The Hunting Party is officially back for Season 2 in the 2026 TV schedule, with Melissa Roxburgh's Manifest follow-up taking Law & Order: Organized Crime's former time slot on NBC. The second season is set to feature some special guest stars early on, including Will & Grace vet Eric McCormack, All's Fair's Niecy Nash, and Frasier's Kelsey Grammer. McCormack was the first serial killer of the season, and leading lady Melissa Roxburgh opened up to CinemaBlend about working with him, as well as the swarm of rabbits she experienced in the Season 2 premiere (now available streaming with a Peacock subscription).
Eric McCormack joined The Hunting Party to play Ron Simms, a serial killer making the most of his natural charm to prey on women looking for love. Ron raised the stakes even higher when he was able to abduct Bex, trapping her in a shed full of his favorite animals. Fortunately for her, his favorite animals aren't venomous snakes or bloodthirsty mammals, but rabbits. When I spoke with Melissa Roxburgh, she opened up about working with McCormack:
Eric McCormack I actually got to work with in Vancouver years ago when he was doing a show called Travelers, and I was his guest star. It's kind of fun that the tables have turned now, and he's a Canadian, so it's always nice to have more Canadians on the show. Our cast, I don't think we have one series regular that's American, which never happens. Sara [Garcia]'s from Canada, Patrick [Sabongui] from Canada, Josh [McKenzie] from New Zealand, and I'm from Canada, so having another Canadian jump on feels fun.
With the exception of when he played a killer on Elsbeth (which is a much more comedic show than The Hunting Party), Eric McCormack's best known lead roles definitely didn't have a dark streak quite like Ron Simms. Roxburgh went on to say that the actor being known for nicer characters actually helped Ron come across as especially creepy in the Season 2 premiere:
I was curious about that too, because I know him from Travelers, which is not funny, but he still plays a nice guy. And then Will & Grace, obviously a nice guy as well, but his niceties almost make him creepier in this show. Because his character is searching for love, he's constantly trying to be nice and trying to be happy, but when he doesn't get what he wants, then it goes dark. And so the smile, the Eric McCormack smile, and his charm, it actually plays in a creepy way, because of who his character is.
I'm not sure if it's just how long the hiatus was since the last time I experienced a new Hunting Party serial killer or that Ron Simms was truly one of the creepiest of the show's run so far, but I'd say that the drama nailed casting Eric McCormack as a charming yet terrifying killer. Not everything about the Season 2 premiere was horrifying, though.
After she was captured by Ron and before she made her action-packed escape, Bex was being held captive in a barn full of bunnies. While it was certainly an bizarre situation for the agent, her life wasn't in danger from the rabbits. When I spoke with the actress, I had to know: were any of them real? Melissa Roxburgh confirmed:
Yeah! Oh gosh, the bunnies were real, and I think the [big] one specifically was up for adoption. So lying there in that shed, having the bunnies on me wasn't scary at all. It was actually really lovely.
The barn full of the critters would likely only be a nightmare scenario for somebody with a fur allergy or deadly fear of rabbits, so the bunnies weren't Bex's largest concern after she was captured. Roxburgh even went on to pitch another way that The Hunting Party could get unexpectedly cute:
We should have a puppy episode. I think we should have a serial killer who likes puppies. That would be great.
Fans might have to wait for a potential Season 3 for any hopes of a puppy episode, but that doesn't mean the next installment won't have anything exciting to offer. After Eric McCormack's guest-star role in the Season 2 premiere, Niecy Nash is on board to play a detective who gets mixed up in the case. Check out the promo below:
Unfortunately, the serial killer of the week seems to get the upper hand on Niecy Nash's character in the promo, so it remains to be seen what his spree will look like before Bex and Co. capture him again. Tune in to NBC on Thursday, January 15 at 10 p.m. ET for the next new episode of The Hunting Party, following Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. ET. You can also revisit earlier episodes streaming on Peacock.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.