For families with teens interested in crime shows, NBC’s The Hunting Party presents a new option. The series, which started in January 2025, follows a team hunting down escaped serial killers. It blends action with dark mystery. Parents trying to decide if the show is right for their household will find that its content is shaped for network television, but the themes are intense. This guide breaks down the violence, language, and mature ideas in the show to help you make an informed choice.
The Hunting Party Show Premise and Story
The story begins with a major security breach. A secret, high-security prison known as The Pit suffers a mysterious explosion. This event allows dozens of the country’s most violent serial killers to escape into the world.
To solve this crisis, the government recruits Rebecca “Bex” Henderson, a former FBI profiler played by Melissa Roxburgh. Bex is pulled back into a life she left behind and is tasked with leading a special team. This group includes soldiers, spies, and agents. Their mission is to track and recapture each dangerous criminal before they can kill again. However, the job gets more complicated for Bex. She discovers that her own father was one of the killers who escaped from The Pit. This personal connection adds a deeper layer to her hunt.
The show follows a “case of the week” format. Each episode focuses on hunting a different escaped killer. The team uses profiling and investigation to find their target. Alongside these weekly stories, a larger mystery unfolds about who caused the prison explosion and if it was an inside job.
Detailed Breakdown of Content for Parents
Since The Hunting Party airs on network TV (NBC), it does not feature the extreme gore or nudity found on some streaming platforms. However, the nature of the story involves consistently dark and disturbing material. The content rating is TV-14.
Violence and Peril
This is the show’s most prominent area of concern. The series is about hunting serial killers, so violence and threat are central.
- Action Scenes: The show includes gunfights, tactical operations, hand-to-hand combat, and chase sequences. Characters are shot, and bloody wounds are shown briefly.
- Thematic Violence: The crimes discussed and investigated are psychologically dark. Episodes deal with kidnapping, murder, and psychological torture. For example, one episode features a killer who paralyzes his victims and pretends to date them as they die. Another involves a killer who sets victims on fire.
- Visuals: While the show doesn’t linger on extreme gore, it does show enough to establish the horror of the crimes. This includes photos of victims’ bodies and crime scenes.
Language and Substance Use
The language is typical for a TV-14 drama. Expect occasional use of words like “hell” and “sh*t”. There are social scenes where adults drink wine or beer. Substance use is not a major focus of the show.
Mature Themes and Psychological Elements
The show’s intensity comes more from its ideas than from visual content.
- Psychological Horror: The concept of serial killers hiding in society and a secret government prison can be unsettling. The show also explores the killers’ twisted motivations, which often stem from trauma or mental illness.
- Moral Complexity: The team sometimes operates in a moral gray area because their secret prison isn’t officially acknowledged. The show also focuses on Bex’s personal trauma, using it as her motivation, which may be a point for discussion.
Is The Hunting Party Appropriate for Your Teen?
Deciding if this show is a good fit depends greatly on your teen’s age, maturity, and what they already watch.
- Ages 12 and Under: Not Recommended. Experts suggest this show is a hard “no” for middle schoolers. The themes of predatory behavior, abduction, and serial murder are not suitable for developing brains. The psychological fear can be more impactful than visual scares.
- Ages 13-15: Use Caution and Co-Watch. This is a gray area. Many teens this age are already exposed to intense content in video games or on platforms like YouTube. If your teen enjoys crime procedurals like Criminal Minds and handles suspense well, they might be ready. A strong recommendation is to watch the first episode together. This lets you gauge their reaction and opens up conversation about the show’s themes.
- Ages 16 and Up: Generally Okay for Mature Teens. Older teens are often navigating more intense content online. For them, The Hunting Party can be a more structured way to engage with thriller content. The procedural format usually ends with justice being served, which provides a sense of resolution.
Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “This is bland and generic television, the stuff of ignored summer burn-offs or, much more commonly, pilots scrapped without going to series.”
How The Hunting Party Compares to Other Shows
Comparing it to shows your teen might already watch can help set expectations.
- Similar to Criminal Minds: This is the closest comparison. If your teen watches reruns of Criminal Minds, they have already seen similar levels of dark thematic content and crime scene investigation.
- Less Graphic than Streaming Thrillers: It is notably less violent and graphic than popular streaming shows like The Last of Us on HBO.
- More Intense than Light Mysteries: It is much darker and more suspense-driven than lighthearted mystery series like Poker Face or Enola Holmes.
- Like The Blacklist: It shares the “criminal-hunting” procedural style and high-stakes conspiracy elements of shows like The Blacklist.
Conversation Starters for Parents and Teens
If you decide to let your teen watch, the show can provide opportunities for meaningful discussion.
- Talk About Justice and Rules: The team operates from a secret prison. You can ask: “Do the ends justify the means? Should there always be rules, even when catching bad guys?”
- Discuss Trauma and Motivation: Bex is driven by her past trauma. Talk about whether this is shown as a healthy motivator. Ask: “How do people heal from past hurts in real life?”
- Separate Fiction from Reality: The killers often have dramatic backstories. Discuss that mental illness in real life is very different from how it is sometimes sensationalized for TV drama.
The show has sparked a notable divide between critics and viewers. On review aggregator sites, critics gave the show very low scores when it first aired, calling it predictable. However, the audience score was significantly higher, with many fans enjoying it as entertaining crime drama. Some viewers have passionately defended it online. One fan wrote, “Critics out of touch yet again! This is fun crime escapism with some juicy twists.” Another said, “I absolutely love shows like this!! Reminds me of an upgraded version of Criminal Minds & I’m here for it!”
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Where to Watch The Hunting Party
New episodes of The Hunting Party premiere on NBC. Episodes are available for streaming the next day on Peacock. This makes it easy to watch on demand if the weekly broadcast time doesn’t work for your family.
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