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?
I loved this show since I saw the finder episode on Bones. I saw the episode like 10 times and I really love this show. I miss the other bartender character from the Bones episode but I love the gypsy story line and that makes up for it. It is rare when a smart, wonderful show comes along and I hope that it can continue somehow. I really hate when networks make dumb moves like canceling a wholesome show. I wouldn’t watch reality if I was being threatened with a gun. A smart move would have been to put it… Read more »
I cannot believe Fox got rid of The Finder, a great clean family show. Loved the characters and the story line. Please bring it back! Maybe like the beginning of the week!
Too bad for Fox for making a bad decision. Sometimes you need to look past the ratings and take a chance. They canceled Firefly and it had a huge following. Maybe Netflix will pick up The Finder and produce it for streaming?
The Finder is fun and quirky and needs to continue.
I thoughly enjoyed the finder… I thought the stories were fantastic and the relationship between the characters was amazing… The last episode had me engrossed in the montage of anarchy! And I gutted I will never know how it all turned out . One of the most enjoyable shows I have seen in along time! Come on season 2! “risk it!!!”
I agree. Characters with depth and compassion for each other. Unusual, creative unpredictable story lines. Really nice for a change. I really enjoyed. Put it back. !
I really loved this show. Became one of my favs. Fox is nuts. I am so tired of reality shows…and you cannot watch most of those as a family. But, the reality shows are cheaper for the networks. SHAME on you fox!
Who is the lame-ass jackass who juggled the schedule without enough advertising to inform the public. This was a great show, with decent character development and fun storylines. I have been watching tv since I was 4 and I am now in my 60s. This show deserves to be kept on some network.
I had the pilot episode that appeared on “Bones” on my DVR. I must have watched it 6 or 8 times. In my opinion, the series failed because they “reformulated” it. All the characters were watered down in the series–if they appeared at all. I don’t know who the genius was who did the “reformulating”, but it was a gross miscalculation. While I liked the series very much, it was a pale shadow to the original that appeared on “Bones”.
Watched the rerun last night and this grows on you. I agree was a great cast, and got better as you got to know the characters. Moving this around, periodic breaks, and then Friday night date night/shopping night, Good Friday, etc. What did they think would happen.
FINALLY we had a truly GOOD show on TV and it gets cancelled? What is wrong with this picture…hmmm…..and a show the whole family could watch…Please some other network..PICK IT UP! PLEASE!!!
No Fox You didn’t!! The Finder is my family’s favorite show. It is a show that parents and kids can watch together.
i am sick this show is cancelled. i never missed a show and it was one of my favorites on any channel…….after 2 episodes of touch i couldnt take the same thing over and over. i think fox made a big mistake.
The Finder was an Original thought out show and was very fun to watch. When you move a show around and continually have gaps of 2-3 weeks between shows, of course the ratings go down. Fox did the same thing to Human Target. You had to really look for it because of the baseball, basketball, or football seasons. It wasn’t a copycat show. It was very new ,creative show. Too bad Fox doesn’t see a good show when it comes along. Why not keep a show following Bones or before Bones. CBS did it with NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles… Read more »
This is a great show! I hate to see it cancelled.
Don’t think it needs fixin’.
Is there a petition to sign to bring Finder back. Such an entertaining show, great cast, interesting premise….Damn! I really enjoyed watching it.
Please reconsider your choice to cancel this series. It was refreshing and fun to watch. I agree as said in an earlier post, I am sick of the reality genre.
More promotion as you ended the season with a cliff hanger and now choose not to renew………MISTAKE!