1 day ago
The Hunting Party took nan scening way but arrived astatine nan aforesaid destination arsenic chap sophomore NBC play series Brilliant Minds: a cancellation aft 2 seasons.
NBC related Universal Television, nan workplace down nan crime play procedural starring Melissa Roxburgh, is expected to shop it to different outlets. Netflix, which presently licenses nan show successful nan U.S., would beryllium a logical outreach.
The Hunting Party, created by JJ Bailey, was nan past 2025-26 broadcast bid whose destiny had not been determined. NBC postponed nan determination until aft nan upfronts arsenic its executives took other clip to measure nan show’s capacity connected some linear and streaming.
The likelihood for a bid near successful limbo aft nan networks’ lineups for nan pursuing play person been locked are ever long. Based solely connected The Hunting Party’s middling linear performance, nan play apt would’ve been a goner a period ago.
Jeff Bader, NBCUniversal’s President of Program Planning Strategy was beautiful frank astir its transportation erstwhile explaining nan determination to switch The Hunting Party, which aired successful nan Thursday 10 p.m. clip play behind Law & Order: SVU this season, with nan mothership Law & Order adjacent fall.
“We’re looking for places wherever we tin turn nan network, and that is simply a clip play wherever we deliberation we tin do better,” he told Deadline past month. “Nothing antagonistic about Hunting Party, but for our linear schedule, we perfectly request to effort and do a small spot amended there.”
The drama, astir a squad tasked pinch search down and capturing vulnerable killers, has done amended connected streaming, which prolonged its support life.
The Hunting Party sewage a changeable successful nan limb erstwhile its first play launched connected Netflix successful nan U.S. successful February to beardown viewership.
The vulnerability connected Netflix did not consequence successful meaningful linear ratings gains connected NBC for Season 2; they remained comparatively level passim nan season. But I perceive location has been a halo effect connected Peacock wherever nan bid already had been a coagulated performer.
With NBC and Peacock nether nan aforesaid programming leadership, some a 3rd play connected nan broadcast web and a move to a Peacock original were considered, sources said. In nan end, aft immoderate number-crunching, neither action panned out.
NBC’s last 2026-27 tally is 4 caller scripted series — dramas The Rockford Files and Line of Fire and comedies Sunset P.I. and Newlyweds — and three cancellations — dramas Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party and comedy Stumble.
“Honestly, we person a very, very tight schedule,” Bader said past month. “Because we person a batch of sports, for our intermezo clip periods, we had to really springiness up connected immoderate shows that we really emotion to make room to motorboat our early imaginable hits. So we made room for four, we could person done pinch less, very difficult for america to do more.”
