After the disappointing cancellations on Friday, May 9, NBC started off a new week with some renewal news. Two freshman shows have landed second seasons, and it’s exciting for both medical drama and crime drama fans.
Of course, the news is bittersweet for those who love Found, The Irrational, and other shows that were recently canceled. NBC opted to cancel five shows on Friday, with Suits: LA, Night Court, and Lopez vs. Lopez also saying goodbye. It made us worried for the final three shows on the bubble.
Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party renewed
Two of the shows we were concerned about were Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party. The two freshman dramas took over Monday nights, with Brilliant Minds starting out in the fall and then The Hunting Party getting a midseason slot in the same timeslot. They were both middling shows in terms of the linear ratings, leading to fears that they would be canceled. In fact, they sat around the same spot as Found in the linear ratings. Fortunately, NBC decided to renew the pair of freshman dramas rather than them joining the list of hits canceled this season.
Brilliant Minds followed Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, a brilliant neuroscientist who focuses on the people and not the diagnosis. After all, he goes through life differently due to suffering from face blindness, a condition that means he can’t see faces and has to adapt to remember who people are. His interns also have or potentially have rare conditions, including one who has mirror-touch synesthesia, which is like a heightened form of empathy.
Meanwhile, The Hunting Party focuses on a team of specialists who are hunting down convicted killers. These killers, though, were believed to be dead. Instead, they were put in an underground silo and tested on, creating far more dangerous and deranged serial killers now that they have managed to escape.
Both of the shows ended on cliffhangers, so it’s great that they’ve been renewed. Fans will now get to see how the stories continue.
Both Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party only had half seasons going into their freshman year. According to Deadline, the two were able to show consistency in both linear and streaming figures, which is why they were chosen for renewals compared to the likes of Found and The Irrational.
Now the two will premiere in the fall, and they will both get 18-22 episodes, matching most other fall shows. Brilliant Minds will keep the Monday night timeslot, following an hour of The Voice after an hour of comedy. The Hunting Party will now take over Found’s timeslot on Thursdays at 10/9c after the two-hour block of Law & Order. Yes, this is a concerning timeslot, and we need to keep watching if we want it to succeed.
It's some good news as we go into the summer. Now we’re just waiting on Grosse Pointe Garden Society, which may end up moving to Peacock.