Lambs," premiered last night on NBC.

In "The Blacklist," James Spader plays an irredeemable monster, according to the FBI Special Ops Team he surrenders to. James Spader is Raymond "Red" Reddington, a charismatic ex-government agent who disappeared off the grid and was playing both sides in an international spy game where he was selling secrets.

James Spader surrenders to the FBI offering to share what he knows, but he’ll only share it with Liz Keen, played by Megan Boone from "Law & Order: Los Angeles", who’s on her fast day working at the FBI as a profiler on her first day at the job.

"Why involve me?" There's nothing special about me!" she asks. And James Spader’s character reassures her "Ahhh, I think you're very special. I'm gonna make you famous, Lizzie."

The critics are saying that "The Blacklist" works and that James Spader, whose worked on the TV shows "The Office" and "Boston Legal," has never been better. In the first episode he has already displayed a threatening and magnetic character.

According to ZapToIt, “As for Spader, it looks like he's set to give a top-notch performance all season long. Even if the show plummets in quality after its promising pilot, he will be reason enough to keep watching.”

The Wrap says “Spader plays his scenes with relish. It’s fun to watch. So are the stylish action scenes.”

The Daily News says “Even if you're not a James Spader fan, you can have a wonderful time watching him carry NBC’s intriguing new drama `The Blacklist.’”

Mike Cecchini of Den of Geek says"With James Spader starring as the show's primary protagonist/antagonist, Raymond "Red" Reddington, a criminal mastermind so formidable that, were it not for the lack of a brightly colored costume and ridiculous nickname, would be right at home in the pages of DC or Marvel comics, matching wits with Batman or Spider-Man. Oh, wait...that's right...Spader IS going to be a supervillain soon enough, playing Ultron, in 2015's Avengers sequel. Something tells me that Red Reddington is going to be a little more nuanced, though."