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?
Nooooooooo! I LOVE the Finder. Clever, family-friendly, captivating, quirky characters, a witty dash of humor. Plus I could listen to Michael Clark Duncan read the phone book!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Finder!! Family friendly and keeps you guessing! I didn’t like the time slot change but I still DVR’d it!!! I don’t care if it is on FOX or somewhere else. I would still like to continue watching this show!!
Another network is bound to pick this up. The chemistry of the characters is too good to stop. If FOX hadn’t started it after Bones went on hiatis for Emily’s pregnancy, then put the Finder on hiatis, and then moved its time slot, the show would’ve picked up speed. Word would’ve spread. FOX messed up BIG TIME. Especially when House is also in for its last season and their going to have to do some creative work, since most of the class is graduating, to keep Glee at the top for its fourth season. The College Years of Saved By… Read more »
Okay, listen any of you FOX people. This show is epic, and by cancelling it, you cancel something more possiblity of becoming something great then Angelina Jolie’s children. Moving the day it aired on was not exactly a smart move because since it is a new show and friday is not a very good day for new airing shows, you should have moved Bones to friday and given the finder the monday slot, because Bones already has quite a large and dedicated stream of followers, and the scores would be less effected should it move the day. I do really… Read more »
This is too great a show to cxl! It’s fun to watch, my kids and grands enjooy it! Please reconsider.
FOX will renew it. Look at “Breaking In”. FOX cancelled it, then renewed it, and then cancelled it again. When they do renew “The Finder”, hopefully there will be more viewers to satisfy their high ratings standards.
The show was unique in its procedurals–though some seemed a bit far-fetched, usually relying on Walter’s “dreams” to get the necessary clue he needed to unravel the mystery.
The b-story, usually involving the gypsy teenager he employed was ill-fitting and was always a huge distraction. It felt like an entirely different piece of the show (think Rocky and Bullwinkle with interstitials of Fractured Fairy Tales or Aesop and Son).
another great job bythe foxs front office NOT
This was a great show….and now i feel like i wasted my time getting into it. Messed up, fox.
Are you kidding me? !!! This is a great show, it’s got everything, suspense, mystery, comedy, Pethos….and to leave us with Walter going to jail and all those lose ends…..NOT Right….NOT Right….YOU really need to rethink your position on this one Fox. Reality Check. What the What What?
OH Yeah…how about you stop jackin around with the time slot as well, that might help. Nothing went WRONG with this show…in fact I love the 8 clock time.
Fox showing its stupidity again. I guess not enough sex and nudity for the target age group and intellect group.
This was a great show! Great cast and excellent chemistry. I watched it on-demand, as I could not take the time off when it aired during the week. Do they factor those viewers into the ratings? Please – USA, TNT, TV Guide channel – someone pick this up and run with it. It’s too good to let die.
I agree, I hope some other network has the forsight to pick up this excellent show.
Not surprised…FOX Honchos are IDIOTS.
The Finder was one of the few “Family-Friendly” shows out there. It’s very disappointing.
First intelligent show in a very long time is cancelled, for more reality tv
discusting
NOOOOO! I can’t believe this $)(;: Oh wait yes I can!!! They never really care about what people like to watch. The show was terrific, maybe the choice of Friday sucked. Should have tried another night… Far more entertaining then some of the mind numbing crap they renewed.