NBC's gripping new police procedural series The Hunting Party is setting up a thrilling twist on the genre, but will the show get renewed for a second season soon? Developed for the small screen by JJ Bailey, the series concerns former FBI profiler Rebecca "Bex" Henderson (Melissa Roxburgh), who is brought back into the fold when the inmates at a super-max prison escape following a mysterious explosion. Now, Bex and her team must track down and recapture some of the most dangerous killers the world has ever seen while also investigating the mystery of the prison that they escaped.

Unlike other case-of-the-week procedurals that have dotted the TV landscape for decades, The Hunting Party rolls in layers of mystery that make every case a virtual thrill ride. On top of that, the concept of the series is building towards something much larger than the usual catch-the-bad-guy premise, and it is a unique blend of ongoing serial storytelling and standalone episodes. Unfortunately, initial critical reactions to NBC's newest thriller have been somewhat negative, though the first season did gain traction with a loyal fan base. With that in mind, The Hunting Party season 2 has been confirmed by NBC.

The Hunting Party Season 2 Latest News

The Hunting Party Is On NBC's Fall Schedule

The latest news concerning The Hunting Party season 2 is that, not only is the new season on the way, but NBC has already revealed that it will arrive sooner than many expected. Though the first season of the series was offered as a midseason replacement, airing in January, the second season is set to be part of NBC's fall 2025 lineup. The Hunting Party season 2 will be part of NBC's Thursday nights, following the big lead-in of Law & Order: SVU, airing at 10:00 PM.

The Hunting Party Season 2 Is Confirmed

NBC's Latest Procedural Is Renewed For Season 2

...a score that low is quite rare in the realm of safe network TV, where even the worst shows land somewhere in the middle with the critical establishment.

The Hunting Party was anything but well-received when it premiered in February 2025. Initially scoring a putrid 0% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the show's score has only slightly improved since, moving up to 18%. While this doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, a score that low is quite rare in the realm of safe network TV, where even the worst shows land somewhere in the middle with the critical establishment. The site's Popcornmeter, however, tells a different story with general audiences giving it 83%.

Fortunately, networks judge a show's success by its ratings and international interest and The Hunting Party season 1 did find an audience. NBC opted to renew the series in May 2025, a month after the series aired its season finale.

The Hunting Party season 1 debuted on January 19, 2025, and concluded on April 7, 2025.

The Hunting Party Season 2 Cast Details

Will Bex Return To Hunt The Killers In Season 2?

The cast of The Hunting Party is a unique blend of recurring characters and weekly guest stars, and it isn't really clear who is in for the long haul just yet. The most obvious return in The Hunting Party season 2 is that of Melissa Roxburgh as FBI Agent Rebecca "Bex" Henderson, and her deep knowledge of criminal profiling not only makes her deft at catching the killers, but uncovering the prison's mysteries as well.

More up in the air is whether FBI Agent Oliver Odell, who was once Bex's partner both in work and in life, will be ing her. His life is left hanging in the balance at the end of season 1, having been poisoned by the serial killer the group is tracking. With all of her other victims dying fairly quickly after being poisoned, it would seem that Oliver is a goner, but the show could find a way to keep him around.

The team's lone CIA Agent, Ryan Hassani, will once again be played by Patrick Sabongui, while Sara Garcia should reprise her role as Army Intelligence Officer Jennifer Morales. Finally, Josh McKenzie is expected to return as Shane Florence, a retired member of the US Army who now works as a guard at the mysterious prison called The Pit where all the convicted murderers escaped from. The series also employs a bevy of guest stars as the group hunts a new killer in each episode.

The presumptive cast of The Hunting Party season 2 includes:

Likely returning to recur in season 2 (if she is not upped to series regular) is Kari Matchett, who appeared in the final episodes of the season as Colonel Lazarus. The final episode revealed her to be a "graduate" of The Pit and Shane's birth mother, though only to the audience. It's only a matter of time before the main characters discover her real identity.

The Hunting Party Season 2 Story Details

Will Odell Pull Through? & Other Questions

Unlike other genre-redefining procedurals, The Hunting Party is a blend of ongoing mystery and weekly cases, and the latter doesn't always take precedence over the former. However, the ending of season 1 was both conclusive and open-ended, as it left the fate of Odell unknown after the final villain was vanquished. Having been poisoned by Jenna, the last viewers saw of Odell was him bleeding out in Bex's arms. Bex's obvious concern means her relationship with Oliver might change if he recovers, and if he does not, his death will be a motivating factor in her work.

Of course, Josh McKenzie also shared with Screen Rant in March 2025 that there could be the possibility of a slow-burning romance between Bex and Shane if the series goes on for longer. A love triangle would not be out of the question in a series that puts its main characters in life-or-death situations with heightened emotions every week, even though they have a job to do:

I think with Shane and Bex, it's a process. They both have obligations and responsibilities for the team. I can definitely sense that there's something there between them, and it's in-between the lines.

And especially in the Malak episode with her disappearing, it kind of forces Shane's hand to think about how he actually does feel about this person. And it feels like definitely more than just a work relationship at that point.

Another big reveal in the finale was that of Shane's mom, who turned out to be Lazarus. She is also O'Dell's source of information about the attacks that rocked the prison to kick off the series. Questions surround her past, her graduation, and her involvement.

The empathy drug used in The Pit has sweeping implications for the "criminals" in the silos, and opens the door for even more chicanery going into season 2. If there are others who have been dosed with the drug, there might be more emotionless killers on the prowl. Producers Jake Coburn and JJ Bailey have promised that season 2 will explore what it really means to "graduate" from The Pit and whether the different silos were all working on different kids of treatments (via TV Insider).

Of course, one of the biggest questions heading into season 2 is whether the main trio of Bex, Shane, and Hassani are even still the titular hunting party. Their covert group was ordered disbanded before they disobeyed and proceeded to save the day anyway. Coburn and Bailey have also said, "In Season 1, Bex is sort of brought into this, and in Season 2, she’s going to have to be sort of pushing to get in... it's a different journey for her to get the team restarted."

Regardless of which direction The Hunting Party chooses, the series has just started getting interesting.