‘The Blacklist’: How Old Is Anya Banerjee? Series Retconned Siya Malik’s Age
Anya Banerjee joined the cast of The Blacklist as Siya Malik for season 10. In the final season, Siya joins the task force with questions about her mother, Meera’s death many years ago. Though Meera’s children were mentioned in previous seasons, they never made an appearance on the show. However, fans have determined that Siya’s age in season 10 doesn’t add up.
How old is ‘The Blacklist’ actor Anya Banerjee?
Anya Banerjee plays Siya Malik in The Blacklist Season 10. Banerjee was born in April 1993, making her 29 years old. “This is my first real TV role ever,” Banerjee said of playing Siya Malik while speaking to Niagara Frontier Publications.
“I was born in Platteville, Wisconsin, and raised in Auckland, New Zealand; and returned to the states in 2017 for the Columbia MFA in acting. I was in New York, graduated in 2020. And, you know, just everything was pretty uncertain, of course; and I was auditioning because I was lucky enough to have a great team of rep,” Banerjee continued.
“When this breakdown came through, something in me just immediately formed an emotional attachment to the character,” the actor said. “I think the way that the writers had crafted this character as a throwback to Meera Malik in the first season, I felt like there was a really important job for me to do – and the fact that they entrusted me as a newcomer to do that is just beyond belief.”
‘The Blacklist’ retconned Siya Malik’s age
Banerjee’s character Siya Malik is the daughter of Meera Malik, a member of the FBI task force who died at the end of season 1. The series mentions that Meera left behind two children when she died. Liz Keen states that they were “only 8 and 5” years old.
It’s estimated that around 8 years have passed from The Blacklist season 1 to season 8. After season 8, a two-year time jump took place, followed by another six-month time jump after season 9. This means that at the start of The Blacklist Season 10, it should have been around 10 and a half years since Meera’s death. However, that would make Siya only 18 years old, much too young to be an established M16 Intelligence Officer.
The series retconned her storyline in the premiere of The Blacklist Season 10. Harold Cooper mentions that he met Siya at Meera’s funeral, and the girl was only 15 years old at the time, rather than 8, as Liz previously stated. With this new timeline, Siya would be around 25 years old in The Blacklist Season 10.
Agnes Keen’s age doesn’t make sense either
Siya Malik isn’t the only character who had her age retconned. Fans were quick to notice that Liz’s daughter Agnes was aged up in The Blacklist Season 9.
The little girl was only around 5 or 6 years old when her mother died. Then suddenly, after a two-year time jump, Agnes was somehow 11 years old in The Blacklist Season 9. In seasons 9 and 10, Agnes Keen is portrayed by 13-year-old Sami Bray.
New episodes of The Blacklist Season 10 air Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
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