We knew that the broadcast networks had to make some big decisions in May 2025. They weren’t the only networks making decisions either, with a couple of streamers also cancelling and renewing TV crime dramas.
It was a hard month when it came to the cancellations. Some of the shows that are gone are those that we need to fight for. Then there are others that you may have felt you didn’t even know had dropped due to the nature of streaming platforms.
At least there was some good news. While five shows were canceled, five other TV crime dramas were renewed.
TV crime dramas canceled in May 2025
One of the first decisions made by NBC was the cancellation of The Irrational. In a way, this wasn’t surprising when you looked at the linear ratings. It was one of the underperformers of the season, but that didn’t mean we were ready to say goodbye to it. The Irrational ended with a major cliffhanger. Alec got text messages to show that someone was following him. With Rose now opening an agency in the local town, she decided that her boyfriend would become her first client, as they would work together to get to the bottom of it.
After that came the news that Found had been canceled after two seasons. This was a heartbreaking decision, as the series remains one of the most important TV shows on the screen. It also ended with a cliffhanger, with the writers not getting time to wrap storylines up. Gabi has been arrested and Sir may or may not dead, potentially murdered in his own cell. We need answers!
The Equalizer was canceled earlier on in the month, as CBS made the decision that it couldn’t justify a sixth (and what was going to be final) season. This was certainly disappointing considering there was hope that we’d get some real closure for all the characters. At least the season finale worked as a series finale, unlike fellow CBS canceled series FBI: International.
Prime Video made two cancellation decisions in May. The first was On Call, which was a Dick Wolf series that starred Troian Bellisario. The half-hour format worked great, and it was fun to see everything shown through bodycam and phone camera footage. However, it’s likely that the series didn’t quite get the promotion is needed.
After that came the news that Kevin Bacon’s series The Bondsman was canceled. Again, this was due to lack of promotion. The series could have been successful, but most people hadn’t even heard of it until it was canceled! What good is that?
TV crime dramas renewed in May 2025
NBC made some big renewal decisions throughout the month as well. Chicago PD finally landed a 13th season after some negotiations. We’re still not sure what the season will look like in terms of characters being absent here and there, but at least we know we’ll get to see the aftermath of Voight taking down Reid.
Shortly after that, Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU were both renewed together. With this one, we learned that we’d likely see a reduced episode count for the two shows. SVU will be without two characters, but there have been no cuts made to Law & Order just yet. There is time for that, though.
Then as Found and The Irrational were canceled, NBC opted to renew The Hunting Party for a second season. This series ended with a major cliffhanger, with the task force shut down, likely because they were getting too close to the truth of what was going on in The Pit. The series is moving to the fall as well, which is a surprise to many.
Apple TV+ has the last renewal of the month. Women in Blue has been renewed for a second season, continuing to prove that people are interested in foreign language shows. This one follows a group of female cops in Mexico in 1971, as we get to see what life was like in the past as many believed only men could do the work.
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