NBC has handed Line of Fire the first back order of the 2026-27 broadcast season. The network picked up five additional scripts for the Peter Krause and Hope Davis drama, Deadline reports, a vote of confidence that arrives just three weeks into the show’s run.
The case for the pickup is the numbers. The premiere’s multi-platform viewership has grown to nearly 12 million including encores, and the Monday 10 PM slot is up 48% in Live+3 total viewers versus last fall. Episode 2 posted a 47% jump among Live+Same Day adults 18-49, and the series sits in Peacock’s Top 10 alongside the Chicago and Law & Order franchises. Lisa Katz, who oversees scripted content for NBC and Peacock, said the momentum reminds her of past NBC hits and that 18 episodes “feels the sweet spot” for this one.
If the five scripts convert to a full episodic order, season 1 lands at 18 episodes, the same season length as This Is Us, another NBC drama that leaned on serialized storytelling. NBC is also leaning on cross-promotion to keep the word of mouth going: the Line of Fire pilot gets a promo run on Bravo starting October 14, the same week VisionQuest launches on Disney+ and a month before the show’s own network shares a premiere night with The Rookie in January.
For a network drama that premiered September 21 with no prior awareness, a back order this early is the strongest signal a new show can get short of a renewal. We think an 18-episode season is close to locked, and a season 2 order looks very much in play if the curve keeps climbing.