There is one major thing missing from James Spader’s best roles. The show followed international criminal Raymond Reddington (James Spader) and his cooperative relationship with an underground FBI team that hunted down criminals on his “blacklist.” The clever web of connections and plots made The Blacklist stand out among many other similar procedurals.

With over 200 episodes, The Blacklist finally revealed Red’s identity in the series finale, following a decade of build-up. Given the show's success, it is shocking that The Blacklist only had a few Emmy nominations, most of which were for technical categories.

James Spader Was Never Nominated For An Emmy During The Blacklist

Spader Was Nominated For Other Awards Despite The Emmy Snub

Despite The Blacklist being James Spader’s only role in the last decade, he was never nominated for an Emmy during his time on the show. Spader has won 3 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series throughout his career - 1 for The Practice, and 2 for Boston Legal. He was also nominated for a fourth Emmy for Boston Legal in 2008. While he was nominated twice for a Golden Globe for Best Actor, and once for a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television for The Blacklist, Spader never received an Emmy nomination for Raymond Reddington.

The Blacklist hosted over 200 episodes, and James Spader’s Raymond Reddington was at the forefront of the majority. The show relied on Spader to lead its narrative as the main criminal character, which meant he had to deliver a captivating performance in every episode for 10 years. The Blacklist’s Raymond Reddington became an extremely popular and memorable character in pop culture due to Spader’s fantastic delivery. Therefore, it is quite surprising that he never received an Emmy nomination for that role.

The Blacklist’s Only Emmy Acting Nomination Was For Best Guest Actor

Alan Alda Made An Impression As The Blacklist’s Alan Fitch

James Spader was constantly “snubbed” at the Emmys for his portrayal of Raymond Reddington, having never received a single nomination. In fact, the only Emmy acting nomination during the whole of The Blacklist was for guest actor Alan Alda. Alda played Alan Fitch in The Blacklist, a member of the notorious Cabal who was known as The Decembrist. While Alda only appeared in a few episodes of The Blacklist, he did deliver a great performance as Alan Fitch, so it made sense why he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2015.

Interestingly, although Emmy acting nominations were sparse for The Blacklist, the show seemed to prevail in other areas. The Blacklist was nominated nine times for its stunt performances in the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, winning just once in 2014. Still, it is a shame that The Blacklist’s cast was not considered for an Emmy, especially James Spader. Nevertheless, Spader’s legacy as Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist prevails despite the Emmy snub.