NBC has picked up freshman drama series The Hunting Party, starring Melissa Roxburgh, and Brilliant Minds, headlined by Zachary Quinto, for a second season. Both are part of the network’s September-October fall schedule unveiled today. Brilliant Minds, from Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Prods, is staying in the post-The Voice Monday 10 PM slot while The Hunting Party, from Universal Television, is moving to Thursdays 10 PM.
Besides the five Dick Wolf series, The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds are the only other current NBC series to make it to next season amid a bloodbath at the broadcast network which canceled a slew of scripted series in anticipation of NBA’s arrival on the schedule next fall.
This is a changing of the guard in NBC’s scripted lineup as all four non-Wolf returning scripted series are from this season’s freshman class, The Hunting Party, Brilliant Minds and comedies St. Denis Medical and Happy’s Place. The only first-year show canceled so far this year is Suits LA. (The last NBC scripted series yet to learn its fate, freshman Grosse Point Garden Society, could potentially move to Peacock but a return to the broadcast network is pretty much out of the question given its soft linear performance to date.)
Consistency is what likely tipped the scales in favor if The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds. NBC brass are said to be emphasizing stability and growth, and The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds both have been steady, maintaining their viewership levels thorough most of their freshman runs vs. declines for the dramas that were canceled.
Additionally, medical procedural Brilliant Minds has a hopeful, aspirations tone in the tradition of NBC dramas like This Is Us and Parenthood which the network’s executives feel may be something viewers gravitate toward in uncertain times.
During NBC’s pre-upfront press call Saturday, Jeff Bader, President, Program Planning Strategy, NBCUniversal Entertainment, spoke of the decision to renew Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party over the other NBC dramas, who were canceled, The Irrational, Found and Suits LA.
“We actually looked at all these shows. We looked at what their performance was week-to-week, episode to episode, on both linear and digital, to just try and glean which ones we thought had the best ratings story,” he said. “And then on the creative side, the creative teams did the same thing, which ones have the best potential to capture a new audience, and these were the two shows that made their way to the top.”
Neither The Hunting Party or Brilliant Minds has been tested as they alternated in the Monday 10 PM slot, each doing a partial Season 1 order. They will now have the chance to do full seasons, which is 18-22 episodes.
“One of the things that you’re seeing us really lean into is these sophomore shows,” Bader said. “Brilliant Minds only had 13 episodes in its first season, The Hunting Party only had 10 episodes. We need to give them full seasons and really lean into them and get them established.”
The renewals come after both Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party wrapped their freshman runs, in January and April, respectively.
From creator JJ Bailey and Jake Coburn, The Hunting Party, which debuted after an NFL game on Sunday, follows a small team of investigators who are assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen, all of whom have just escaped from a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist.
Nick Wechsler, Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie and Sara Garcia also star. Thor Freudenthal directs and Keto Shimizu is among the writers. Both executive produce alongside Bailey and Coburn.
Brilliant Minds scored the third best debut for any NBC show on Peacock, coming in behind Found and Night Court, which both were canceled Friday.
The medical drama’s first season ended with a two-part finale, which left audiences with some unanswered questions and unresolved conflict between Oliver (Quinto), Josh, and Oliver’s father.
Based on the revolutionary life of queer neurologist Oliver Sacks, Brilliant Minds follows Quinto’s Dr. Wolf and a team of interns as they use unconventional methods to help solve their patients’ ailments, all while wrestling with their own mental health and relationships.
The show hails from writer and executive producer Michael Grassi and director/EP Lee Toland Krieger. Brilliant Minds is also executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman for Berlanti Productions as well as DeMane Davis.
