Can't Get Enough of The Hunting Party? Watch These 10 Crime Procedurals to Tide You Over
How to get your crime fix between new episodes of The Hunting Party.
Fictional crime fans have a new group of crimefighters and a brand new mystery to tackle in JJ Bailey and Jake Coburn’s procedural The Hunting Party. The series stars Melissa Roxburgh as FBI Special Agent Rebecca “ Bex” Henderson, Patrick Sanbongui as CIA agent Ryan Hassani, Sara Garcia as Army Intelligence officer Jennifer Morales, Josh McKenzie as prison guard Shane Florence, and Nick Wechsler as Bex’s former partner Oliver Odell.
RELATED: Everything to Know About NBC's New Crime Procedural The Hunting Party
Produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, The Hunting Party follows this team of highly trained investigators as they hunt down dangerous criminals who recently escaped from a top-secret prison known as The Pit. The series premieres on NBC on Sunday, January 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, and episodes will be available to stream the day after air on Peacock.
If you’re hungry for more procedurals in the meantime, Peacock’s got you covered.
Chicago P.D.
Created by the master of crime television, Dick Wolf, Chicago P.D. follows the police officers and Intelligence Unit members of Chicago’s 21st District.
The series, currently in its 12th season, stars Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Sophia Bush, Jesse Lee Soffer, Patrick Flueger, Marina Squerciati, LaRoyce Hawkins, Archie Kao, Elias Koteas, Amy Morton, Brian Geraghty, Tracy Spiridakos, Lisseth Chavez, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, and Toya Turner. It’s also a part of the wider One Chicago franchise alongside Chicago Justice, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med.
The Irrational
The Irrational is a 2023 procedural created by Arika Mittman and loosely based on the non-fiction book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by behavioral economist Dan Ariely. Jesse L. Martin stars as Alec Mercer, a behavioral scientist and fictional stand-in for Ariely.
In the series, Mercer serves as a consultant pulled in to help law enforcement and government agencies solve murders, disasters, and other high-stakes mysteries.
The Closer
Kyra Sedgwick stars as Brenda Leigh Johnson, an Atlanta-based, CIA-trained interrogator who recently moved to Los Angeles. She’s got a reputation for getting crucial information and confessions leading to convictions, earning Johnson the nickname “The Closer.”
The Closer ran for seven seasons between 2005 and 2012. In each episode, Johnson and her colleagues examine the cultural and political forces at play in their community and tackle the toughest cases the City of Angels has to offer.
Bones
Created by Hart Hanson and loosely based on the life and writings of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, Bones introduces viewers to the fields of forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology. The series stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz as Temperance “Bones” Brennan and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, respectively.
Brennan works at the Jeffersonian Institute Medico-Legal Lab, a fictional federal institution that collaborates with the FBI. Most episodes focus on cracking an unsolved case by closely examining the bones of the victim.
Found
Created by Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Found centers on public relations specialist and crisis manager Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton). Mosely and her team use their talents and personal experience to find missing people who have fallen through the cracks.
Everyone on the team knows someone who was kidnapped or was a kidnapping victim themselves. What sets this series apart from its peers is the source of Gabi’s knowledge, her own former kidnapper (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) she has locked up in her basement.
Psych
Shawn Spencer (James Roday) was raised by a police officer who trained him to hone his observational skills. Combined with a keen memory, Spencer casually cracks open a handful of unsolved cases, gaining unwanted attention from law enforcement. To avoid suspicion for crimes he didn’t commit, Spencer pretends to be clairvoyant.
The title of the show, Psych, is an apparent reference to Spencer's alleged psychic abilities and the fast one he's pulling on everyone. Fortunately, he uses his powers for good to help solve crimes alongside his reluctant best friend Gus (Dulé Hill).
Monk
Created by Andy Breckman, Monk ran for eight seasons from 2002 to 2009. Tony Shalhoub stars as Adrian Monk, a private detective living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and a few hundred phobias, all of which impact his ability to work.
Putting aside his prior law enforcement career, Monk works as a consultant for the San Francisco Police Department to solve various cases, all while investigating his own wife’s unsolved murder.
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street was created by Paul Attanasio and based on the non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon. The series, like the book, is based on the year Simon spent with the Baltimore Police Department, shadowing officers as they investigated murders and other crimes.
The series ran for seven seasons from January 1993 to May 1999 and features a star-studded cast including Daniel Baldwin, Richard Belzer, and Andre Braugher.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Created by Dick Wolf, SVU spun off from its predecessor, the simply named Law & Order. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit stars Mariska Hargitay as Detective (later Captain) Olivia Benson. She leads the titular Special Victims Unit, a specially trained unit within the NYPD focused on marginalized groups and sexual crimes.
SVU premiered in September 1999 and, 26 seasons later, it’s still ongoing. The nature of SVU’s admittedly stomach-turning crimes gives the show ample opportunity to examine the social and political topics of the day, including cases ripped from the headlines.
House
Created by David Shore, House takes procedural viewers out of the police department and into the emergency room. Hugh Laurie starred as Dr. Gregory House, a diagnostician as talented as he is cynical. House is equipped with a sharp mind, chronic pain from a past injury, a drug addiction, and a general distaste for other people.
The series costars Robert Sean Leonard, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Jesse Spencer, and Jennifer Morrison. Throughout the series, House and the team solve a revolving door of medical mysteries while trying (and often failing) to balance their jobs with their personal lives.
The Hunting Party premieres on NBC on Sunday, January 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT and next day on Peacock.
An encore episode of The Hunting Party will air in its original premiere timeslot (Monday, February 3 at 10 p.m.) with new episodes continuing on Monday, February 10.
