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?
Honestly your reality shows suck – regardless of demographics and ads. The Finder was both fun and full of humanity. Should have kept it for the aesthetics, you can afford it; instead, you sold out for your 30 pieces…
I’ve been wondering when the season premiere would be, and just found out that The Finder is cancelled–I’m sad and surprised. Give things a chance, Fox. This is a terrific show with interesting characters and an unusual premise. Please rethink this!
i agree 🙁
The Finder was my favorite TV show. I am disappointed that it was cancelled, especially considering the end of Season One. However, I agree that Michael Clark Duncan is absolutely irreplaceable, and if the show were to continue, the character Leo Knox would have to have passed away. I really, really wish that it wasn’t canceled! Just because the first season didn’t do well, does not mean the second season will. I really enjoyed this show, almost as much as I enjoy Bones.
I just started watching The Finder on Hulu. I am addicted! I had heard the show was cancelled, and I have to agree with all of the previous comments about giving the show a 2nd season to allow more people time to become aware of such a great show! It is my opinion that a lot of good shows are prematurely cancelled due to not enough viewers – with so many channels on cable, so many trash reality shows, and the popularity rise of watching TV on the internet at one’s own leisure, those millions of viewers that FOX wants… Read more »
I just want to say how much I’ve enjoyed The Finder. I’m an avid watcher of Bones and was really taken with the pilot episode of Finder. Like most good series it had a well balanced cast, interesting story lines and was a lot of fun. As others have said Michael Clark Duncan is irreplaceable but I still think cancellation was short sighted as many popular series don’t take off properly in their first run. There is also so much other rubbsh on TV that it’s a great shame to lose something so creative and so different.
People rarely watch TV on Friday. It should have been kept at it’s midweek viewing.
What went wrong was that it was sold as a spin-off of Bones. It was a totally different perspective with a totally different demographic. The only thing that linked it to Bones, for me, was my autistic preference for “outside-the-box” characters. People more like me. If I were normal and thought of it as a “type”, I would place it in the same category as Psych. Had they spun it off of Psych, we’d be golden! We’d have two awesome shows with two awesome sets of characters!
I like THE FINDER its a great show. I personally think that Tuesday would of been a better night to move the show than Friday. There is way to much going on the schedule in most family to watch it. I think it was a great show. I am tired of TV shows canceling and having to find something new to watch. Most of the newer shows just are not that good. I hope that you decide to re-air on Monday or Tuesday nights
The biggest mistake they could make would be to try to replace MCD.
He and his character are irreplacable.
I think the Bar should have a new owner, possibly an opposite, a woman ?
They need to be creative but it could be accomplished.
I have a lot of idea’s and I’m just a salesman at an electrical supply house.
If given the task, it could be done, I’m sure of it.
The whole idea of the program is original and creative. Don’t let this show and
talented crew be wasted.
I thought the Finder, though a bit far-fetched at times, was entertaining, with a unique plot. The stars were perfectly matched for the parts played. The acting was great.
My greatest fear is that even if the show was brought back, it would be impossible to find someone to replace Michael Clarke Duncan. Even though his character was just a part of the story, it was a big part that will be gone forever, except in reruns.
I liked the show “The Finder” a great deal. I really think they set it up for failure with the time slot they put it in. It should have been set for a Tuesday or Wendsday night showing from the very begining. It’s clear if the show is not on stations like ION TV, USA NETWORK, SYFY, TNT, TVLAND, DISCOVERY CHANNEL, SPIKE TV, OXYGEN, ANIMAL PLANET, WE TV or BRAVO then it will not see a 2nd season, 3rd season and so on. I really can’t see bringing it back now since we lost the lovely Michael Clark Duncan …a… Read more »
For me, the problem was it started on a Thursday, then it disappeared for several weeks to be on a different night. I noticed all the Fall shows were returning and decided to look up The Finder to find it was canceled. It’s hard to keep up with Fox when they split shows are odd intervals like that!
BRING IT BACK!!!!!!
really stinks that all good shows get cancled! thet should continue the show as a tribute, something as a memorium,
Am saddened for the loss of Michael Clarke Duncan. Am also saddened that ‘The Finder’ was cancelled. I didn’t miss an episode and was looking forward to season 2.
Love the show, but without michael duncan clark, knew it would be very hard to replace him–So sad