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.
keep this series. it’s a great show.
I love this show. Please Renew it!!! Kathy Bates is awsome. More advertising would help get the exposure for the show. I happen to stumble on it while flipping channels.
BRING IT BACK. Every good show is canceled toooo soon.. Give it another chance. I would move it to an 8pm time slot……
Harry’s Law is a truely a great program and I can’t believe NBC would consider taking it off. I’m not sure I would switch to Wonder Woman if it were replaced – Wonder Woman holds no interest for me.
Harr’s Law has been a refreshing change from all the mindless shows we are subjected to theses days. The cast is great and the story line is absolutely first rate. NBC, Please have the courage to stick with quality entertainment for a change.
With Kathy Bates at the helm of this ensemble, it can only get better. What a relief from those so-called “reality” and “survivor” shows. Drama, laughs, emotions, hardship, surprises, and never ending twists and turns. Anyone with a foothold on what america wants to watch has got to be behind this series continuing on and on. But then again, what does the powers-to-be that make such decisions know about what the masses really want as entertainment these days. If they cancel the show, you can count me as a viewer who will boycott anything NBC. If they do terminate this… Read more »
I have been looking all over for Harry’s Law – it is probably one of the best programs that NBC has come out with in a long time. The reason it seemed low in the ratings is that NBC is just behind in most ratings due to the bad shows they come out with and keep on the air, versus the decent shows they quickly cancel. So we watch CBS and ABC who give their shows a chance to catch on. What more can I say?
I think that this is a great show! Lots of interesting topics and not too violent and serious. We always looked forward to each episode. I would love to see the series renewed.
we LOVED it
Please renew this great show!
Please keep Harry’s Law on the air, Kathy Bates is terrific and the rest of the cast is perfect. It has no blood and guts and no sex. It’s serious and funny, something the whole family can watch together and enjoy. I compare this to “All In The Family”.
It would be a mistake to take this off the air and replace it with “Wonder Woman”?
You are kidding.
I LOVE Harry’s Law! Keeping fingers crossed that it come bACK!
Harry’s Law was one of the few tv shows I truly enjoyed and made it a point to watch each week or on “on demand” later. Please don’t take it off the air. Kathy Bates is delightful and I enjoy her so much. Maybe it is because I can relate to her. “Older, more mature” women have so few roles on tv that this was very refreshing. She was so sharp and absolutely “nobody’s fool”. She had it all together. This was the ONLY show on NBC that I watched. To take it off in favor of Wonder Woman would… Read more »
I agree with you Glenda. Keep Harry’s Law. Great show.
This is one of the most stimulating and multifaceted series to come out in quite some time: It’s understated, avoiding sensationalism, and real – not every ending is perfect, yet it remains a feel-good story overall – a good life lesson. Also as I have observed in the past with pilot series with such talented actors, sometimes it takes a little time for the writers and actors to “grow” the roles in order to showcase each charaterer’s unique place in the series without steppping on other actors’ feet (MASH -eventually one of the most successful series in TV history is… Read more »
Great show!! Refreshing talent, please renew the series.