When NBC announced fall 2025 premiere dates, there was a change to the Thursday schedule. The Hunting Party season 2 would no longer air after Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. Instead, Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 would take its place.
Yes, season 5; the season that has already aired on Peacock. Law & Order: Organized Crime was originally an NBC show, and then it moved to Peacock for its fifth season. And just because NBC has decided to air it doesn’t mean it made a mistake the first time.
Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 worked as a Peacock series
One of the benefits of moving to Peacock was for Law & Order: Organized Crime to get a little grittier in the way that it needed to be. Elliot Stabler is dealing with some of the darkest and most dangerous criminals out there, and to see some twistier moments works well.
Plus, the language was a little more adult for this season. Peacock offered something that NBC couldn’t in creating a more focused and tight season.
The first episode did get to air on NBC, but that was it. There’s going to need to be work done on the episodes to make sure they work for the NBC audience with all the rules that broadcast networks have to follow.
NBC likely had a schedule shift with The Hunting Party
I wouldn’t be surprised if NBC’s schedule change was linked to The Hunting Party rather than a decision to bring Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 to the network. This has happened before, such as when the writers and actors strikes of 2023 pushed back fall 2023 premiere dates. Many networks pulled from streaming shows to keep airing content.
It’s possible that The Hunting Party season 2 has faced delays. It’s also possible that everyone agreed putting this crime drama on in the fall would be a bad move, running the risk of the linear ratings dipping too much. A sudden shift in programming was needed, leading to the need to pull from Peacock.
NBC has the benefit of Peacock being part of its company. Plus, Law & Order fans are likely to follow Stabler in Organized Crime as well. So, it made a lot of sense to fill The Hunting Party’s gap with this show.
This has also become a bigger strategy for many networks. CBS gets more eyes on Paramount+ shows by airing them on the network, while ABC does it with Hulu shows. NBC has tried it with some Peacock shows, and now it can continue, offering a cross-platform option to keep all viewers happy.
So, no, it’s not that NBC thinks that it made a mistake with Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 going to Peacock first. Instead, it’s a chance to use all tools in the arsenal to keep it on the air.
Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 10/9c on NBC.
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