Bones has been a quiet hit for FOX but the same can’t be said for its spin-off, The Finder. FOX has now cancelled the low-rated series after one season.
The Finder is a procedural series that revolves around a man (Geoff Stults) with the extraordinary ability to help people find the unfindable. Other castmembers include Maddie Hasson, Mercedes Masohn, and Michael Clarke Duncan.
The spin-off debuted on January 12th to a disappointing 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.50 million total viewers. It was fourth in its Thursday night timeslot right out of the gate and lost nearly 30% of the all-important demo from its compatible lead-in, Bones. This was not a good start.
 Loading ... |
Things picked up a bit in the following weeks, thanks in large part to the show having FOX’s blockbuster American Idol as a lead-in. Still, the numbers weren’t as high as they should have been.
After seven weeks on the air, FOX put Finder on hiatus and then moved it to Friday nights, giving its Thursday timeslot to Touch. If The Finder could maintain a healthy percentage of its viewers after the switch, it would likely garner a renewal.
But that didn’t happen and Finder’s numbers dropped like a rock. In its first Friday airing, the freshman series attracted a 1.1 demo rating — an episode-to-episode loss of 53% — with just 4.03 million viewers. The numbers for future episodes fluctuated a bit but didn’t really get any more encouraging. The network could do just as well or better by running cheaper reality programming.
The season finale of The Finder is set to air this Friday night and there won’t be any episodes after that. Hopefully the producers saw the writing on the wall early enough and won’t leave viewers hanging with any major unresolved storylines.
What do you think? What went wrong with this show? Why do you think The Finder failed to attract a bigger audience? Was cancelling the series the right decision? How would you have fixed it?
Newer and/or Related Articles
-
The Finder: Hanson’s Plan to Bring Duncan & Stults Back to Bones
Sep 6, 2012 -
123 Ending or Cancelled TV Shows for the 2011-12 TV Season (part 1)
Aug 28, 2012 -
Cancelled & Renewed FOX TV Shows for 2011-12
Aug 19, 2012 -
The Finder
Jul 8, 2012 -
FOX 2011-12 Ratings Report Card
Jun 1, 2012 -
The Finder: Ratings for the 2011-12 TV Season
May 16, 2012 -
Touch: Season Two for Kiefer Sutherland Series
May 9, 2012 -
FOX Teases May 2012 Shows and Finales
Apr 23, 2012 -
FOX Announces Finales for 2011-12 Season
Mar 20, 2012 -
The Finder: TV Show Moving to Fridays
Mar 2, 2012 -
The Finder: Going on Hiatus, Cancelled?
Feb 27, 2012 -
FOX Shifts Touch, Bones, House, The Finder and More
Feb 27, 2012 -
FOX Announces More Mid-Season 2011-12 Plans
Feb 10, 2012 -
The Finder: Premiere Ratings
Jan 13, 2012 -
The Finder: Is the New FOX Series Worth Watching?
Jan 12, 2012 -
FOX Announces 2011-12 Mid-Season Schedule
Dec 2, 2011 -
FOX Announces 2011-12 Season Primetime Schedule
May 16, 2011
{ 1074 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Also found the show on Netflix and loved it. It’s a shame it was canceled. Excellent family show.
I found the show The Finder on Netflix and have fallen in love with it. It ranks right up there with Leverage as far as I am concerned. I cannot get fox tv on my regular cable so I watched the show on Netflix from beginning to the season finale …. I went looking forcseason two and was very disappointed it was not there. I have downgraded my cable subscription to the basic package because there was nothing good to watch on the other stations in the time frame I had available. I had to watch all my favorite shows online to keep up or catch up. Had I known this show was on I may have checked into Fox once a week just to view it. I am so SICK of REALITY tv that is scripted and not really real to begin with.. Just bring back good programming. I know you can
That was a great show. Left us hanging. The location (by the way, I am a Floridian), the chemistry between the actors, the plot lines, all worked for me and I’m sure a gazillion others. Walter’s unique ability alone was enough for brainiacs like me. He was better than Sheldon Cooper on the BIG BANG THEORY. But the writers who solved the plots get credit for that. I found myself wanting to live where they were and be their besties. Too bad it had to go away. That was just WRONG.
PLEASE PLEASE BRING IT BACK….This is a good family show. We need more of these type of shows instead of all the reality shows. I watched a few eposides on tv but had a hard time remembering when it was on to catch all of them. I think they should’ve advertised more for it and left it in the time slot as it was instead of moving it. You don’t move shows to a friday night and think they will make it. I am currently watching the episodes I missed on netflex. PLease reconsider and bring it back. Advertise more and choose a better slot. It’s a show i can watch with my son.
I loved The Finder, But the way they left it was just plain messed up. I know Michael Clark Duncan died, but they need to at least do a movie to close all the story lines. FOX would not know a good tv show if it appeared in their corporate office naked, tap dancing wearing a bright green bow tie and pissed in their cheerios.
I have just watched The Finder”again “on Netflix. I was one of the what you consider to be few millions that watched it when it was on the 1st time. I am a big Bones fan so I was aware the show was going to be on. I am also a fan of Geoff Stults, and the late Michael Clark Duncan. I remember Geoff from 7th Heaven. I still love the show, and think it is a real shame it was cancelled. Is there any way it could be brought back? I realize MCD left some big shoes to fill (no pun intended) but the other characters were really interesting too! There has to be some way to get real entertainment like this back on TV, it was funny and sweet and something a lot of families could watch together. I loved Walter’s wacky way of finding things, his relationship with his beautiful Lady, Isabelle. Willa was so cute and smart, and you left her out on the road. Please bring back THE FINDER. Why don’t you guys out there in TV land try something different and listen to the folks who have gone to the trouble of requesting this. Since so many people have now found the show on Netflix you might have a better following now.
I loved the show and think Fox should have put more into promoting it and letting people know when they changed the night it was on. I found it on Netflix and have loved watching it again, great story line. PLEASE RECONSIDER AND BRING IT BACK!!This was a really good show!!!
I’m with Marge. I also discovered this series on NetFlix and fell in love with it. I had never heard of it before but decided to give it a chance when I found it in the NetFlix queue. Now I’m attached to the characters and the writing and will miss it a lot. I just saw the final episode. You gotta give the producers credit. The last show messed me up, but I loved what they did. Now I have to find the episode of “Bones” that gave birth to this series and its wonderful characters. I would love to see more of them. Kudos to all involved.
Really? Bring it back? Michael Clark Duncan passed away a few months ago. The show was good….for a moment in time. If it was all that good, perhaps the finder could have found a few more people to watch the show.
BRING THE SERIES BACK. ! ! Found it on netflix, watched it, LOVED IT !! WOULD HAVE WATCHED ON THE NETWORK HAD I KNOWN IT EXISTED. I surfed the channels but never noticed it and since you never bothered to advertised it I missed it ! ! Had you advertised it, it would probably still be on the air, it is THAT good.
← Previous Comments
{ 3 trackbacks }