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Is Laverne Cox Returning to The Blacklist? She’s Back as the Evil Interrogator Dr. Laken Perillos
Monday, April 3rd, 2023
Laverne Cox is back. The Emmy-nominated actress reprised her role in The Blacklist Season 10, episode 6, as Dr. Laken Perillos, the torture specialist who uses unorthodox methods to interrogate her victims. Here are the details around Cox’s return and her history on The Blacklist (warning: spoilers for season 10, episode 6, ahead!).
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The Blacklist is NBC’s crime thriller that follows Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington (James Spader), a former US Naval Intelligence officer who becomes a high-profile criminal. After escaping capture for decades, Reddington surrenders to the FBI and gives them the “Blacklist,” a list of the most dangerous criminals in the world. He works with FBI special agent Elizabeth “Liz” Keen (Megan Boone) to help catch the criminals in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The show debuted in September 2012 and is currently in season 10. NBC revealed in February 2023 that season 10 would be the show’s final season after a decade on the air, according to our sister publication, Deadline. The cancellation follows the major exit of female lead Megan Boone and creator Jon Bokenkamp in season 8.
As The Blacklist wraps up, we expect to see more guest stars appear one last time. Thankfully, fans were awarded another appearance by Dr. Laken Perillos, played by Orange Is the New Black star, Laverne Cox. Cox first appeared as Dr. Perillos in season 8 until reprising her role in season 10.
Ahead of her The Blacklist debut, Cox shared a post on Twitter in March 2021 sharing her excitement. “I had so much fun playing this character on a show I truly love. Thanks to the entire cast and crew over at @nbcblacklist for making me feel so welcomed and supported. I’m a Blacklister!!! Yay!!! Can’t wait for you all to see it. #TheBlacklist,” she wrote in the tweet. On April 2, 2023, when her most recent episode aired, Cox tweeted: “Dr Perillos aka Laverne Cox is back! #TheBlacklist.”
Here’s everything we know about Cox’s return to The Blacklist and why Dr. Laken Perillos is back in action.
Who is Dr. Laken Perillos on The Blacklist?
Who is Dr. Laken Perillos on The Blacklist? Dr. Perillos is a member of The Blacklist and an interrogator for Neville Townsend, a drug and crime lord in Russia. We first saw Dr. Perillos on the tenth episode of season 8 titled, “Dr. Laken Perillos,” which aired in March 2021.
In her debut, she is told to torture Dembe Zuma (Hisham Tawfiq) using her sadistic torture methods. In that episode, Cox’s character also brings the issue of medical racism to the forefront in a story that she tells Dembe. She says that when she was 12, her mother when to the hospital with a neural infection, but was misdiagnosed and was home with ibuprofen, which left her mother in excruciating pain for the rest of her life. When Dembe asked what caused the misdiagnoses, Dr. Perillos replied: “The color of her skin — the belief, even by some doctors, that Blacks feel less pain than whites… leading to Black patients receiving far fewer pain meds than white patients.” Dr. Perillos was eventually captured by Reddington.
When did Dr. Laken Perillos return to The Blacklist?
When did Dr. Laken Perillos return to The Blacklist? Dr. Laken returned to The Blacklist in season 10, episode 6. In the episode, Perillos is in prison and is assisting in the medical ward. The warden tells her that the equipment she’s wanted has finally arrived, but they’ve been delivered by Wujing’s (Chin Han) men, who break Perillos out of prison.
Wujing wants Dr. Perillos to expose the location of the Task Force so that Wunjing can break into the headquarters and get proof of the Blacklist. They kidnap Dembe, and Dr. Laken interrogates Dembe (again) using physical and psychological torture. Dembe pretends to pass out and Dr. Perillos is getting frustrated. Thankfully, Vesco (Stacy Keach), a double agent, alerts Red and sends him his location. Dr. Perillos escapes as Malik (Anya Banerjee) and Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) find Dembe and get him medical attention. Because Dr. Perillos escaped capture, there is a chance we could see her again before The Blacklist wraps up for good this spring.
The Blacklist airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on NBC.
For more on primetime shows, check out our photo gallery on the best nighttime soaps ranked.
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> As much as we may hate actually going to see the doctor, we can’t get enough of medical dramas set in hospitals. Plus, this long-running NBC series featured George Clooney, whose Dr. Doug Ross was the original McDreamy. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The Season 2 episode in which Ross saved a child trapped in a storm drain left us breathless and helped propel Clooney to superstardom. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The series was created by Michael Crichton. Yes, the same man who gave us <em>Jurassic Park. </em></p>
Image: OWN/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> There was no “there” to which Tyler Perry’s OWN soap wouldn’t go. Yet neither Jeffrey Harrington stabbing his homophobic Mommie Dearest in the breast implant nor Veronica Harrington setting her estranged husband on fire is <strong>What We’ll Never Forget:</strong> That would be Crystal R. Fox’s fierce portrayal of long-suffering Hanna Young. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> In 2022, Tika Sumpter, who played Candace Young, tied the knot with co-star Nicholas James, aka off-kilter Officer Justin Lewis.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> Over the course of its 2016-22 run, the creators of the NBC series proved master manipulators where our emotional well-being was concerned. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The unbreakable bond between the Big Three — the Pearson siblings. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> So upset were fans upon learning that a slow cooker was the cause of Jack Pearson’s death that the makers of the responsible appliance posted a Facebook message addressing the incident. “We love [Jack], and we love you, too. Don’t further add to our heartbreak by no longer using Crock-Pot Slow Cookers.” </p>
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<p><strong>Why We Love It:</strong> Unlike its American brethren, the British sudser makes a big deal of the “little people.” In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a “have” amongst the “have-nots” who populate Albert Square and hang at its beloved Queen Vic pub. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The 2008 tearjerker in which Dot Cotton recorded an episode-long farewell monologue to former hubby Jim. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> For 28 years running, June Brown’s Dot wore the same dress on Christmas Day. </p>
Image: Aaron Spelling Productions/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> In a way, we grew up with the characters on Aaron Spelling’s 1990-2000 Fox hit, which originated as the fish-out-of-water story of sheltered Minnesota twins transferred to schmancy West Beverly High. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The heated debates that erupted over Season 3’s Brenda/Dylan/Kelly triangle. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Since the network wasn’t initially as sold on Luke Perry or the character of Dylan McKay as Spelling was, the EP at first paid the future teen idol’s salary himself.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> While we could wax poetic about the shocking plot twists which befell the Lyon family as they fought for control of their hip-hop dynasty, the truth is, what we <em>really</em> loved was Taraji P. Henson’s trash-talking Cookie. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Sadly, the show will likely be most remembered for star Jussie Smollett staging a fake attack against himself. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Henson darn near got a spinoff focused on her character, but that Cookie crumbled before the proposed show could launch.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Love It:</strong> Nineteen seasons in, Shonda Rhimes’ medical drama never forgets that sometimes all it takes to get a <span style="text-decoration: line-through">patient</span> series off life support is a transfusion of fresh blood. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Season 5’s finale, which kept us waiting till the last second to learn whether Izzie Stevens or George O’Malley died. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Original cast member Ellen Pompeo was TV’s highest-paid actress — to the tune of $20M/year — when she stepped away from her role of Meredith Grey in 2022.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> The suburbs-set 2004-12 series beautifully combined slapstick comedy with dark drama while chronicling the lives of Wisteria Lane’s residents… as seen through the eyes of a dead neighbor! <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Early in Season 1, Gabrielle Solis mowed her lawn in a full-length evening gown to prevent her hubby from finding out their hunky young gardener had been too busy tending to her needs to do the chore himself. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Said gardener was played by none other than a post-<em>Passions</em>, pre-<em>Chesapeake Shores</em> Jesse Metcalfe.</p>
Image: Fox/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> After Aaron Spelling spiked his <em>Beverly Hills, 90210</em> spinoff with <em>Dynasty</em> vet Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward, it went from plain and boring to wild and crazy. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The Season 2 scene in which a back-from-the-dead Kimberly Shaw ripped off her wig to reveal her scarred head. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Years after the show ended, Locklear dated and even got engaged to former leading man Jack Wagner, who’d played her love/hate interest, Dr. Peter Burns.</p>
Image: Aaron Spelling Prods./Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> ABC’s answer to <em>Dallas</em> was heavy on the glitz and glamour and even heavier on the catfights and spectacles. (Moldavian massacre, anyone?) <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Joan Collins’ Season 2 debut as Blake Carrington’s ex, Alexis, who elevated bitchcraft to an art form and moved the series out of Dullsville. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The role of the scheme queen was originally supposed to go to Sophia Loren. Elizabeth Taylor and Jessica Walter were also pursued, Collins told <em>W</em> in 2018. </p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> Based on Grace Metalious’ novel, ABC’s 1964-69 serial about a small town with big secrets was so addictive that at one point, three new episodes aired every week. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Lee Grant’s stunning turn as the sublimely cynical Stella Chernak. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The exit of rising star Mia Farrow in 1966 not only killed the popular Allison/Rodney/Betty triangle with Ryan O’Neal and Barbara Parkins’ characters, it began the series’ slide toward the primetime graveyard.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> Only one thing ran deeper than the oil wells on CBS’ 1978-91 smash, and that was the grudges onto which the Ewing and Barnes families held with a viselike grip. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The Season 9 finale, in which the “late” Bobby Ewing stepped out of sometime wife Pamela’s shower and erased Season 8. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The Season 4 episode that resolved the “Who shot J.R.?” cliffhanger is the second-highest-rated primetime telecast ever. (FYI, Kristin Shepard did it.)</p>
Image: CBS/Getty Images
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