Normally, NBC's crime epic, "The Blacklist," is a critical component of the network's fall lineup, launching in September or October, but until recently, the launch date for the show's sixth season had been a mystery. Netflix Life now reports that the crime drama's sixth season will premiere in January 2019, leaving a great deal of time for fans to wonder how things will turn out for the central characters after the revelations that occurred in the fifth season.

'The Blacklist' had unexpected twists last season

Chief among Season 5 plot twists was a revelation about the identity the show's chief villain-hero, Raymond Reddington, played by James Spader.

According to Netflix Life, the fifth season finale revealed that the real Raymond Reddington is actually deceased and Spader's Reddington is an imposter. This certainly threw things off-balance for audiences that have come to love Raymond Reddington's mixture of compassionate and criminal tendencies. "The Blacklist" centers on Reddington's list of top dastardly criminals, as he works with the FBI to capture or kill them, seemingly both for justice and to advance his own criminal agenda. Reddington also has a close relationship with FBI agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), the nature of which has been slowly revealed over the crime drama's five seasons.

Now, we are left wondering who this Reddington really is, and must wait a few months to see if the show's sixth season will answer that question.

Perhaps by delaying the release of the sixth season, NBC is seeking to build audience anticipation, so that viewership will reach all-time highs come January. Whatever the truth is, Season 6 of "The Blacklist" surely will be laden with content to satisfy audiences (and probably throw in a few more plot twists).

Catch up on episodes of 'The Blacklist' on Netflix

Before the arrival of the sixth season in January, you may want to spend some time catching up on, or rewatching episodes, of "The Blacklist" from the first five seasons. Cinema Blend reports that all 22 episodes of Season 5, along with a blooper reel and a mini-feature on the show's 100th episode, are now available for purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

However, Netflix Life reports that the first four seasons of "The Blacklist" are currently streaming on Netflix and that Season 5 will likely be available to stream on Netflix before January arrives. Fans, thus, have many ways to get caught up on the show's plotlines before the sixth season, at last, arrives.