NBC's network season is over for another year, and eight TV shows have been renewed, three canceled, and one remaining on the bubble. Surprising no-one, the network's two mainstay franchises – One Chicago and Law And Order – have been renewed, while there was some heartbreak for fans of one freshman comedy, a show that I binged in one sitting and thought had huge potential.
"Honestly, we have a very, very tight schedule. Because we have a lot of sports, for our entertainment time periods, we had to actually give up on some shows that we really love to make room to launch our future potential hits. So we made room for four, we could have done with less, very hard for us to do more," said Jeff Bader, NBCUniversal’s President of Program Planning Strategy, of the decision.
New shows for the 2026/2027 season are dramas The Rockford Files and Line of Fire, and comedies Sunset P.I. and Newlyweds.
Below is an easy-to-view list of what is returning and what has been cancelled. Comment with your reactions – which were you surprised to see on the list?
© David Lee/NBCBrilliant Minds — Officially canceled
NBC canceled the Zachary Quinto-led series Brilliant Minds after two seasons.
"Creatively we love the show, and are really proud of the show, and think that the fans deserve to see how the story ends," Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said.
"It has a great, very satisfying ending. So we’d like to have the opportunity for the fans of the show, of which there are still many, to be able to see it and finish the story with the characters."
Season two's second-half, consisting of six episodes that will conclude the show, will debut on May 27, 2026.
© Elizabeth Sisson/NBCChicago Fire — Officially renewed
Chicago Fire will go into its 15th season in the 2026/2027 network schedule with a return date expected in late September.
NBC confirmed its return in late March, weeks earlier than the year prior when it went down to the wire, with the network forcing budget cuts that led to fewer episode orders and cast member departures.
One good sign of the early pickup? The cuts may not be as substantial this year.
© George Burns Jr/NBCChicago Med — Officially renewed
Med will return for a 12th season, presumably staying in its 8pm slot, kicking off the One Chicago Wednesday lineup.
Leads S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt, who have been with the show since season one, were in contract negotiations, although in mid-May it was confirmed that they were locked in to continue for another season.
© Elizabeth Sisson/NBCChicago P.D — Officially renewed
Season 14 of PD will see viewers discover what actions Voight (Jason Beghe) and Imani took after it emerged Imani's long-lost sister, a trafficking victim, had murdered someone.
Imani, played by Arienne Mandi, joined the show in season 14 and has been a surprise hit, with a solid character arc and smart integration into the team on-screen.
© Scott Gries/NBCThe Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins — Officially renewed
Daniel Radcliffe's comedy has also been renewed after becoming a word-of-mouth hit.
The comedy follows Tracy Morgan as former football star Reggie Dinkins, a man who is running out of time to enter the Hall of Fame. In one last shot at redemption, Reggie hires Arthur Tobin (Radcliffe), a disgraced filmmaker, to make a documentary reclaiming his legacy, recruiting former teammate Rusty and ex-wife-turned-manager Monica for help.
The sports mockumentary became the number one comedy telecast of the season across all broadcast networks, according to NBC.
© Casey Durkin/NBCHappy's Place — Officially renewed
Reba McEntire's sitcom will return for a third season, with Katz sharing that the show had delivered "comedic brilliance over their first two seasons, truly connecting with our audience with hilarious characters, and remains hugely important and successful programs to our primetime and Peacock lineup".
Happy's Place centers on Reba McEntire's Bobbie, who inherits the titular tavern from her late father and soon finds out she has a new business partner: Isabella (Belissa Escobedo), a twenty-something half-sister she never knew she had.
© Ralph Bavaro/NBCThe Hunting Party — A long-shot
As of mid-May The Hunting Party remains on the bubble. It has remained a middling linear performer but has had success on streaming.
Season two of The Hunting Party aired in the Thursday 10pm time slot behind Law & Order: SVU, although this is now where Law & Order will air.
"We’re looking for places where we can grow the network, and that is a time period where we think we can do better," Bader said. "Nothing negative about Hunting Party, but for our linear schedule, we absolutely need to try and do a little bit better there."
Peacock has been suggested as a home for the show.
© Will Hart/NBCLaw & Order — Officially renewed
Law & Order, set and filmed in New York City, returned in 2021 after an 11-year break, and continues to follow its two-pronged approach: the first half of an episode investigates a crime (usually murder) and apprehension of a suspect, and the second half is the prosecution of the defendant by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The show will return for its 26th season, either in September 2026 or early October, but it will leave its longtime 8/7c time slot for 10/9c.
© Virginia Sherwood/NBCLaw & Order: SVU — Officially renewed
Spin-off SVU now holds the record for the longest-running live-action scripted American primetime series, and will return for a 28th season with Captain Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay) and her elite squad helping more victims.
The 28th season of SVU will push the show past the 600-episode mark – it has aired 594 so far – and if it is renewed for a 29th season, it will take over Gunsmoke’s record of 635 episodes for a primetime drama.
© David Holloway/PEACOCKLaw & Order: Organized Crime – Officially Cancelled
The organized crime task force in the Law & Order universe has officially worked its last case, with NBC confirming it had been canceled after five seasons.
Christopher Meloni starred as his SVU character, Elliot Stabler, in the series, which was more serialized than the rest of the franchise's episodic storytelling.
The actor thanked the show’s fans in an Instagram video when the news was revealed, sharing: "I wanted to take this moment to say thank you to the fans who not only helped give the character of Elliot Stabler life and longevity, but for sticking with him and welcoming him back. It was a good ride. I had a great time playing him. It was a great ride. Thank you. You helped give me a career that I never dreamed of, nearly 17-odd years."
© Greg Gayne/NBCSt. Denis Medical — Officially renewed
St. Denis Medical is coming back for a third season on NBC after the network renewed hit mockumentary sitcom which has also been on the bubble of awards conversation.
NBC has claim the comedy is "the only primetime comedy across all the broadcast networks to see season-over-season linear growth in the 18-49 demo," excluding Fox comedies.
St. Denis Medical spotlights an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. It stars Wendi McLendon-Covey.
© Danielle Mathias/NBCStumble — Officially canceled
Stumble premiered in November but has become NBC’s lowest-rated scripted series this season despite a brilliant premise, smart jokes, and being well-received by critics and viewers.
NBC was criticized for launching Stumble on Fridays after Reba McEntire’s multi-camera sitcom Happy’s Place; reruns were later placed behind the more obvious lead-in St. Denis Medical on Mondays, but the damage had been done.
Bader said: "Obviously, there is an issue with a single-cam coming out of the multi-cam, just tonally, it was different than Happy’s Place. We have very limited real estate, and we did the best we could, I feel terrible about it."
