Comic-Con@Home: How Animation Saved the Season Seven Finale of The Blacklist

How much do we miss precedented times?

Well, if there is anything that we have learned as a collective over the last few months it is that unprecedented times come with innovation and adaptation. We have seen it in professions across the board. 

However, when it comes to television, no show has shown more adaptability and innovation than NBC’s The Blacklist.

When Covid-19 hit the Eastern shores of the US, The Blacklist was forced to halt production before completing the seventh season. With three and a half episodes left to film, the producers were left scrambling with a way to wrap the show up for their loyal fans.

The solution came in the form of animation. And, The Blacklist delivered a hybrid season finale of half live-action, half animation on May 15.

Another adaptive idea that has come out of Covid-19 is bringing the world-famous San Diego Comic-Con to the people by way of Comic-Con@Home. Which ultimately has become the perfect platform for the talents of The Blacklist to discuss the obstacles and achievements made through the animation process.

Executive producers Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath come into this special virtual panel for the SDCC event to share the journey of bringing The Blacklist to life in animation. They are joined by actors Diego Klattenhoff and Harry Lennix, as well as Proof, Inc animators Adam Coglan and Matt Perrin.

The story of how this came to pass is an impressive one. A story that begins with the producers contemplating their limited options for completing the already running season for the fans. Options that were tossed around to overcome included a radio-style readthrough of the missing scenes.  Even the option of creating a storyboard with comic-themed still images was considered. Despite admitting it was “a terrible idea born of desperation” they ultimately landed on animation.  

And that is where things got tricky.

With just five weeks before a release date, the producers scrambled to find an animation studio that could produce what they needed in the short timeframe amid a global pandemic.

Enter Proof, Inc. who have done previous work on Blockbuster movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, and Wonder Woman. Despite the impressive resume, the animation company was dealt a task that had never been done before.

Five weeks is not a lot of time for animation. Especially when considering many animated sitcoms can take up to a year to produce one episode. But, Proof, Inc. was even further back than that having to catch up on seven seasons worth of television continuity, as well as having no character models developed ahead of time.

A list of 14 main characters, a unique graphic novel aesthetic, and ambitious scenes involving helicopters and flying papers also stood in the animator’s way. Amazingly, Proof, Inc. was able to live up to the task, while having all employees working from home. It is nothing short of an achievement and truly shows what animation is capable of.

Many obstacles were overcome through the efforts of everyone involved. From the actors adapting their talents to voice over work to the editors that had to find a way to make it all come together. 

Some resourcefulness such as utilizing older footage helped to bring the show together and make a coherent and entertaining season finale of a well-established television series.

Everyone involved seems ecstatic with what they were able to achieve, and why shouldn’t they? They are open about a lot of things falling into place and becoming “happy accidents” but, when the rules changed on them, they changed the rules.

This virtual panel has been one of the surprisingly better showcases thus far into San Diego Comic-Con weekend. The tale of making this 42-minute episode happen despite the world stopping around them is nothing short of inspiring.

The entire Blacklist panel is available free to watch on the Comic-Con@Home website or on YouTube.