Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: Josh McKenzie, nbc, the hunting party

The Hunting Party: McKenzie on Chemistry, Favorite Killer & "La Brea"

Josh McKenzie (The Twelve) spoke with Bleeding Cool about the chemistry among the cast of NBC's The Hunting Party, La Brea memories, and more.

Josh McKenzie is certainly no stranger when it comes to ensemble casts throughout his career since his on-screen debut in the TV series Legend of the Seeker. He would join other memorable shows like Power Rangers, The Shannara Chronicles, The New Legends of Money, Ahikaroa, Good Grief, and La Brea. His latest is the NBC action thriller procedural series The Hunting Party, which follows a small team of investigators led by Rebecca "Bex" Henderson (Melissa Roxburgh), who are assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers ever seen, all of whom have just escaped from a top-secret prison that's not supposed to exist. McKenzie, who plays Shane Florence, spoke to Bleeding Cool about the chemistry he developed with Roxburgh, Patrick Sabongui, Nick Wechsler, and Sara Garcia, if we've met his favorite serial killer and his fondest memory of his previous NBC series La Brea.

The Hunting Party Star Josh McKenzie on How He Feels Series "Can Go Forever," Serial Killers, and "La Brea"

Bleeding Cool: So how do you break down your chemistry with Melissa, Nick, Patrick, and Sara and what they're like on set?

They're amazing. They're such a cool bunch of people. Melissa, Patrick, and I work together the most, and we were in pre-production together. We rehearsed our main introductory scenes for a couple of weeks before shooting. I got to know Patrick and Melissa well from the get-go – and I'm not a very social person, but it's probably the most I've been while shooting. We needed that because it's a dark procedural.

It's the case of the week, so it rolls, and it's propulsive, but it's also like dealing with heavy stuff, and the core to these types of high-concept procedurals is the casting, dynamic, and the relationships. If you can get that right, then this thing can go forever because it will always be interesting. You've worked out how these characters relate to each other, there's always going to be conflict, there's always going to be resolution, and we're always going to be learning things, because they're pulling and extracting from each other.

Getting that right was important, and luckily for us, it was effortless. Working with Nick and Sara is so much fun. We have so many different relationships and points of contact that it's like performing in a band. As long as you're in the right key, you can bounce off and improvise off each other. We have too much fun for a show about serial killers [laughs], but I think it's necessary.

So far this season, which serial killer has stood out to you the most, or have we not seen that yet?

I don't think we've seen the most interesting one yet. I was going to say Malak (Kevin Corrigan) is fascinating here, who we just saw, but no, there's better to come. There is one that's interesting, who I also found fascinating, that was quite a lot of fun to explore.

Final question: what was your fondest memory of "La Brea" and playing Lucas?

That final season was short. It was only six episodes. We moved locations from Melbourne to Gold Coast [Australia], and by that point, we're all mates, and Lucas got to grow up a little bit. I still love the old Lucas, the season one smart-ass version. That final season, man, was really special when I got to shadow one of the directors as well on the finale. That was a special moment that I will never forget.

The Hunting Party airs Mondays on NBC and is available to stream on Peacock. You can also check out our interview with Garcia and Bailey.

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