NBC brutally reduced the network’s scripted schedule by cancelling five shows including Suits LA — and more cuts could be on the way — but what led to the surprising decision?
The network announced on Friday, May 9, that it was making big changes starting with Lopez vs. Lopez, Night Court, Found, The Irrational and Suits LA all being canceled. NBC has since renewed The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds, but those are the only freshman shows that survived — in addition to Grosse Pointe Garden Society, which is still on the bubble.
NBC’s harsh cuts come amid an attempt to pull in more sports fans. The network needed to clear out Tuesday nights this fall to make room for NBA games following an 11-year deal. This agreement, which is worth nearly $2.5 billion per year, means NBC will air up to 100 regular-season games, including the NBA All-Star Game and exclusive first-round playoff games. This also includes games on NBC’s streaming service Peacock and some games on Telemundo.
In February 2026, a second night devoted to NBA games will take over Sundays at NBC, which has usually aired midseason dramas and reality TV shows.
“We had a lot of shows that we had to pass on in order to put our schedule together,” President of Program Planning Strategy for NBCUniversal Entertainment Jeff Bader told reporters at a Saturday, May 10, press conference. “In the fall, the NBA is a huge priority for us. That is our biggest new show in the fall.”
Bader weighed in on how shows were kept and cut, adding, “We looked at what their performance was, week to week, episode to episode, on both linear and digital, to try and glean which ones we thought had the best ratings story.”
Patrick Sabongui as Ryan Hassani, Melissa Roxburgh as Rebecca ‘Bex’ Henderson, Josh McKenzie as Shane Florence. David Astorga/NBC
He continued: “And then on the creative side, the creative teams did the same thing, [showing us] which ones have the best potential to capture a new audience.”
According to Bader, The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds are the shows they have remained invested in because they “made their way to the top” in viewership. There were also conversations about “every show” that ended up getting cut potentially being moved to Peacock — but none of them ended up “saved” similar to Law & Order: Organized Crime‘s recent shift.
Bader went on to explain why specific shows were pulled from the network.
“Suits [LA] has had a very short run, but it really just has not resonated with the way we thought it would,” he noted. “People were speculating why it hasn’t but it’s just not really showing potential to grow for us in the future, unfortunately, and those are the decisions we had to make.”
Found is reportedly still being shopped around at other networks while The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds join previously renewed NBC shows Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D and Chicago Med. (Law & Order was also renewed for its 25th season while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will be returning for its 27th season.)
There is also a new series titled The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins that was ordered for NBC. The new comedy stars Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe in a show about “a disgraced former football player who is on a mission to rehabilitate his image,” according to the official description.
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