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?
To pull out a wonderful show like “The Finder”, placed juxtaposition to “Bones”, was more than words can describe. Both shows I cannot wait to get home and watch after a hard days work. Very well written, played, and thought through. Both shows, plus others that have been mentioned (you know what shows), are, well, were, the bastion of FOX. I definitely twitterpatted along with these shows, but now it seems that I am having less and less to look forward to. I cannot say how to improve “The Finder” or the other shows, but there are ways, ways that… Read more »
fox sucks it was a great show but fox does this all the time !!
If they hadn’t moved it on friday’s, it wouldn’t be canceled!!
I loved the show dumb FOX it loves to do that
I loved this series. The actors all have terrific chemistry together and the writing is great. This is an intelligent series with a bit of a quirky sense of humor that is always entertaining. I realize that ratings are important but it doesn’t seem to me that this wonderful show was given a chance to succeed. One season is not nearly enough for me.
To cancel this show and to leave Touch makes no sense at all. The Finder tells similar interconnecting stores without the histronics of Mr. Sutherland.
🙁 man it was just getting good to, you finally saw a dark side of walt then BAM! its over. hopefully someone will take the show and expand it.. silly foxxy
Love the show and the cast most of all. Sorry its not being renewed…
I can’t beleive this! The Finder was mt Favorite tv show.Its a sad day! I can only hope someone else picks it up!
You should have left t on Thursday and it would have done better. Very disappointed!!
The Finder should have stayed paired with Bones for the duration of its first season. Not been stuck after American Idol. The “reality” tv watching morons of the world certainly weren’t going to stick around to watch a show that doesn’t involve people humiliating themsevles in front of celebrities on national tv. I’m amazed and pleased that Bones has made a run as long as it has. Ever since they cancelled Firefly, Fox hasnt been able to tell when its got a good show on its hands.
My daughter called me today from out of state to tell me The Finder was cancelled. It seems everyshow I really enjoy gets cancelled. I do not watch reality TV. I do not care about others peoples lives and their problems or successes. The Finder was a perfect escape.
FOX could of made this show have a second wind. My wife and I watch Bones and this every week and if FOX wanted to really change The Finder all they had to do was do a episode with Booth and Bones appearance on The Finder and move The Finder to follow Bones during the week. Who stays home on Friday nights anyway? The majority of Americans are out to the movies or having a good time enjoying the weekend that’s just common since FOX. Bring it back for another season with that in mind and they might have a… Read more »
I really loved this show too. I think advertising was a big missing factor to this shows potential success. I also think that the show went against a lot of Fox’s conservative ideals too. Really though, this show and Firefly. Both intelligent shows, cancelled because Fox didn’t give them the airing time they deserved. Sign a petition or whatever. What I did was call the Fox number for comments about shows: (310) 369-3066 , and I left a comment about how I really think they are putting a bad image upon themselves by denying a lot of intellectuals the smart… Read more »
It is soooo disappointed that FOX would get rid of such a well written and thought out show… I became addicted to this show, and just to see it end the way it ended it beyond stupid. The cast was good, Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan make a unique combo yet it works for the better. It was nice to see a show that wasn’t all about comedy, yet it had the right amount that would make you laugh and you would be interested in the story and development of characters. I was really hoping for further seasons, and… Read more »
I agree with the mushy brains of reality show watchers. I watch one reality show, AGT. The rest I find extremely boring. Love THE FINDER, HARRY’S LAW, and THE FIRM. It seems any show that makes you think is being aborted. What a shame.
Such a sad day to find this out, the Finder was creative, crazy, and quite fun to watch. While they’re listing it as a spin-off of Bones it really had nothing related to the show. I understand it’s a game of numbers, and not enough numbers watched the show, but they’re expecting the numbers that these reality tv shows pull in on regular tv shows, while I doubt any other station will pick up the show … one can hope. Here’s to the best singer, dancer, cook, chef, talent, reject,etc, and giving me further cause to just get rid of… Read more »