Could The Hunting Party move to Peacock for Season 3?
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The Hunting Party has quietly become one of the more unusual renewal stories of the 2026 television season. On paper, the NBC procedural looks like a prime cancellation candidate: middling linear ratings, a crowded network schedule, and a sophomore season that never truly broke out on broadcast television. Yet in the wake of NBC finalizing nearly all of its scripted decisions, the Melissa Roxburgh-led drama remains alive.
That limbo has sparked growing speculation that The Hunting Party could still survive – either on NBC itself or potentially via Peacock.
NBC executives are openly acknowledging that discussions are ongoing. Speaking to Deadline during NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation, Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, confirmed the show remains under consideration.
“We’re still discussing it,” Katz said.
At this point in the renewal cycle, that statement alone is significant. NBC has already cancelled Brilliant Minds and Stumble, while renewing or ordering virtually everything else on its upcoming slate. The fact that The Hunting Party has not yet been officially cancelled suggests there are still internal conversations happening about whether the series has enough value beyond traditional ratings.
That possibility becomes more interesting when examining the show’s unusual performance profile.
On NBC, The Hunting Party has been a fairly modest linear performer. Airing Thursdays at 10 p.m. behind Law & Order: SVU, the series reportedly retained a little over half of its lead-in audience. Those are not disastrous numbers in today’s fragmented television landscape, but they are not especially strong either – particularly for a premium post-SVU slot.
NBCUniversal executive Jeff Bader hinted that the network is looking for stronger performers in that timeslot moving forward:
“We’re looking for places where we can grow the network, and that is a time period where we think we can do better. Nothing negative about Hunting Party, but for our linear schedule, we absolutely need to try and do a little bit better there.”
That comment is revealing because it frames the issue less as dissatisfaction with the show itself and more as a scheduling problem. NBC’s entertainment schedule has become increasingly compressed due to expanded sports programming, forcing the network to make difficult choices about which scripted series deserve limited primetime space.
Bader admitted as much when discussing the network’s upcoming slate.
“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.”
In many cases, comments like those would signal an inevitable cancellation. But The Hunting Party has one major advantage keeping it in contention: streaming.
The procedural has reportedly performed strongly on digital platforms, particularly after its first season debuted on Netflix in the United States earlier this year. According to reports, the series drew strong viewership on the streaming giant, giving the show exposure to a much wider audience than it previously had on NBC alone.
That Netflix success did not significantly boost the show’s linear ratings during Season 2. However, insiders indicate there has been a “halo effect” on Peacock, where the series was already considered a respectable performer.
That distinction matters because NBCUniversal increasingly evaluates scripted dramas based on total ecosystem value rather than overnight ratings alone. In the streaming era, a show that performs modestly on broadcast but thrives digitally can still justify continuation – especially if licensing revenue enters the equation.
And that may be exactly what is happening here.
Unlike some outside-produced bubble dramas, The Hunting Party is produced by Universal Television, meaning NBCUniversal controls the underlying rights. That gives the company more flexibility to shift the series between platforms if needed.
Industry observers have already begun comparing the situation to Law & Order: Organized Crime, which transitioned from NBC to Peacock after four seasons. The Hunting Party could potentially follow a similar route, particularly if NBC determines there simply is not enough room on the linear schedule.
The hybrid procedural/serialized hybrid of the series also works in its favor. Shows centered on investigations and episodic cases tend to perform well on streaming because they are highly bingeable and easy for casual viewers to jump into. The Hunting Party, which follows a specialized team tracking dangerous escaped killers, fits comfortably into that model.
There is also the Melissa Roxburgh factor. The actress already has strong recognition among streaming audiences from her time on Manifest, another show that famously benefited from delayed streaming discovery and eventually found renewed life through Netflix-driven momentum.
Still, there are real obstacles working against a renewal.
NBC’s 2026-27 schedule is packed, and the network has already committed to four new scripted series while keeping most of its veteran lineup intact. Even if executives like the show creatively, there may simply not be enough available airtime to justify bringing it back on broadcast.
That reality could ultimately make Peacock the show’s best path forward.
A streaming move would allow NBCUniversal to keep the series alive without forcing it into a difficult linear slot where ratings expectations are higher. It would also align with broader industry trends, as networks increasingly reserve broadcast schedules for larger procedural franchises and event-style programming while shifting more niche dramas toward streaming platforms.
At the moment, however, no final decision has been announced. According to reports, cast options are believed to expire at the end of June, meaning NBCUniversal still has several weeks to determine the show’s future.
So what are the actual chances of Season 3 happening?
Right now, The Hunting Party appears caught between two realities. On NBC, its ratings likely are not strong enough to make it a clear-cut renewal. But across streaming and licensing platforms, the series may have enough value to avoid outright cancellation.
That leaves three plausible outcomes: a traditional NBC renewal, a move to Peacock, or cancellation if the financials ultimately do not align.
What seems increasingly clear, though, is that this is no longer a simple ratings story. In another era, a procedural with middling linear numbers probably would have already been cancelled. In today’s television environment, streaming performance, library value, and platform strategy can keep a show alive much longer than expected.
For now, The Hunting Party remains one of the 2025-26 season’s last true bubble dramas – and perhaps the clearest example yet of how complicated modern renewal decisions have become.
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