NBC is clearing house—and if you blinked, chances are one of your favorite shows just got the axe.
As part of a brutal reshuffling of its primetime slate ahead of the NBA’s move to Tuesday nights, NBC has handed out just two drama renewals: Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party. Both freshman series are coming back for second seasons, joining the “Law & Order” and “Chicago” franchises as the only scripted dramas returning this fall. Meanwhile, several fan-favorites—many led by diverse casts—are being tossed aside with little fanfare.
Let’s talk about what made it—and what didn’t.
What’s Coming Back
Brilliant Minds
This medical drama, inspired by the life of famed neurologist Oliver Sacks, stars Zachary Quinto as the brilliant but complicated Dr. Oliver Wolf. Alongside Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Spence Moore II, Aury Krebs, Alex MacNicoll, Teddy Sears, and Donna Murphy, the show blends science and emotion in a way that’s reminiscent of This Is Us.
The series has quietly built a loyal following, even earning the third-best digital premiere for NBC on Peacock. NBC is keeping it in the coveted Monday 10 PM slot after The Voice, clearly hoping it can grow into a true staple.
The Hunting Party
On the action-thriller side, Melissa Roxburgh leads this high-octane drama as part of a secret team hunting escaped criminals from a black-site prison. She’s joined by Nick Wechsler, Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie, and Sara Garcia. The show started with just 10 episodes but held its own, even with a midseason launch. It’ll now take over Thursdays at 10 PM.
According to NBC exec Jeff Bader, both series earned their renewals based on “stability and growth”—a standard many other shows apparently couldn’t meet.
The Cancelation Bloodbath
Now, here’s where it gets messy. Found, The Irrational, Suits: LA, Night Court, and Lopez vs. Lopez were all canceled in one fell swoop. Each show had strong cultural relevance and centered characters and creatives from communities often underrepresented on primetime TV.
- Found starred Shanola Hampton as a PR specialist who secretly runs an underground operation to find missing people.
- The Irrational followed Jesse L. Martin as a behavioral science expert working on high-stakes criminal cases.
- Lopez vs. Lopez featured George Lopez and his real-life daughter Mayan Lopez in a multi-generational comedy about family, culture, and healing.
- Night Court gave us Lacretta and India de Beaufort in reimagined comedic roles.
- Suits: LA—a spinoff with Stephen Amell—never even had the chance to find its stride before being cut loose.
It’s not lost on viewers—or creatives—that many of the shows being canceled had Black or Latinx leads and diverse creative teams behind the camera. The optics are loud.
What About Grosse Pointe Garden Society?
The fate of Grosse Pointe Garden Society, starring Aja Naomi King, Melissa Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb, and Ben Rappaport, is still unclear. It was left off the 2025-26 schedule, but a potential move to Peacock is “still being discussed,” according to Bader via TheWrap.
The murder-mystery drama, which followed a suburban gardening club unraveling after a deadly gala, launched to solid ratings but was shuffled from Sundays to the Friday graveyard slot mid-season. Despite that, showrunners Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs have said the series has performed well on streaming, sparking hope for a second life.
“We know we have a lot of support at the network and people love it creatively, so we’re just hopeful they’ll find a way to bring us back,” Bans told TheWrap. “It might not be a traditional way, but we’ll see.”
The Season 1 finale airs Friday, May 16.
A Pattern That’s Hard to Ignore
While networks reshuffle schedules all the time, this particular wave of cancellations—paired with the NBA’s move to NBC—feels like a major reset. But what’s especially frustrating is the pattern: several shows that were building meaningful representation on screen are being cut short, even as newer, riskier shows are being given time to grow.
NBC may be leaning into “stability,” but from the outside looking in, it feels more like slashing through the diverse storytelling it once said it was committed to supporting.
The audience is watching—and taking notes.