"The Blacklist" aired an explosive season 3 winter finale last month. While fans are waiting to see what happens to Liz (Megan Boone) and Red (James Spader) when the show returns, show creator Jon Bokenkamp revealed on Monday, Dec. 7, that the hit series has been renewed for a fourth season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bokenkamp confirmed the news on "The Blacklist: Exposed," a podcast interview.

"We knew about that a while ago, it's one of those things that's hard to keep quiet," Bokenkamp said. "But yes, we're renewed through the fourth season. Hopefully we don't tank that out, we got a lot of story to tell."

The early season 4 pickup of "The Blacklist" continues NBC's trend of early renewals for the networks other shows, including "Blindspot," "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D."

Now that a fourth season has been confirmed for the series, it looks like Bokenkamp and his team will be stepping up their game as the show is heading into the second part of season 3.

In the mid-season finale, Red was kidnapped by a group of highway robbers and Liz was forced to trade the care package that would exonerate her in exchange for Red's life. At the end of the episode, Liz was arrested by Ressler, and when the show returns, fans will see the former agent in the glass box that held Red in the series premiere of the NBC show.

"She's traded places with Red," Bokenkamp told Entertainment Weekly. "Red's now on the outside of the box and she's on the inside. It's an interesting dynamic."

Another thing that fans will have to watch out for is whether Liz will be pregnant in upcoming episodes. Earlier this year, Boone announced that she is pregnant, and for now, it is unknown whether "The Blacklist" will incorporate the actress's pregnancy in new storylines.

Meanwhile, EW reports that Emmy award winner Tony Shalhoub will guest-star in an upcoming episode of the show. According to the website, the "Monk" star will play Alistair Tate, a skilled negotiator in the underworld.

"The Blacklist" returns Thursday, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. on NBC.