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The Blacklist is back for season 9 and fans everywhere can’t stop talking about it. The series has permeated pop culture, especially thanks to James Spader’s starring role as Raymond “Red” Reddington. Spader returns for The Blacklist Season 9, rocking a new look. Viewers took notice of the character’s bald head, and even Bob’s Burgers made a reference to it.

James Spader as Raymond Reddington in The Blacklist Season 9. Spader is sitting at a table with his hat off showing his bald head.
James Spader as Raymond Reddington in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 | Heidi Gutman/NBC

James Spader has a new look in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9

Red has always had pretty short hair in The Blacklist unless you count the flowing locks he had in his mugshot shown in the first episode. However, Spader took things a step further for The Blacklist Season 9 and shaved his head completely bald. The actor joked about the new look during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Meyers asked if he wore a bald cap for the new season. No, no, no,” Spader replied. “It’s a shaved head. It isn’t that much further than this,” he said.

Spader continued discussing Red’s hair. “This season starts two years later and he was sort of lost for a couple of years and came down with terrible mange and terrible hot spots. So they just had to get rid of all of it. Yuck! Start over,” Spader told Meyers.

‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 was referenced in ‘Bob’s Burgers’

Bob’s Burgers releases a Halloween episode almost every year, and this season was no different. In Bob’s Burgers Season 12 Episode 3, “The Pumpkinening,” Linda and Gayle travel to their hometown to face a wrong they committed in high school. The sisters accidentally smashed all the pumpkins in the pumpkin carving contest and kept the secret for years.

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While in their hometown, Linda and Gayle run into their old high school principal, who is picking his dog up from the groomers. “I’m here to pick up my dog,” says Principal Rosenthal. “He needed a haircut because he’s dressing up as James Spader from Blacklist for Halloween,” he tells the women. Although it was a brief remark, fans of The Blacklist would definitely get a kick out of it.

Red explains his shaved head in “The Skinner: Conclusion”

The Blacklist Season 9 has shown an awareness of the questions fans are pondering in the new season. “The Skinner: Conclusion” took the time to address the question of Red’s new look. “I’m sorry but uh what happened to your hair?” Aram asks Red. “Oh haha. Straight razor,” Red responds. “Weecha does my face and my head in one fell swoop. We don’t have enough electricity where we live to waste any on clippers or other electronics. Just the fridge and the CD player.”

Red has presumably been in hiding with the Xui sisters for the past two years and it seems like the new look is simply a matter of convenience. However, some viewers wonder if it might also have something to do with Red’s mysterious illness from previous seasons.

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