“The Blacklist” is quickly becoming one of the strongest shows of the fall. While many shows took a hit after their season premieres, this show put up another 12 million-plus viewership Monday night. Not sold on the show? Here are three reasons to tune into NBC’s new hit:

No. 1—James Spader as Raymond Reddington:

Raymond Reddington is currently one of the most interesting characters on television and James Spader does an excellent job portraying the criminal mastermind. He has a great combination of cleverness, humor and charm. It’s fun to tune in every week and watch him run circles around the FBI. Hopefully Spader’s “other project” doesn’t conflict too much with this show.

No. 2—A New Villain Every Week

Now, originally I said this could turn into a bad thing if the writers mishandled the format. However, it’s the way in which a new villain appears that makes the show intriguing. So far, it seems that each week Reddington names a villain for the FBI to take down. However, he is connected to that villain in some way. In fact, he may have even given the bad guy an order to carry out.

No. 3—A Backstory, or Backstories, That Are Still A Mystery

There are some major questions to which the show teases answers each week. Why did Raymond Reddington pick Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone)? How long does he plan to stay in the FBI’s custody? Who in the world is Elizabeth’s husband Tom (Ryan Eggold)?

These are just a few reasons that “The Blacklist” gets a thumbs up. It airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.