A couple months ago, NBC premiered a new legal TV series from David E. Kelley called Harry’s Law. The series started out decently in the ratings but has fallen quite a bit since then. Tonight is the season finale. Will it be back for season two or end up cancelled?
Harry’s Law revolves around Harriet “Harry” Korn (Kathy Bates), a cranky former patent lawyer. She’s abruptly fired from a big firm, forcing Harry to search for a fresh start. She finds it when she meets Malcolm Davies (Aml Ameen), a college student who desperately needs her help and ends up working for her. A young legal hotshot named Adam Branch (Nate Corddry) accidentally hits Harry and gives up his corporate job to join the team. With the help of Harry’s footwear-obsessed assistant, Jenna (Brittany Snow), they open for business as Harriet’s Law and Fine Shoes.
The NBC series debuted in January with a 2.2 rating in the prized 18-49 demographic and 11.07 million viewers. That was an improvement of nearly 50% in the demo when compared to the last original episode of Chase, the previous timeslot occupant and NBC has had a hard time filling that spot for quite some time. The second episode only came down 5% to a 2.1 rating and 10.43 million. Week three held steady. It was looking like NBC had a hit — or as close as the network seems to get these days.
Then, the fourth installment took a big tumble, dropping 19% to a 1.7 demo rating and 9.22 million. It stayed at that level for a couple weeks, popped up to a 1.8 rating, and has most recently been holding steady at a 1.6 rating. That’s pretty close to what Chase had been doing and that’s all but cancelled.
Tonight marks the twelfth and final episode of the season and Harry’s Law is averaging a 1.8 rating and 9.54 million viewers. It’s the 10th highest rated scripted series on the network, tied with Chuck. On the other big networks, the series would certainly doomed but NBC has lots of ratings problems.
In truth, based on the demo numbers alone, NBC shouldn’t bring back this series for a second season. However, though it ranks towards the bottom of the demo rankings, it’s the most-watched TV show on the network. Though that doesn’t count for much, considering the state of NBC, it may be enough to get Harry’s Law a renewal.
On the other hand, with David E. Kelley likely having another series on NBC next season — the new Wonder Woman — network execs might prefer that he focus on that one and let Harry’s Law go. If they don’t like the Wonder Woman pilot, that may be enough to save Kathy Bates and company.
NBC probably won’t reveal the fate of Harry’s Law until the advertiser upfronts on May 16th. We’ll keep you posted.
What do you think? Should Harry’s Law be renewed or cancelled? If it does comes back, how would you suggest they change it to attract more viewers?
Image courtesy NBC.
Really hope Harry’s Law is renewed. My husband and I both watched every week and loved the show. It is rare for my husband and I both to watch the same show. He is more into Sci Fi shows but he really liked Harry’s Law.
Please DON’T cancel Harry’s Law. It is one of two shows (along with Parenthood) that I look forward to watching each week. I love the cast and the presentation of today’s social issues. I’m so tired of all the Reality shows. It’s nice to have something to look forward to that deals with today’s life issues that is not terribly violent! Thank you!
this is the only TV show that I have watched and looked forward to watching for over 20 years. My son records it for me and I watch it at his house. Please don’t cancel. Most shows are sooo trashy that they are toooo degrading to even watch. I DONT OWN a TV.
They can’t cancel this show. Reality television … well, how do I put it – “stinks.” What happened to the days when the family, after dinner, could gather around the television to watch a “show” not wives, husbands, males, females, whatever try to steal anothers significant other, etc…? Keep the show – you have to.
Love it, do not cancel!
Kathy Bates is wonderful! Love the show.
Please relieve us of all the “reality” junk and keep Harry’s Law.
I enjoy the show and Kathy Bates very much. Please bring the show back.
NBC has to be the worse network in the world. They can’t keep anything worth watching. Personally, I like Harry’s Law and Chase. I think both should be renewed.
It had pretty bland characters and stories at first, but I’m so glad I stuck with it because it really blossomed. The stories got more compelling and so many characters revealed compelling hidden depths. I was hooked by the end of the season. I’m worried the bad start might be to blame for the bad ratings. I hope they renew this show and give it a chance to really come into its own.
• Has anyone been watching Harry’s Law, starring Kathy Bates? because if you do then you know that it is a well written show, with characters that are more believable then the ones on the reality shows. They are taking it off and want to replace it with Wonder Woman. If she is such a wonder why can’t she get her own time slot?????????????? How do you start a campaign to get Harry’s Law back on facebook? Once again in LA if you are not a size “0” or smaller, you are kicked to the curb like a dead animal… Read more »
Oh for Pete’s Sake….. Harry’s Law and Chuck are the only two shows that NBC has on that are worth watching. If they cancel Harry’s Law I will probably just take NBC off of my available channels all together. They always cancel the good ones.
I really like the show. But limit the office love relationships. The stories (minus the romance) are excellent. I look forward to it every week, at least I did.
Please do not cancel Harry’s Law; my husband and I both really enjoy Kathy Bates and the rest of the cast. Harry’s Law is the only show we watch regularly on NBC, and is one of eleven shows that we regularly watch during the week We are not at all interested in the fake “Reality” shows.
Dont cancel this show, we love it!!
Not only did my husband and I love the show–it was a show that my 85-year-old mother also loved and was something that we could talk about together. Why is it that any show that is shows smart people tackling both sides of social issues never is good enough for the networks? Boston Legal was another perfect example–while any show can sometimes go off the deep end once in a while with a storyline, we would still prefer to watch intelligently presented social commentary than these insipid ‘reality’ TV shows. Please renew Harry’s Law!
I had just about given up on watching anything on week night television because I am not into reality (questionable at the least), violence, gore, and punditry. Then, along came “Harry’s Law.” How often do we viewers get to watch an actor of Kathy Bates’ caliber in a television series–one that is well-written, at that? This show does not insult my intelligence nor assume I am a gullible fool. My greatest fear, while enjoying each episode, is that the episode might be the last, since shows that provide quality entertainment seem to be the first to go. Please do not… Read more »