5 Canceled NBC Shows In 2026 (And 5 That Thankfully Got Renewals)

A criminally underseen mockumentary comedy, Stumble is unfortunately one of the biggest cancellations NBC has made so far this year. It focuses on a hyper-competitive cheerleading coach who is forced to take a new job at a Junior State College and fight her way back to the top. 

At times feeling like a fusion of A.P. Bio (2018) and sports mockumentaries like Tour de Pharmacy (2017), the comedy benefited from a fantastic central cast that included Jenn Lyon, Taran Killam, and a scene-stealing Kristin Chenoweth. Despite solid reviews from critics, the show's placement on Friday nights left it struggling to generate a natural fanbase. In the end, Stumble ended up being pulled from the floor show—but if you have Peacock and missed out on this one, the thirteen-episode first season is a delightful (and now pretty compact) watch.

While Scrubs (2026) is very much enjoying its modern revival, shows like St. Denis Medical have helped keep that goofy doctor dramedy genre alive and thriving. Focusing on the staff at the titular hospital, St. Denis Medical is a big-hearted show that benefits from an earnest approach to the medical field, a satirical eye on how it all comes together, and the very human dynamics that drive the main cast. 

St. Denis Medical has proven to be a modest hit for NBC, with the show renewed for a third season a few months ago. The season two finale set the stage for some new romantic entanglements and workplace dynamics in the upcoming episodes, making this an ideal pick for audiences who still want a little bit of that The Office energy in their regular schedule alongside The Paper (2025) on Peacock.

While St. Denis Medical ensures that NBC still has some stories about doctors going forward, their more dramatic approach to the genre—Brilliant Minds—has been shuttered. Starring Zachary Quinto as a gifted physician whose prosopagnosia makes him an unlikely teacher to a new class of interns at Bronx General Hospital, the show ran for two seasons and was bolstered by terrific performances. 

However, Brilliant Minds failed to catch the broader audience's attention in the same way The Pitt (2025) has. As a result, NBC pulled the show mid-season from its schedule; while the remainder of Season 2 will begin airing at the end of May, the show has been formally cancelled by the network. Hopefully, the mysteries set up in the first half of the season get a conclusive ending in the upcoming episodes, as there might not be another chance for fans to get closure with this show.

One of the best new comedies NBC has had in years, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is a goofy delight that wholly deserved a renewal. The show, focusing on an in-universe documentary being made about a disgraced football player, is a laugh-riot. The show is a perfect vehicle for Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe, who prove to be an ideal odd couple as the football star and the documentarian. 

Supporting turns from Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, and especially Megan Thee Stallion help elevate the goofiness to an art form. The show has been renewed for a new season and will reportedly premiere in the fall in an effort to keep up the momentum behind the show. If you loved wacky comedies with a lot of heart like Community (2009), you need to support this show while it’s still on.

Despite starring one of the franchise's most iconic characters in Detective Elliot Stabler, Law & Order: Organized Crime has been formally shuttered after five seasons. Initially debuting on NBC in 2021, the show brought back Christopher Meloni's Stabler several years after the character was written out of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999). 

After making the leap to Peacock for its fifth season, it sounds like audiences just weren't turning in enough to keep the series going. However, while this may be the end for Stabler's adventures, there's always a chance the character could return for another entry in the larger Dick Wolf-produced franchise. In the meantime, though, fans of the series should take heart knowing that there will be at least one Law & Order show on the schedule still pumping out new episodes.

While one of the spin-offs might have been concluded, the original Law & Order is still going strong. The show's original run concluded in 2010 with Season 20, only for it to be revived in 2022 with Season 21. According to reporting from outlets like Deadline, the decision to keep Law & Order on the air came down to the wire, with budget-related negotiations and scheduling considerations playing a major role in the renewal. 

In the long run, though, the show’s pedigree helped ensure it got another season at least. Law & Order will also notably be returning to its original 10:00 PM Thursday time slot, as opposed to the 8:00 PM time slot it has enjoyed in recent years. This could help push Law & Order further into the record books as one of the longest running dramas in TV history.

A fixture of entertainment journalism for the last thirty years, Access Hollywood is finally shutting down this year. Debuting in 1996, the series served as a quick run-through of entertainment news across pop culture. Kit Hoover has been an anchor on the show since 2010 and was joined by Mario Lopez and Scott Evans in 2019. 

The show has an interesting legacy in modern news, especially for the role it played in events like the 2016 election. However, NBCUniversal's decision to shutter any first-run syndicated shows under its umbrella means that Access Hollywood will finish producing new episodes in September 2026. Given the changing nature of journalism as a whole, this isn't a huge surprise—but it does signal the end of an era for the medium.

The Traitors has been a massive success, which is why it is getting a new NBC spin-off. The celebrity-led game show has been a lot of fun on Peacock, becoming a genuine hit on the streaming service. While the show has been renewed for Peacock, it'll also be getting a spin-off in the form of a "civilian" edition. 

This is also notably one of the only times NBC has featured a reality show in its iconic Thursday lineup, which speaks to the massive popularity of the show. If NBC plays its cards right, this could elevate the brand and make it one of the network's major draws for the foreseeable future. The Traitors could even be a jumping off point for a new generation of reality TV stars if the “civilian” cast generates any breakout stars.

Debuting in 2019, The Kelly Clarkson Show has been a fixture of the daytime talk show space for seven years—but is now set to conclude later this year. The talk show stars Clarkson, who first rose to prominence as the winner of American Idol’s (2002) very first season, and has a mix of playful celebrity interviews, karaoke games, and segments with regular fans. 

The show typically did well in terms of viewership and almost won two Emmy Awards. In 2025, Clarkson confirmed that the show would not be moving forward with an eighth season, which coincides with NBC's larger move away from these types of shows. Given Clarkson’s popularity, though, it shouldn’t be long before she’s back on screen in either another talk show or in a return to narrative productions.

Chicago Fire is part of the current NBC programming bedrock, so it’s no surprise to see that it was renewed. Debuting 14 years ago as part of the larger Dick Wolf brand of shows, Chicago Fire follows the day lives of numerous firefighters and paramedics servicing the city of Chicago. To date, the show has aired almost 300 episodes, so suggesting the renewal was a no-brainer from the NBC brass.

The success of the show also set the stage for multiple spinoffs that have also been renewed, Chicago P.D. (2014) and Chicago Med (2015). All three have been renewed, ensuring that the “One Chicago” programming block on Wednesday nights remains untouched for the foreseeable future. If you’re a fan of these shows, then the current NBC schedule will look great for you.