Despite a fairly rough arrival, NBC’s The Hunting Party does seem to have acquired a decent following that could be further improved with just one small change. The series went from 0% to 10% on Rotten Tomatoes in a short amount of time, and it commands over 70% in audience score at the time of writing. Those who criticize the show frequently take issue with its formulaic plot structure, something not uncommon among procedurals in general.

Veterans of network TV naturally expect formula to play a role, but The Hunting Party’s reviews make it clear the show has been hit much harder by professional critics than by the people who actually for the show’s ratings. The Hunting Party can definitely still save itself from these negative reviews, but the real question is how. When looking at the reasons for its negative criticism, it becomes obvious just how and why the show can be salvaged despite its initial poor reception.

The Hunting Party Has A 72% Viewers Rating Suggesting That It Can Still Be Saved

Viewers Clearly Enjoy At Least Some Aspects Of The Show

Despite The Hunting Party’s abysmal critical reception, it continues to do well with general audiences who watch the show. With literally millions of people tuning in for each episode, it would be incredible to suggest the show can’t be saved given its more-than-decent viewer ratings. Clearly, the majority of people who bother tuning in appreciate what they’re watching. This raises the question of why critics seem to have such an issue with The Hunting Party.

That’s not actually difficult to figure out. Critics generally consider the show dull and formulaic, largely because The Hunting Party show hasn’t shown many variations on the formula it established in the pilot. Bex learns about a killer, the FBI refuses to give her information on that killer, and finally she figures out the suspect's ultimate plan right before the FBI relents and releases information that had previously been deemed classified. The formula makes sense in a way, but the problem is that it’s just too easy to see how this could have been handled differently.

Changing The Hunting Party’s Story Approach Can Make It Compelling

The Show Just Needs To Get Over Its Predictable Plot Structure

It already kills tension when viewers know the FBI will always relent with information around the exact same timestamp, but the series’ format is also just plain frustrating. The FBI is refusing to provide Bex with vital info for her job, and this refusal often allows the killer to carry out most of their plan. This seems to happen every episode thus far without fail. Putting aside the fact that the FBI is risking civilian deaths that might tie back to them, this plot structure also goes against how the bureau is characterized in the show’s most important storyline.

It's established in The Hunting Party episode 2 that the FBI is willing to lie if it makes them look better. However, they never lie outright when Bex is the one requesting information. Bex usually gets the information eventually, so withholding it does nothing but pad the runtime. But an actual lie might present Bex with a new roadblock that could alter the shape of her investigations in interesting and unpredictable ways. Lying would feel more in character with the government’s portrayal following episode 2’s “gas leak” fabrication, so it’s weird they only pick urgently crucial circumstances to clam up entirely.

Can NBC Still Save The Hunting Party?

The Hunting Party Can Still Be Better

Despite negative reviews for wooden performances and a predictable plot structure, The Hunting Party can still improve. Morales’ actor Sara Garcia points out that episode 3 presents a freshly empathic look at its main killer, something the series could certainly implement more moving forward. Casual audiences seem to like it enough, which is ultimately what matters most for its success. It's worth noting, however, that it’s unlikely to gain too many additional viewers without improving its critical favor so that very much needs to be a focal point.

With the central mystery of who caused the prison break currently unfolding at a snail’s pace, The Hunting Party could easily fare better with binge-watchers than with those who tire of waiting a week at a time to receive half a clue.

One option would be to simply switch the procedural from network TV to Peacock. With the central mystery of who caused the prison break currently unfolding at a snail’s pace, The Hunting Party could easily fare better with binge-watchers than with those who tire of waiting a week at a time to receive half a clue. But whether it’s a platform change or simply an alteration to the show’s plot structure, it seems clear as of now that there needs to be some brainstorming if the series is going to make it to a second season.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

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