Hunted season 2: Why is CBS waiting on renewal?

Earlier today, CBS renewed the majority of their fall-spring primetime schedule, but there were a few exceptions in the mix. You’ve got a show like Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders that just started to air a few weeks ago, and then another one in The Amazing Race that is going to be premiering in one week’s time.

Then, you’ve got a show like Hunted, where it … well, to be honest, we’re not quite sure why it wasn’t renewed already for a second season. The show’s numbers were not spectacular, but they were solid. Aside from its first airing after the AFC Championship game, Hunted season 1 drew a 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic on average. That average is stronger than many other shows on CBS, including Madam Secretary, Elementary, Code Black, Beyond Borders, Pure Genius, Training Day, and Ransom. At times, it’s been comparable to shows like Scorpion and NCIS: New Orleans, which were both considered locks to have another season.

There could be a few different reasons why a Hunted season 2 renewal hasn’t come down yet, whether it be the network finding the right cast, figuring out the right timeslot for it, or simply negotiating on some changes that they’d like to see made. Few shows get everything right the first time around, and Hunted did have some issues both with transparency and with the design of its endgame. Yet, if you start to look past those issues for a moment or two, you will start to see that this is also a series that produced great sequences of high-octane drama and really gave the power back to the people in a way few other reality shows do. We’d argue that the stars of the show, more so than the cast or than the folks at the Commander Center (though we love them), were some of the random folks that either helped or hurt some of the contestants along the way. It added such a sense of unpredictability to the show, since the teams realized that it would take a village to get them to the finish line.

We should not that it’s possible that CBS could wait beyond May for a Hunted renewal if they so chose, mostly because there may not be in that big of a hurry. Season 2 likely would not premiere until January, and the network could opt to survey the remainder of their field before making a decision.

Are you still excited about a Hunted season 2 renewal? Share some of your thoughts with a comment! (Photo: CBS.)