Video in the player above shows Rick Bentley's top movie picks for 2024. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- Melissa Roxburgh’s previous series, the time-warping “Manifest,” went through some rocky times at the end getting canceled by NBC after three seasons. The only way fans got to see the finale was through a fourth season produced by the streaming service Netflix. Actions by NBC executives for her new series, “The Hunting Party,” shows a lot more support for the production. It was originally scheduled to debut in early February but at the last minute was moved to 7 p.m. Jan. 19 to put it in the wake of the NFL divisional playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams. “I think it's a great vote of confidence from the network and I'm excited for all the football fans to get their next adrenaline rush after the game. So hopefully, they all tune in,” Roxburgh says. “The Hunting Party” is a high-concept crime procedural dealing with a small team of investigators who have been assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen. Their mission becomes necessary when the criminals escape from a top-secret prison that’s not supposed to exist.  Along with Roxburgh, the cast includes Nick Wechsler, Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie and Sara Garcia.  Roxburgh plays Rebecca “Bex” Henderson, a shrewd ex-FBI agent and savvy profiler. Before landing the starring role in the new NBC offerings, the Canadian-born actress appeared in “Manifest,” “Mindcage,” “Supernatural,” “Quantum Leap,” “Valor,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” and “Travelers.” She’s had other roles such as “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” and “I Still Believe” but a large part of her resume is made up of productions featuring action and mysteries. When asked if it has been a matter of her being drawn to such roles or the producers of programs with those kinds of roles thinking of her, Roxburgh speculates that it is a little of both. “It's always fun playing this. I don't know if I'm allowed to say kickass, hopefully that's not incorrect,” Roxburgh says with a smile. “The strong girl who saves the day, I think that's a super fun position to be in. “For some reason, I'm always getting the role of the girl with the gun.” Roxburgh began chasing an acting career as soon as she graduated from high school. She came armed with acting training having attended the William Esper Studio, a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, N.Y. She didn’t realize at the time that a few criminology classes she took would also come in handy with the way her acting career has gone. “I went to school for criminal profiling for a second and I think that's just the way my brain likes to work. I love to psychoanalyze. And I love to understand people's psychology, which makes sense as to how I wound up in acting instead,” Roxburgh says. “I think that it's really fun and also important to understand how someone became the way that they are. “Rebecca Henderson – Bex - takes that to the next level while catching serial killers. It's super fun to psychoanalyze and get to understand why each killer does what they do. They're all so unique and so interesting and not your normal serial killer.” “The Hunting Party” will bank heavily on how Roxburgh’s character can outwit the criminals. At least she doesn’t have to go through hours of makeup work as she did for her role as Ensign Syl in the feature film “Star Trek Beyond.” The crablike design of her character’s face was a long and complicated process each day of filming. “I mean, you're still getting up at 4 a.m., 5 a.m., sometimes for makeup but at least it's not eight hours in the chair like ‘Star Trek’ was. They've gotten it down to like an hour or so. It's definitely a lot more manageable,” Roxburgh says. If you miss the launch, the series will be available on the streaming service Peacock the next day. An encore episode of “The Hunting Party” will air in its original premiere time slot of 10 p.m. Feb. 3 with new episodes continuing starting Feb. 10. Roxburgh strongly suggests it is important to see the initial episode of “The Hunting Party.” There are bits of plot elements dealing with the overall structure of the show that will be revealed at the end of the first season run. “It is less about my character and more about the show, in general,” Roxburgh says. “I think that as an audience member, you'll be really surprised by the end of the season from what you saw at the beginning of the season. “So, pay attention to the beginning of the season, because a lot of secrets come out at the end.”