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 didn’t even know this show was out there, I like to T.V. that are series but like everyone else said I don’t think that Fox didn’t advertise enough I did like that they left hanging like they did. Even though we lost a great actor like Micheal they shouldn’t have stop making the show and the ratings they just didn’t give it a chance, I have teenager’s and they like these kind of shows it is a whole lot better then some of the shows that are there that make your I.Q. drop 10 points just in the first… Read more »
Like many I first watched this series on Netflix, watched the series straight through and would like to have had additional seasons to watch. Netflix is producing its own material now and this might be a possible show for them to pick up. …Or Fox. The Cast and their characters worked extremely well together, didn’t take themselves too seriously and the show kept to the “high-road” rather than resorting the demeaning material that many series degenerate into in pursuit of ratings. I believe it was PT Barnum that said: “No one ever went broke ‘underestimating’ the taste of the American… Read more »
this is one of those series that does really well when you do not have to endure commercials, came across it on netflix and the wit and the intelligence of these series shines !!!!!!!
So many great tv shows are better without the stupid commercials
This was a great show but I didn’t like the last episode because it kept too many things hanging.
If anyone wants to start a petition to give it another chance put me at the top of the list.
This was a fresh idea for a show and it definitely was not boring.
Did Fox advertise this show at all. I watch a lot of TV but Netflix is the first I ever heard of “The Finder.” I think it was a great show. I hate when a show is canceled without resolving cliff hangers. They advertised “Touch” so much I was sick of the show before it ever aired. I was very disappointed with “Touch.”
Saw the whole season on Netflix. Really wish there was more even without Michael though he was clearly a big part of its success. This show deserves another look.
LOL’d at that last line. Great show, up to the last two minutes I actually expected a kind, wrap up ending similar to Life, which also should have continued. But noooooo. Fox!
Like others I found out about The Finder on Netflix. If it had been on TBS,USA or other cable networks it would have survived. It had wonderful characters,great actors and unique settings….not what sells on the big four. I was sorry to see it end especially on such a negative note but at least it was an ending.As fara as I’m concerned Fox is the worst of the big four they are willing to try something different but if it’s not a big hit right off the bat i.e. The Good Guys.
I watched the whole first season on Netflix and I personally think that when whoever makes these decisions to cancel shows should do a little more research or at least look back a couple months after a show has put on Netflix and that should give some insight into the way they choose to end a show or not. The same thing happened with Heroes, I watched all the episodes on Netflix, got to the last episode, they showed the preview for the next season, I exit out of the episode to see that’s the last season. But what do… Read more »
As so many of the recent comments, I too found this gem on Netflix. I too was extremely disappointed to find out that it was canned. It’s sad to see that a show with character, ingenuity and heart cannot compete with the same canned, reality crap every other station has on. The general TV audience today would not recognize potential in a show if it smacked them in the face. Hopefully Netflix or another broadcaster will pick this up. Just a shame that if it ever continued, it would be without Michael Clarke Duncan.
I finished the series and even watched the one Bones episode where the character first appears, that’s Season 6 episode 19 conveniently called “The Finder”. Anyhoo it’s also loosely based on The Locator series by Richard Greener. Although, from what little I gathered the connection is quite loose, but perhaps the books are good even if they aren’t close to the show. Whenever a show I like is cancelled I just look for the Fox involvement, it’s truly a surprise if Fox isn’t responsible, which basically means they take chances but have no confidence in their product. They created The… Read more »
this tv show is one of my favorites i dont see how anyone could think otherwise. sure wish it would be brought back
I think Netflix should pick up the show like it did with Arrested Development. This show has MAJOR promise. Sadly, I think it just aired at the wrong time and cut its losses WAY too early.
I also found this wonderful show “The Finder” on Netflix and also l8ve it! I have not finished watching all the episoids yet but decided to see if there were other episoids after the 1st season and that is how I got here. Sadly I found that it was canceled after the short 1st season…I am so surprised that this show didn’t get high ratings? It just had to be because people like myself just didn’t find it until after the fact and not during the most important time when the ratings are rated…not when on Netflix! Man this show… Read more »
I just finished watching season 1 on Netflix yesterday and could not believe that was the end. I think the premise is great and could have been expanded on in so many different ways1 I was so tired of the CSIs of the world and this was refreshingly interesting yet stress-free. I have never left a comment before and the extent of my TV watching is limited to The History Channel or National Geographic for the most part but I am truly sad it is over. RIP Michael Clarke Duncan.