'The Blacklist' season 4 spoilers: Release date revealed; Alexander Kirkman as new big bad?

"The Blacklist" season 4 production is currently underway, and reports have it that Alexander Kirkman (Ulrich Thomsen) may turn out to be its new big bad. Liz Keen aka Masha Rostova (Megan Boone) will also be facing the repercussions of her betrayal of Red Reddington (James Spade) in the previous season. It is also possible that the upcoming installment of this crime thriller television series will feature Kirkman and Reddington in a serious confrontation over Keen.

The show's executive producer, John Eisendrath, mentioned the possibility that the next season would end on a cliffhanger. He was asked whether he could confirm that Kirkman would be the villain in the upcoming season, and he told Entertainment Weekly, "It's definitely an, 'Oh my God, who really is this person, what's his agenda and what is going to happen to Liz?'"

He went on to say that everyone knows that Keen had been abducted, but that she was alive, too. So, without exactly saying that Kirkman will in fact be the next season's big bad, the EP seemed to point to the certainty that Reddington will think Kirkman is the villain. Fans reading between the lines surmise that it is then possible for there to be another villain.

Whether Kirkman will be the new baddie, avid viewers of the show still want to know more about him and what he wants with Keen. The audience will also want to know what is up for the latter in the next season, after she had faked her death to get away from Reddington. Then, when she had been abducted, it would be but reasonable for Reddington to believe that Kirkman was indeed responsible for the act and go after Keen's alleged father.

Kirkman's motives for abducting Keen may also come to play in the next season and will have fans wondering in the meantime whether he did that in order to protect his daughter from danger or to use her as a bargaining chip in his master plan to get back at his archenemy, Reddington.

Whatever it is, those eager to find out will have to wait until Sept. 22 when "The Blacklist" season 4 premieres on NBC.