“Melissa Roxburgh’s Transition from ‘Manifest’ to ‘Hunting Party’: Everything You Need to Know”

Melissa Roxburgh will once again grace our television screens in the NBC crime drama The Hunting Party, which centers around a breakout from a clandestine facility housing the most notorious criminals in the nation.

Premiering on Sunday, January 19, The Hunting Party follows a group of investigators tasked with locating and apprehending the country’s most perilous felons. The catch? These criminals have escaped from an undisclosed prison facility that isn’t supposed to be known.

Portraying the character Rebecca “Bex” Henderson, Roxburgh portrays an ex-FBI agent recruited to the elite team for her exceptional skill as a profiler who has nabbed some of the world’s deadliest serial killers. This new role on The Hunting Party marks Roxburgh’s comeback to NBC after her previous leading role on Manifest.

Manifest aired three seasons on NBC before moving to Netflix for a fourth and final season. Roxburgh has since appeared on Quantum Leap and Tracker.

“When I showed up for Manifest, it was just easy. I walked in, it was right, everyone was like, ‘Yeah, that’s the girl,’” Roxburgh told Elle in 2023. “Young me would have looked at where I am now and been like, ‘That’s where I want to go, and that’s what’s going to make me happy.’”

She continued: “There are so many beautiful positives that come with being in the position that Manifest has given me.”

Keep scrolling for everything to know about NBC’s The Hunting Party — including its early debut:

What Is the Synopsis of ‘The Hunting Party’?

The Hunting Party is a “high-concept crime procedural” about a group of investigators tasked with tracking down and capturing “the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen.” After a seemingly planned prison escape from a facility called The Pit, Bex and her coworkers must track down the criminals without drawing attention to themselves or the mission related to a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist.

When Will ‘The Hunting Party’ Premiere on NBC?

After originally being scheduled for a February release, NBC moved the premiere date up to Sunday, January 19, at 7 p.m. ET. An encore episode of the premiere is slated for the original premiere time slot on Monday, February 3, at 10 p.m. ET before new episodes originally start airing Monday, February 10, and streaming on Peacock the next day.

Who Makes Up the Cast?

In addition to Roxburgh, Nick Wechsler, Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie and Sara Garcia make up the rest of the cast.

What Does This Mean for Melissa’s Role on ‘Tracker’?

Roxburgh’s lead role on The Hunting Party comes amid her ongoing arc on Tracker as Dory a.k.a Justin Hartley‘s onscreen sister. Executive producer Elwood Reid teased Roxburgh’s status on the show in July 2024, telling TVLine, “We’ll unpeel some more stuff with his sister.”