NBC Cancels Brilliant Minds and Stumble, Law & Order Stays On Bubble
NBC’s law & order slate just narrowed by two shows: Brilliant Minds and Stumble will not return, while Law & Order and The Hunting Party are still on the bubble. For viewers and advertisers tracking the 2026-27 season, the network has only partially filled the board.
Zachary Quinto’s Brilliant Minds was NBC’s lowest rated drama on linear and had posted steep double-digit year-to-year declines, which made the sophomore medical drama the most exposed title in the group. The remaining six episodes will roll out on May 27, giving the series a short runway even after the renewal call went the other way.
Quinto and Lyon exit NBC
Jenn Lyon’s Stumble also fell out of the lineup after NBC passed on a renewal for the freshman cheerleading comedy. The single-camera mockumentary had a strong critic-and-viewer split on Rotten Tomatoes, landing at 82% with critics and 96% with viewers, but the network had already tried to widen its audience by placing it on Fridays behind Reba McEntire’s Happy’s Place.
That scheduling push did not change the outcome, but it does show NBC was not treating the show as a throwaway. In a tighter comedy market, a Friday lead-in behind Happy’s Place was the kind of placement that usually signals a network wants to test whether a series can stretch beyond its core audience.
Law & Order survives the cut
Law & Order remains in play after launching in 2022 as a revival, 12 years after NBC canceled the mothership in 2010. Its linear viewership has been on par with SVU, which is why the show is still under review even after major cast changes in its first couple of seasons.
That puts the franchise in an unusual position: the network can cut two newer series while still hesitating on a legacy title that has already proved it can come back from cancellation once. The creative case for the current season has been described as stronger, and that gives Law & Order a better path than the two shows NBC just dropped.
The Hunting Party and Reggie Dinkins
Melissa Roxburgh’s The Hunting Party also remains undecided, though its odds improved because Season 1 had a strong launch on Netflix in the United States and the show has a halo effect on Peacock where it streams the next day. Even without meaningful linear gains in Season 2, that kind of off-network attention can keep a drama in the conversation.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is looking good for renewal, likely with another shorter order, which leaves NBC’s 2026-27 schedule only partly settled. For now, the network has made the easy calls on Brilliant Minds and Stumble; the tougher ones still sit with Law & Order and The Hunting Party.
