Usually, by early May, the fates of TV shows are decided as the networks finish their runs. This coincides with the upfronts, which detail the shows for the next season. However, now and then, a show “on the bubble” may have to wait a while before finding out whether it's getting renewed.
Such a case is The Hunting Party, as, per Deadline, NBC has canceled the crime drama after just two seasons. This comes four weeks after the airing of the season 2 finale on May 7, which is now the series finale. However, it does sound like the show may be shopped around.
The end of the show is little surprise. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the ratings for season 2 averaged a meager 3.7 million viewers when including DVR playback, down 13% from the first season. The show had a mild boost when its first season aired on Netflix, but most had predicted it was likely to be canceled given its poor performance.
Premiering in January 2025, The Hunting Party starred Melissa Roxburgh as Rebecca “Bex” Henderson, a former FBI profiler who’s brought into a special assignment. She’s told of “The Pit,” a secret underground prison where the government keeps the world’s most dangerous serial killers, masterminds, and more, all of whom the world believes to be dead.
A massive explosion causes a mass breakout, and Bex has to lead a team tracking the fugitives down. The series co-starred Patrick Sabongui as CIA agent Jacob Hassani, Josh McKenzie as Pit prison officer Shane Florence, and Sara Garcia as Army intelligence officer Jennifer Morales.
The show became more notable in the second season with some familiar guest stars appearing as the “killer of the week.” That included Kelsey Grammer, Elizabeth Gillies, Eric McCormack, Niecy Nash, John Corbett, and Roxburgh’s former Manifest co-star Josh Dallas.
The show ended the second season with the team stopping corrupt Colonel Lazarus (Kari Matchett), who was attempting to turn the prisoners into her private army. The final scene had them met by a government official who wanted them to take over the Pit while revealing there were far more escapees than they thought who had been trained to become serial killers.
That was clearly meant to set up a third season while still closing out the main plotlines. Could this still happen?
One would expect the show to be done for good. However, the Deadline article does discuss the possibility of the show being shopped around, as Peacock viewing numbers are sometimes stronger than those for the regular NBC broadcast. It also appears to have gained viewership on Netflix.
It would be ironic for Netflix to pick up the series, as it did for Manifest, which starred Roxburgh. The show isn’t too high-budget, with most of the money going to the guest star of the week, and Netflix can help with drawing in actors. It may seem like a long shot, yet if the producers can strike a deal and Netflix sees a way to get a fun procedural drama to boost its ranks, it may happen.
That’s up in the air, but for now, it looks like The Hunting Party is sadly done for.
The Hunting Party is streaming on Peacock.
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