The Hunting Party (TV series)

The Hunting Party
Genre
Created byJJ Bailey
Starring
Music byDan Romer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producers
Producer
  • Jeff Rafner
Cinematography
  • Mirza
  • Mark Chow
  • Sarah Cawley
  • Mike Caracciolo
Editors
  • Benjamin Bumgarner
  • Meghan Robertson
  • Marc Pattavina
  • Meghan Robertson
  • Todd Desrosiers
  • Kevin Mock
  • Matt Lawrence
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJanuary 19, 2025 (2025-01-19) –
present

The Hunting Party is an American procedural crime drama television series created by JJ Bailey. Premiering on NBC on January 19, 2025,[1][2] the series revolves around a small investigative team assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers known who have just escaped from a top-secret prison that's not supposed to exist. In May 2025, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on January 8, 2026.[3][4]

Premise

After a secret prison hidden underneath the Wyoming countryside suffers an unexpected explosion, the nation's worst serial killers are once again at large. Former FBI profiler Rebecca "Bex" Henderson is brought back into the fold alongside an elite team of soldiers, spies and special agents to help track down and recapture these deadly criminals before they kill again. Thrust into a world of intrigue and conspiracy, Bex must grapple with not only her own complex past, but also the enduring mystery of what was happening at this prison and who caused the explosion in the first place.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

  • Zabryna Guevara as Elizabeth Mallory, the United States Attorney General
  • Kari Matchett as Colonel Eve Lazarus, a high-ranking military officer and a former inmate of The Pit who is secretly Shane's mother
  • Matt Frewer as Dr. Henry Dulles, a scientist and doctor who used to work in The Pit studying the inmates
  • Siobhan Williams as Sarah Dulles, Dr. Dulles' daughter
  • Luke Forbes as Jonathan Peck (season 2), an associate of Colonel Lazarus who is part of the Inmate Recovery Task Force

Special guest stars

  • Eric McCormack as Ron Simms (season 2), a serial killer who preys on women who are searching for love
  • Niecy Nash-Betts as Erica Burke (season 2), a detective who brought a serial killer to justice in the past
  • Kelsey Grammer as Noah Cyrus (season 2), the leader of a Chicago-based doomsday cult known as the Thirteenth Hour

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
110January 19, 2025 (2025-01-19)April 7, 2025 (2025-04-07)
213[5]January 8, 2026 (2026-01-08)TBA

Season 1 (2025)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Richard Harris"Thor FreudenthalJJ BaileyJanuary 19, 2025 (2025-01-19)3.05[6]
An explosion at The Pit, a prison within a decommissioned missile silo in Cheyenne, Wyoming kills many people but also releases several inmates who are death-row convicts, kept alive for illegal and unethical experimentation. Former FBI agent Rebecca 'Bex' Henderson is brought to J.M. Webb Air Force Base to help recapture them after being informed of the situation by US Attorney General Elizabeth Mallory and CIA operative Jacob Hassani, who escorts her to the Pit, where they meet former marine and prison guard Shane Florence. The first identified escapee is Richard Harris, a murderer who targeted blonde women, blinding them chemically before killing them. Bex, Hassani and Shane track him to the home of Nicole Westin, who survived his attacks. However, they discover she is secretly his accomplice and pretended to be a survivor to escape prosecution. During the confrontation, Richard is shot and killed, while Nicole is exposed and arrested. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal Bex left the FBI after witnessing her former partner, Oliver Odell, now head of security at the pit, immolate a kidnapper to get information on a hostage, Samantha, who Bex later adopted as her daughter. Odell informs Bex the explosion at the Pit was no accident.
22"Clayton Jessup"Marcus StokesKeto ShimizuFebruary 10, 2025 (2025-02-10)2.87[7]
Intelligence officer Jennifer Morales informs Bex that another escapee has been identified. The escapee, Clayton Jessup, is a murderer who poisoned entire families. Bex asks Odell to look into Eli Johnson, who Odell claims was never in the Pit. Tracking Clayton, the team finds he is kidnapping the actors from a PSA video he was shown in the Pit. Bex admits to Shane that Eli Johnson is the serial killer father of her childhood best friend, who Bex herself turned in. They find Clayton with the captives at the house of Dr. Lansing, Clayton's former therapist who he crippled, and Shane discreetly takes photos of Lansing's former colleagues, before he is subdued by Clayton. Bex saves the captives and manages to distract Clayton from killing Lansing long enough for Hassani to subdue him. Later Hassani admits to Bex there is evidence the explosion was deliberate. Back at the Pit, Odell allows Bex to meet Johnson, who taunts her about abandoning his daughter to die and lying about it. Odell tells Bex he covered that up because he knew Bex would be a good agent, while Hassani discovers Odell knew about the blast before it happened and took confidential information.
33"Lowe"Kristin WindellMichael Jones-MoralesFebruary 17, 2025 (2025-02-17)3.12[8]
Hassani and Odell separately ask Bex if she trusts the other. Another escapee, Brenda Lowe, who killed people trespassing on land she bought to rehabilitate the area's gray wolf population, is found. The team discovers the land was sold to a development company which has turned it into a suburb. After killing again, Brenda contacts the team and claims she received letters from her lawyer that the land was safe. Bex calls Odell, in a meeting with the AG, who reveals the letters were faked to control Brenda's behavior. They discover Brenda has found that the wolves she defended have been euthanized, and she suffers a psychotic break, attacking a campground. Despite the local police becoming involved, the team manages to subdue Brenda. Hassani tells Bex there is no record of Odell's whereabouts during the two years between him leaving the FBI and starting work at the Pit. He shows her footage of Odell receiving a call and transferring classified files to a flash drive three minutes before the explosion. Odell meets a woman and tells her people are investigating him, and she asks him to let her handle it. Hassani believes the caller is behind the explosion.
44"Doctor Ezekiel Malak"Blackhorse LoweTeleplay by : JJ Bailey
Story by : Jake Coburn		February 24, 2025 (2025-02-24)3.06[9]
55"Roy Barber"Glen WinterTeleplay by : Jake Coburn
Story by : JJ Bailey		March 3, 2025 (2025-03-03)2.69[10]
66"Arlo Brandt"James BamfordMichael Jones-Morales & Vinny FerrisMarch 10, 2025 (2025-03-10)2.82[11]
77"Mark Marsden"Rob HardyRebecca Bellotto & Paula SabbagaMarch 17, 2025 (2025-03-17)2.91[12]
88"Denise Glenn"Nicole RubioKeto Shimizu & David LoongMarch 24, 2025 (2025-03-24)2.26[13]
99"Tom Beecher"Shana SteinRebecca Bellotto & Paula SabbagaMarch 31, 2025 (2025-03-31)2.21[14]
1010"Jenna Wells"Thor FreudenthalJJ Bailey & Jake CoburnApril 7, 2025 (2025-04-07)2.02[15]
Jenna Wells, a psychopathic pharmacist who killed her patients with drugs and chemicals, is located in Colorado, but as the team looks for her, they uncover secrets relating to the Pit, Whitmore Sciences, and Silo 12. In their search, they find out there's another team posing as cops searching for Jenna as well. As the team traces Jenna's recent kills and close in on her position, they find out she has infiltrated a Whitmore Sciences company event as a waitress and has knocked out everyone but the CEO, James Whitmore. As she holds him at knifepoint in a secluded hallway, the task force pushes through Whitmore security (disclosing that the target they have been pursuing is actually already inside) and find the whole party on the ground. Searching the premises, they locate Jenna and James, and while they're able to rescue him and restrain Jenna, James declares that Jenna belongs to him and his company and that the team is to surrender, calling on his security team to draw their weapons. In the middle of the showdown, James collapses, having been poisoned by Jenna, giving Jenna and opening to escape while the Task Force trades shots with the security team, killing most of them and forcing the last one to surrender, but Hassani takes a hit. As doctors try to save Hassani, the AG disbands the task force, saying that they became too exposed, and Jenna finds out where Bex is staying. As Bex goes home to clean up before resuming the hunt, Jenna grabs Bex's gun and badge and goes to the command center, taking Odell as hostage at gunpoint, asking him to remove the last traces of Jenna Wells from records. Bex arrives and engages Jenna while Shane arrives and flanks her, killing her with a shot to the head. While Odell is relieved, he suddenly collapses and Bex finds he's been poisoned by Jenna. Sarah finds out from Dr. Dulles that Shane's mother "graduated" from the Pit, and she is revealed to be Odell's source. Morales, running a voice match from Dr. Dulles' video of Shane as a boy, finds out the voice (and the former Pit inmate) is now a US army colonel.

Season 2 (2026)

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [5]Directed byWritten by [16]Original release date [5]U.S. viewers
(millions)
111"Ron Simms"Thor FreudenthalJJ Bailey & Jake CoburnJanuary 8, 2026 (2026-01-08)N/A
After a few months disbanded, the remaining members of the team get back together after threatening the AG with public on all the details of The Pit and the escape, as well as revealing the ineffectiveness of the other teams she tried to field in their absence. Their first case after reforming is Ron Simms, a killer who paralyzes women with an injection so he can spend time with them how he wants, ultimately leading to their demise. At The Pit, he is treated with traditional and animal therapy to learn how to behave and interact with people. After being released, he seems to find and attract women but things always go awry when he gets honest about who he was, hoping that they will accept him as he is. When the women panic, he goes back to his old ways of injecting them with paralytic. As the team figures out that he's finding women on a dating app, they use the app to lure him to a coffee shop, only for him to turn the tables and captures Bex. In a barn where he is accompanied by and takes care of rabbits, Ron has kept his former psychologist imprisoned, and brings Bex in to make a new documentary to prove to the world he's a changed man. The team figure out where he took Bex and rescues her before she almost strangles him. At the end of the episode, Col. Lazarus takes over the recovery operation from the AG.
122"Adrian Gallo"Thor FreudenthalRebecca Bellotto & Vinny FerrisJanuary 15, 2026 (2026-01-15)N/A
133"Zack Lang"Marcus StokesJJ Bailey & Jake CoburnJanuary 22, 2026 (2026-01-22)N/A
144"Amanda Weiss"Glen WinterHolly Harold & Paula SabbagaJanuary 29, 2026 (2026-01-29)N/A
155"Noah Cyrus"Geoff ShotzDavid Loong & Zeke GoodmanFebruary 26, 2026 (2026-02-26)TBD
166"Lou Kaplan"Marcus StokesMichael Jones-Morales & Emilio Ortega AldrichMarch 5, 2026 (2026-03-05)TBD
177"Sidney Fairfax"Lisa RobinsonPaula Sabbaga & Rebecca BellottoMarch 12, 2026 (2026-03-12)TBD
188"Elliot Carr"TBAEmily Ortega AldrichApril 2, 2026 (2026-04-02)TBD

Production

Development

In August 2022, it was announced J.J. Bailey had entered into an overall deal with Universal Television with the first project to be developed being procedural drama, The Hunting Party, created by Bailey and Jake Coburn.[17] In February 2023, it was announced NBC had set up a writers room for the series with a formal straight-to-series order taking place one year after.[18][19] On May 12, 2025, NBC renewed the series for a second season.[3]

Casting

In May 2024, it was announced Melissa Roxburgh was cast as the show's lead.[20] Later that same month, it was announced Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie and Sara Garcia had joined the cast as series regulars.[21][22] In June 2024, Nick Wechsler joined the cast as a series regular while Kyra Leroux was cast in a recurring role.[23]

Filming

Filming in Vancouver for the first season of the series began on June 20, 2024, and concluded on November 19, 2024.[24] Production moved to New York City for the second season, the premiere of which was moved to midseason after initially being scheduled for the fall.[25][26]

Broadcast

The series premiered on January 19, 2025, on NBC.[1][2] The second season premiered on January 8, 2026.[4]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 18% approval rating based on 11 critic reviews.[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 34 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[28]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Hunting Party
No. Title Air date Rating/share
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 DVR
(18–49)		 DVR viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)		 Ref.
1 "Richard Harris" January 19, 2025 0.5/4 3.05 0.1 0.62 0.5 3.67 [6]
2 "Clayton Jessup" February 10, 2025 0.2/3 2.87 0.1 1.78 0.4 4.65 [7]
3 "Lowe" February 17, 2025 0.2/4 3.12 0.1 1.62 0.3 4.74 [8]
4 "Doctor Ezekiel Malak" February 24, 2025 0.2/4 3.06 0.1 1.67 0.4 4.72 [9]
5 "Roy Barber" March 3, 2025 0.2/3 2.69 0.1 1.71 0.3 4.41 [10]
6 "Arlo Brandt" March 10, 2025 0.2/3 2.82 0.1 1.61 0.3 4.43 [11]
7 "Mark Marsden" March 17, 2025 0.2/3 2.91 0.1 1.52 0.3 4.42 [12]
8 "Denise Glenn" March 24, 2025 0.1/2 2.26 0.2 1.71 0.3 3.97 [13]
9 "Tom Beecher" March 31, 2025 0.1/2 2.21 0.2 1.65 0.3 3.86 [14]
10 "Jenna Wells" April 7, 2025 0.1/2 2.02 0.2 1.71 0.3 3.72 [15]

References

  1. ^ a b Porter, Rick (November 19, 2024). "Suits: L.A. Gets Premiere Date in NBC's Midseason Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "NBC's New Drama Series "The Hunting Party" to Now Premiere Sunday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT" (Press release). NBC. January 13, 2025 – via The Futon Critic.
  3. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2025). "The Hunting Party & Brilliant Minds Renewed For Season 2; NBC Plans To "Lean Into" Them In 2025-26". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Petski, Denise (November 12, 2025). "NBC Midseason Premiere Dates Include OneChicago, 'The Voice' & 'Hunting Party's Return, New Tracy Morgan Comedy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Shows A-Z – The Hunting Party on NBC". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  6. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (January 22, 2025). "Sunday Ratings: The Hunting Party Debut on NBC and Hollywood Squares Special on CBS Each Followed Respective NFL Divisional Playoff Games". Programming Insider. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (February 12, 2025). "Monday Ratings: Extracted Debuts Well in Demos for Fox". Programming Insider. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (February 19, 2025). "Monday Ratings: U.S. Hockey Helps TNT Top Linear Networks Among Male Demos". Programming Insider. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (February 25, 2025). "Monday Ratings: NBC the Leader in Most Key Prime Time Figures". Programming Insider. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (March 4, 2025). "Monday Ratings: ABC and NBC Share Prime Time Victory Among Linear Networks". Programming Insider. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (March 12, 2025). "Monday Ratings: NBC and ESPN Share Prime Time Victory Among Linear NetworksS". Programming Insider. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (March 18, 2025). "Monday Ratings: NBC and ESPN Share Prime Time Victory Among Linear Networks". Programming Insider. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (March 26, 2025). "Monday Ratings: 'The Bachelor' Season Finale Lifts ABC to Key Demo Victory". Programming Insider. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  14. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (April 2, 2025). "Monday Ratings: NCAA Women's Basketball com Elite Eight Propels ESPN to Lead Prime Time in Almost Every Key Demo". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (April 9, 2025). "Monday Ratings: Florida-Houston on CBS Sets 6-Year High for NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  16. ^ "The Hunting Paty". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 25, 2022). "Writer JJ Bailey Inks Overall Deal With Universal TV, Sets The Hunting Party Crime Procedural At NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 16, 2023). "NBC Sets Writers Rooms For The Hunting Party & Grosse Pointe Garden Society". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  19. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 28, 2024). "NBC Orders The Hunting Party Crime Procedural Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 9, 2024). "Melissa Roxburgh To Star In NBC Series The Hunting Party". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  21. ^ Petski, Denise (May 10, 2024). "Patrick Sabongui & Sara Garcia Join NBC Drama Series The Hunting Party". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (May 15, 2024). "Josh McKenzie Joins NBC Drama Series The Hunting Party". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  23. ^ Petski, Denise (June 7, 2024). "Nick Wechsler Joins NBC Drama 'The Hunting Party' As Series Regular; Kyra Leroux Also Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  24. ^ "DGC BC Production List". Directors Guild of Canada. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  25. ^ Gittins, Susan (July 24, 2025). "THE HUNTING PARTY With Melissa Roxburgh Moves Production From Vancouver to NYC". Hollywood North Buzz. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  26. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 28, 2025). "NBC Fall Premiere Dates: 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' Back On Thursday, 'Hunting Party' Held, 'St. Denis Medical' & 'Happy's Place' Double Pumped". Deadline. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  27. ^ "The Hunting Party: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  28. ^ "The Hunting Party: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
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