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?
A great show with a horrid ending!!!!!! Bring it back fox. Take off idol or the other stupid
Reality show. Get with it fox. Hopefully tnt will pick it up!!!!!!
Fox never makes good decisions on anything. It’s already been pointed out they keep garbage and cancel good shows. How in the world do you expect a show to succeed when you do not advertise it for one, and two, you move it around mid-season? From reading the comments here, this looks like Firefly all over again. If you do not know what Firefly is, Google or IMDB it.
Sad to see this show canceled. I found it on hulu plus and really enjoyed the episodes. Fox is stupid but what else is new.
please bring the finder back!! it was just coming into its blossom!! the cast was great, and the story was well-done.
It’s never good for a show trying to get its start toi be switched in timeslots. THe best thing for it would have been to keep it and move it into the adjacent timeslot to Bones next season since House is finishing its run.
I couldn’t believe they didn’t renew this show. I loved it and was in disbelief to find out it wouldn’t be returning. The show was great on it’s own; the only thing I could have done better is to have him find less ‘people’. I.e., less of a crime/drama show and more lighthearted. All of the characters were fantastic and it’s hard to believe it drew such a small crowd. With Bones having such a dedicated fan base I would have thought viewers would have crossed over like I did. This was such disappointing news. I guess we’re all destined… Read more »
Clearly the people have spoken. 97% of people on this site have said they have no idea what the people want to see. Meaning the show should NOT be canceled. Again, just another reason to not bother tuning in to the network during that timeslot. The show was amazing. I am holding out hope that USA or TNT pick the show up and run with it for the very long and lucrative lifespan this show is sure to provide them.
The Finder is an excellent show, well written, humorous and realistic dialogue, with characters that the viewers can come to care about it, and intriguing story lines to solve. The problem was the broad casting company’s decision of what day and what time to air it. First of all, you do Not replace a well liked show with a “surprise showing of a new show, ie. ~ replacing a Bones episode; Secondly, you do not keep shuffling the time and days around for it’s show time – this makes viewers irritated. They cannot watch it, because, they can’t find it;… Read more »
LOVE THE FINDER!!! Am very upset it was cancelled!I love Walter and the rest of the cast hope someelse picks it up!
Fox sux Why renew a garbage show like bobs burgers an cancel the finder..,.,WTF!!!!
fox… come on you cancel shows too early. play it as a summer series or something it is a fun family friendly show. my 6 yr. old daughter and I watched it together all the time. I watched a lot of the episodes more than once. come on fox bring it back or maybe see if USA wants it…
You don’t advertise them enough. I will buy the season dvd cause I will watch them again. please fox at least give it a half season. people need to watch it and get into it…..
I CANT BELEIVE they cancelled The Finder and left Fringe on!!!!! WTF!!! This show was fresh, new and different. It was awesome. Bones wasnt popular at the beginning and now look at it. How come networks dont give shows a chance anymore????
was a great show, once again – networks blow it.
One of the best new shows. Funny, great cast. Tough timeslots on Thursday and Friday nights. Very disappointed, Fox!
take off “90120” brainless! keep “the finder ” brainfood!