The Hunting Party has been a conundrum: a Netflix hit and an NBC bubble show.
The NBCUniversal broadcast network, which is presenting its 2026-27 programming lineup and schedule to advertisers Monday morning, has made pickup decisions on all of its current series and pilots except one, sophomore crime drama The Hunting Party starring Melissa Roxburgh.
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“We’re still discussing it,” Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, told Deadline.
Speaking about NBC’s pickup of four new scripted series — dramas The Rockford Files and Line of Fire and comedies Sunset P.I. and Newlyweds — Jeff Bader, NBCUniversal’s President of Program Planning Strategy, said, “Honestly, we have a very, very tight schedule. Because we have a lot of sports, for our entertainment time periods, we had to actually give up on some shows that we really love to make room to launch our future potential hits. So we made room for four, we could have done with less, very hard for us to do more.”
He and Katz would not elaborate whether, in light of the tight schedule and the four new series orders versus two cancellations (for drama Brilliant Minds and comedy Stumble) the network has room on the schedule for The Hunting Party. But comments by Bader hinted that the company may be eying real estate elsewhere for a potential third season.
In Season 2, The Hunting Party aired in the Thursday 10 p.m. time period behind Law & Order: SVU, where NBC is slotting the mothership Law & Order next season.
“We’re looking for places where we can grow the network, and that is a time period where we think we can do better,” Bader said. “Nothing negative about Hunting Party, but for our linear schedule, we absolutely need to try and do a little bit better there.”
Indeed, The Hunting Party, about a team tasked with tracking down and capturing dangerous killers, has been a middling linear performer, holding onto a little over half of its SVU lead-in.
But the drama has done well on streaming, which may be where it could go if renewed for a third season. (Katz oversees both NBC and Peacock, with programming decisions on both platforms often done in concert.)
The Hunting Party, produced by NBC sibling Universal Television, got a shot in the arm when its first season launched on Netflix in the U.S. in February to strong viewership.
The exposure on Netflix did not result in meaningful linear ratings gains on NBC for Season 2; they remained relatively flat throughout the season. But I hear there has been a halo effect on Peacock where the series already had been a solid performer.
The Hunting Party‘s potent streaming numbers could explain why the show is being kept alive despite the fact that NBC’s entertainment schedule is packed to the gills with no room, especially for a marginal linear performer. The sophomore could be taking the route previously charted by Law & Order: Organized Crime, which moved to Peacock after four seasons on NBC.
According to sources, The Hunting Party is still being looked at for NBC too, with potential additional revenue from licensing future seasons to Netflix possibly offsetting soft linear ratings, even if the network puts the series on during off-season.
Katz would not specify when NBC needs to make the decision on the future of The Hunting Party. The options on the cast are believed to expire at the end of June.
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