One of NBC’s biggest dramas on its fall schedule is Blindspot, a mystery/procedural starring Jaimie Alexander who is found in a bag in Times Square covered with tattoos. The twist is that these tattoos summon an FBI agent and may help solve crimes on a week-to-week basis.

The show is from Creator/Executive Producer Martin Gero, Executive Producer Sarah Schechter and Executive Producer Greg Berlanti, who will mark Blindspot as his sixth show on the air this season.

Alexander told the crowd that the full-body tattoos take around 7.5 hours to apply and can last a few days, but it’s worth it as the tattoos are such a focus on the show.

“It’s like a Crackerjack tattoo but the most expensive complicated version of that,” Gero said.

Gero went on to describe the show as “a character drama first and foremost – it’s a procedural for people who may not like procedurals.”

The difference, he explained, is that each week’s mystery has personal stakes for each character on the show, bringing small answers to the overarching world of the show, like where she came from, why her memory is gone and the purpose of her tattoos.

“Those tattoos are going to keep us in business hopefully for a long time,” he said, explaining that the ongoing mystery is the real appeal of the show, with smaller weekly projects along the way, which all come together to offer plenty of audience engagement.

Alexander’s character is (probably) a Navy Seal, though Gero said that even that may prove to be false along the way. Her memory was wiped, and that is one of the few truths about her the audience knows at the outset. Responding to why he wanted her to be a Seal when there may not be any female Seals in real life, Gero said it was a simple decision.

“Navy Seals are the elite of the elite,” he said. “It just made a certain sense that there probably are female Navy Seals for a myriad reasons. We’re trying to have one of the most badass female characters on television, why not start there?”

According to Gero, each episode will be treated as only a small part of the main character’s overall story, which he hopes will keep viewers hooked after each episode.

“There are big questions asked but also a satisfying journey,” he said. “The end of the episode should be a teaser for the next episode. There are a lot of twists and turns in this mythology.”

As far as how involved Berlanti is in this show, adding on to his empire of superheroes at The CW and NBC’s Mysteries of Laura, he said that he stays more hands on than one may expect.

“I work with people who are incredibly passionate and have a clear vision,” said Berlanti. “Martin came in with such an incredible vision for the show. It’s my job to help each person execute the best version of that, with casting and production.”

Gero disagrees. “There are actually three Greg Berlantis – it’s kind of like the movie The Prestige. I don’t understand how he’s doing this, it’s been amazing to have him.”

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