A year after The Blacklist lost one of its leads, Megan Boone (who played Liz Keen), the NBC drama will once again be facing a new season with a major change, as Amir Arison (who played Aram Mojtabi) and Laura Sohn (who played Alina Park) have left as series regulars, according to Deadline.
“I have been so honored to play Aram Mojtabai for 9 years on The Blacklist,” Arison said in a statement to the outlet. “It is not lost on me how lucky I am to have been able to work and evolve with a role for 9 years with this extraordinary cast, crew, writers and producers. I could not pass up the opportunity, however, to fulfill a childhood dream of being on Broadway playing ‘Amir’ in The Kite Runner with a stage adaptation that is both breathtaking and timely.”
Arison, who recurred in Season 1 and has been a series regular since Season 2, went on to note that he received support from the Blacklist producers, studio, and network and since Aram was not killed off, the Season 9 finale will not necessarily be his final episode. In fact, executive producer and showrunner John Eisendrath expressed just that wish in his statement to Deadline: “We wish him well and hope he can return to reprise the role for some very special episodes next year.”
“Story-wise, it feels so organic with the events of this past season to take this step, and I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome,” the actor concluded his statement. Aram told the task force his plans to “take some time away,” including, in a nod to what the actor will be doing next, possibly checking out a Broadway show. Meanwhile, Sohn’s Alina is pregnant and going on medical leave, which suggests, she, too, could return in the future. Sohn, too, was upped to series regular in her second season with the series, its eighth.
With its ninth season, The Blacklist jumped forward three years after Liz’s death following Boone’s exit. James Spader (who plays Raymond “Red” Reddington) was the one to announce the drama will be back for its 10th season in February on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The series will return in the midseason.
The Blacklist, Season 10, TBA, NBC
