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As the fight to save The Hunting Party goes on, there are a lot of questions about why NBC canceled the series in the first place. It all comes down to the ratings.
The Hunting Party* remained on the bubble in May 2026, despite the fall schedule being set and the rest of the shows being either canceled or renewed. It was to see how the numbers both linearly and on streaming looked to see if this was a show to be saved.
In the end, the numbers didn’t meet what NBC wanted, and it hurts for those of us who were dedicated to the show.
A Decline in The Hunting Party Ratings
The ratings from the first to the second season declined by around 13% on average, dropping to just 3.7 million. A decline between seasons is normal, but something this large is concerning. After all, NBC knows that the ratings will drop again next season.
This large drop would have likely been linked to the move of nights, though. The Thursday night slot after Law & Order: SVU is traditionally a difficult one, and NBC has admitted that. It begs to wonder why the network thought it was a good idea to put the show in that slot, considering the way Found struggled in it just a year earlier.
The Streaming Numbers Don’t Matter All That Much to NBC
While there was a look at the streaming figures, they were never going to matter to the broadcast network. Even with most people turning to streaming, the networks are paid for by advertisers. If people aren’t watching live, the advertisers don’t want to pay top dollar for those time slots.
So, comes the dilemma. The Hunting Party could have potentially performed well on Peacock, but it wouldn’t have guaranteed people would have opted for a subscription when they watch live.
Netflix is the best option to save The Hunting Party*. The show has already performed well with the first season ending there, and there’s hope that the second season will go there and prove a point. The question is whether it will be in enough time to save the series.
The Hunting Party is currently available to stream on Peacock and Netflix.
