Coming into NBC’s The Hunting Party Season 2, creator and showrunner JJ Bailey understands why people watch this show. Because yes, they watch because of the murder mystery of it all. And yes, they come for actors like Melissa Roxburgh, Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie, and Sara Garcia. But what fans gets fans really hooked are the relationships and the time we spent with these characters. That’s where JJ Bailey comes in.
Fangirlish got a chance to interview Bailey and visit the set of The Hunting Party to talk about everything from guest stars to romance and more. But one of the first things he said to us, and that really locked us in, was that it’s all about these characters resonating with viewers and making them feel seen.
Bailey said, “I know for me, as a creator, that’s why I’m drawn to TV. I want to spend time with these characters. You come up with a character, you sort of dream up their backstory, and you write an episode. And that’s well and good. But then when you get to spend multiple seasons with them, you get to really dig in deeper.”
MORE: Everything We Know About Season 2 of The Hunting Party
That’s when these characters start having a life of their own. And Bailey, he listens. Because these characters aren’t just his. They also belong to the cast who bring Bex, Jacob, Shane, and Jennifer to life. “The magic happens when you get a cast like ours and suddenly they’re bringing elements to these characters that were not on our radar. And suddenly they’re like, “Oh my gosh, look at that, we’ve got to lean in on that. Or you notice the chemistry between certain people. And it really helps expand things in a way that we didn’t begin on that journey.”
One of those bits of chemistry are between former FBI agent Rebecca “Bex” Henderson and Detention Specialist Shane Florence. Because while Bex is the beating heart of this show, what really keeps this show going are the interpersonal relationships and found family within it. And of course, romance comes with that.
In Season 1 of The Hunting Party, Bex was involved with Nick Wechsler’s Oliver Odell. And while Oliver’s fate is uncertain, Bailey could tease to Fangirlish that they’re going to explore the chemistry between Melissa Roxburgh’s Bex and Josh McKenzie’s Shane. “I think one of the reasons people enjoy TV is because they get to care about these characters, they get to care about their personal lives. They want to see where they end up. They want to be a part of those journeys. And I think with Bex and Shane, I think there’s chemistry there that were hoping for, but didn’t know we were going to get.”
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Thankfully, Melissa and Josh, they have chemistry “in spades.” Bailey went on to tease, “Particularly with Shane, [secrets] come to light and [Bex] is going to have to wrestle with. “These are people I love and trust.” And then, “Can I accept these secrets for what they were, or does this mean something more?” So I think really navigating her interpersonal relationship with her team is a challenge this year.”
Question is, will that chemistry between Bex and Shane lead to more than found family? From what Bailey shared with us, it seems really likely. Bailey said, “The Bex-Shane thing, I think it’s a central arc to the show. And I think a lot of people keyed in on that moment from Season 1 where Shane puts his jacket on Bex at the end of… somewhere in the middle of Episode 10, actually. And that was a very intentional thing.”
But wait, there’s more! He went on to say, “As we go into Season 2, [we’re] sort of exploring it sort of… is it a sort of brother-sister dynamic to begin for a little bit, but then they can’t deny their feelings for each other, but work comes first. So, really watching that evolve is very gratifying for me. But I think fans are going to be excited about sort of watching the banter.”
MORE: Want a reminder of how The Hunting Party Season 1 ended? Read our review.
Outside of the interpersonal relationships of The Hunting Party Season 2, we need to talk about the killers. Because NBC is elevating the star power. And Bailey’s really excited for viewers to experience Erik McCormack in his full glory. In Season 2, he’ll play Ron Simms, aka the “Boogeyman” killer who targets women who are searching for love.
“It was super fun, because, first of all, him playing a serial killer is just fun in and of itself. But the killer, the character, sort of gets to lean on his charm, which Eric has in spades, just naturally,” Bailey explained. “He’s really scary in certain moments, but then on top of that, he gets to be really weird. You get to see a lot of colors out of him that you don’t really usually see.”
And in comparison to Season 1, we’re going to spend more time and learn about these killers. “From the get-go, we wanted to live in our killer’s POV. But now with the quality and level of guest starts that we are able to get this season, first of all, we’re able to sort of live in those POVs more. But also, we want to because we have just these incredible actors coming to play. And I think it elevates the show in an interesting way where we get to live with the scary killers of the week more.”
Looks like Bex and the team really have their work cut out for them when The Hunting Party Season 2 premieres Thursday, January 8, 2026 on NBC.
