Blindspot: Ennis Esmer to return as Rich DotCom in season 3 

Ennis Esmer will reprise his role as the lovable tech criminal in a recurring capacity during the third season of

The actor first appeared in season 1 and has made several memorable returns since. But with the show jumping ahead 18 months, fans will find Rich DotCom in a very interesting new position.

“We had talked right away, after the first season: How do we have Rich join the team?” executive producer Martin Gero tells EW. “It just seemed it’s impossible to do it organically, but what the two-year time jump gives us is that he’s been working there already for a year, we just haven’t seen it. So Reade trusts him, Hirst trusts him, the FBI has decided they trust Rich Dotcom. So while that may be foreign to Jane as she’s returning, we kind of explain, in backstory, that he’s helped them out a lot and is trying to turn a new leaf. That sets the table for us to have Rich in almost half the episodes this year, and so far it’s just been such a delight. The [scenes] he has with the rest of the team, especially Patterson, are spectacular.”

The move to keep Rich DotCom around on a semi-permanent basis speaks to

leaning into a lighter tone in season 3. “The show can get very serious and very dark,” Gero says. “In our current climate, we’re trying to be a little more escapist and fun. It’s something that is natural to the DNA of the show. We’ve always had our fun episodes, and they work surprisingly well for a show that can get as dark as it does.

“Rich has been the center of some of our favorite episodes over the past two seasons,” Gero continues. “To say he’s a fan favorite does him even a disservice — they just go so crazy for the Rich Dotcom episodes.”

 via the trailer above, which was released Sunday at New York Comic Con.

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