NBC has ordered an eighth season of The Blacklist, the second consecutive year the veteran drama has received an early renewal. This time, the pickup was tied to a celebration of The Blacklist‘s 150th episode with the cast and crew in New York this morning where the renewal announcement was just made by NBC executives. There are no current plans for Season 8 to be the show’s final season.

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Additionally, NBC has set a return date for The Blacklist’s current seventh season, which will resume Friday, March 20 at 8 PM with two back-to-back episodes.

The Blacklist pickup did not come out of the blue. In anticipation of a renewal, leading studio Sony Pictures Television over the past few months closed new deals with the original cast members whose contracts were coming to an end, including stars James Spader and Megan Boone, The show’s entire cast is set to return next season.

“Congratulations to our incredible cast, producers and crew, all of whom continue to reach excellence week in and week out,” said Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment. “We couldn’t be more excited to continue Red and Liz’s story into season eight.”

After a meteoric early ratings run, The Blacklist, in which NBCUniversal has an ownership stake, has become a reliable utility player for NBC. Currently in its seventh season, The Blacklist is averaging a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers overall in Live+7 Nielsens to tie as the season’s #1 Friday drama in most current 18-49 season standings. With the addition of digital and linear delayed viewing to date, the show’s Oct. 4 season premiere has grown to a 1.6 in 18-49 and 8.1 million viewers. Additionally, The Blacklist is a major profit generator for Sony TV with strong international sales and a lucrative Netflix streaming deal.

“The Blacklist’ continues to tell exciting and imaginative stories,” said Chris Parnell, Co-President, Sony Pictures Television. “It’s due to the brilliant cast, crew and our writing staff, led by Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath, who commit to unparalleled creativity. Wait until you see what’s in store for season eight. Thank you to Lisa Katz, Tracey Pakosta, Pearlena Igbokwe and all of our partners at NBC and Universal Television.”

The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath, John Davis, John Fox, James Spader, Lukas Reiter, J.R. Orci and Laura A. Benson serve as executive producers.

The Blacklist is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Universal Television in association with Davis Entertainment.