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.
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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?
Another quality, smart..well written show axed by the idiots at fox………….who show no patients in letting an audience get to know a show while they moved it around.
What is wrong with this network…..stop buying cartoons and focus on quailty writting, and well developed characters
I’ve been a dedicated wrestling fan for over 25 years now, and I never missed an episode of Friday Night Smackdown as long as I was home. That was until the Finder was moved to Fridays. No matter what happened in the WWE, the Finder was a much more fascinating and entertaining show. The finale just left me wanting more, and seeing as how there won’t be another season to follow up, I’m saddened by it. A damn shame. No other show caught my attention like this. Plan to get this on dvd so I can at least enjoy these… Read more »
This show quickly became my favorite show! Evidently this was way to smart and intellegent for FOX. Time for another animated show I guess. :>(
The Finder joins Firefly, John Doe and others on a lengthening list of shows canceled in favor of shows I won’t watch. Of course the Fox network brain trust has proved their ceaselessness. Do they not get that I don’t watch TV any more but chose to live my life MY way and not around their broad cast schedule. Ever hear of Hulu guys? I can watch when I want and not when the network chooses to put the show on?
OH I should also add Alcatraz to the list of shows I liked that Fox has canceled
It should not have been canceled. We need to start a petition or something to bring it back! I NEED to know what happens next and how could anyone want to put an end to Walter’s antics???
Fox seems to think only reality tv showes are good enof to keep. when thay get a good show out it neever lasts very long. I DONT DO THE REALITY SHOWES AND WILL TERN ALL THEM OFF WHEN THAY START !!!!!
I think it is a shame they cancelled the show and wonder what can be done to change their minds . . .
I found the show got better each episode as the characters developed. It was fun. Worst of all, now we will never know what happens to the characters as the ending was a bit of a cliff-hanger. Does Maddie make it on her own? Does Walter explode/go crazy? Does the other character whose name escapes me at the moment get her badge back? What about law school now????
Seeeeeeriously something is wrong with television when they cancel one of the best shows to debut this year. Any chances another station might pick it up?
So just watched the final episode on hulu. I didn’t realize that it had been canceled until I saw Walter being manhandled to the floor by the marshals after Isabel gave her badge up. I’m with the previous posters about the reality tv sucking. I mean that’s pretty much all that’s on anymore. When we turn on the tv we want fiction, not soap opera fake reality shows. Other than the Finder and Bones on Fox, I pretty much only watch ABC anymore because they have real primetime shows. Everyone else has reality. If viewers wanted reality all the time,… Read more »
Sooo pissed. THis show was amazing! I was trying to suggest it to anyone and everyone I know, and was hoping to hell it would catch on. One of the best new shows I have seen in awhile. Can’t believe that they would cancel it. I guess thats what happens when your target audience is one that uses PVRs and Downloads these kind of things…. Too bad. What a waste of invested time. Specially after the finale……wow
They wanted to kill this show off in the worst way… you never move a show to a Friday night and expect it to do better. You never move a show PERIOD if you want it to succeed. What went wrong with this show? 1. The Willa story line just plain p*ssed people off… 2. The probation officer just plain p*ssed people off… 3. The writers just plain laid a goose egg on several episodes… 4. Compare the series to the Bones episode that introduced the character and you can hardly see any resemblance, the screwed it up when they… Read more »
Ditto to what Cynthia S. said! I thought Finder was unique, innovative, and wildly entertaining. Ironically, can’t say the same for “Touch” especially with Kiefer Sutherland’s tired, same-old, same-old acting that barely differs from his character on 24. And by the way, when he KNOWS Jake darts off at the slightest inclination, why is he/they always walking 10 feet in front of him–so unrealistic and ridiculous! I am fed up with FOX cancelling shows because they don’t know how to count online viewers–AND what’s up with the 8-day wait to view episodes on the FOX website (none o f the… Read more »
usa
05-13-2012
Please do not cancel after only one season. I believe it’s a great show fantastic story lines and even greater characters. There are so few shows right now that my 15 year old will sit and watch with us, this show and The Finder are two of them.
Sincerely
Stephanie Richards
Outragous! This show was an amazing show! They left so much un answered! I can’t believe they canceled this show!
Well actually I was disappointed by this show when it started…. it was missing something and I couldn’t ‘find’ what it was. Turns out it was just too confusing, and while I like procedural shows that are intelligent in getting to their conclusion, this one was a bit too far-fetched. Then again, maybe it was the shirtless Geoff Stults that got the Bones pilot interesting for me, which we didn’t get enough until the second part of the season. And the show did get better by the end, it just had to find it’s pace I guess… BTW Fox really… Read more »