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.
 Loading ... |
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 agree, The Finder is a great show. The most disappointing moment tonight was watching the finale then being subjected to the vomit inducing preview for some reality show where c-list celebrities choose hot chicks to date based on their voices and have spinny chairs. How could they cancel quality programming to push more dreck? And we wonder why the country is getting dumber, the media panders to the lowest common denominator.
My husband and I were so disappointed to find out The Finder was cancelled as we watched the last episode. We never missed this show. As we told friends it was one of our favorite show, most had never heard of it. Time slot and marketing must be the contributing factor to this problem. We would love to see the show continued. We were just getting friends and family on board to watch.
There was nothing wrong with the show. Fox executives are a bunch of morons. Cf John Doe.
I am very disappointed that you have decided to cancel this show. The characters are different enough and positive enough to keep me coming back for more. They are flawed enough and genuine enough to be likable. They interact well and work as a team. Please don’t cancel now. You have left this season with everyone in parallel. For your reputation you need to end this show on a good note. I will miss this show. Please reconsider your decision to cancel The Finder. There are never enough shows that make you feel good that you took the time to… Read more »
The Finder was a good show! Still IS! Bring it back Fox! Bring back The Finder!
Fox is stupado. Poor marketing. Great show.
13 episodes should be grounds to fire the programming exec …
I guess I’m too old for Fox programming (55). The last show that I liked and they stuck with was Bones. Then the writing started to become REALLY inconsistent and I bailed. Last year it was Human Target getting a dramatic rewrite to become more female friendly and what made my wife like it … Stopped. They just won’t leave good enough to get on the air alone. The first year of “The Seinfeld Cronicles” was horrible, the same with MASH, now they are classics. They each took about 30-40 episodes to gain traction. Quitting on a show after episodes… Read more »
I am extremely disappointed that The Finder has been canceled. My husband & I watched The Finder episode on Bones and both agreed that it would be a great show on its own. The major characters are all interesting, complicated and likable. The story lines were compelling and the exploration of the characters personal lives made us want to know more. We never missed an episode and kept checking when the show went on hiatus to see when it would return. One minor criticism I have is the bizarre Gypsy family “Boss” forcing Willa and Timo to marry. That whole… Read more »
I’m sorry to see it go, it was a well done script with plenty of turns. Walter is a great charector who mind works in an interesting unconventional way that keeps me involved. If 18 year old plus is their target demographic, dont put it on Thursday and Friday nights, we drink those nights!
Love this show!!!!!! Best fox has had on in years…love tonights episode..love his brother…he was great on 7th heaven..both of them were! Fox has really messed up by cancelling this great show!!!!!!!! Thinking about changing channels..for good!! But u know what..maybe another network will pick it up….i will be waiting yo see.shame on you fox…not everyone likes reality shows…and i am one of them. Ya’ll really got it wrong this time!!!!
I am right there with you TCollins, too many reality shows. Smart characters are not what the masses seek. Our whole family enjoyed this show together, sad to discover it is done.
I agree with Rosetiem. I think The Finder would be a great fit for the USA Network
It is a great show! As a fan of the show it was hard to keep track of when it was on since they moved it all the time! No wonder the ratings suffered. Too bad, I hope another network see its value and picks it up.
I’m with you fell in love with the show. then they move it. they should of left it right where it was. now they want to cancel it not fair not fair at all. why do they always take off the good shows to be replaced by reality tv enough of reality tv. i don’t want to see any more rich families, pregnant teenagers , mean kids , out of control teens, or just plain stupid people. that is not good tv
I think it really stinks that The Finder was cancelled it is a great show with a fantastic cast…I hope USA picks it up they seem to believe more in shows like this than crappy reality tv soooo incredibly sick of that stuff!!!!