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 never knew it existed till last night, when I rewatched the Bones episode, and realized that The Finder I had noticed in TV listings (and not bothered with) might be a spinoff. Googled, and it was. I will watch it now, whenever I can.
It failed because:
A. Who knew it was on? I didn’t.
B. Worst possible time slot – competing with Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal on ABC.
C. Should have followed Bones, and been publicized more.
Found it on Netflix after going through all the bones seasons. I thought it was a great show, very refreshing. Never heard of it from regular TV, so it never got pub it deserved. What a shame.
Seriously bring it back, please… I understand one of the main characters has passed away, but please recast and bring this show back.. I am so sick of all the reality crap on tv today. I loved this show and all the actors.
This was a great show, I watched all 13 episodes in two days and want more. I searched to see if there were more episodes out there and was disappointed to find fox cancelled the show after 1 season
why.. the show is great. the actors and the script were perfect. I liked it from the beginning and was drawn in more and more. Please bring it back!!!!!!!
Unfortunately, Michael Duncan Clarke passed away. Without him, the show is not the same, it has lost its heart…
I am hooked and so disappointed it got canceled. I think it was never given the right amount of publicity as I just happened to fall upon it on Netflix. With all the crap on Tv I am surprised no one ever gave it a better shot.
And it only took me two days to watch all the episodes. I know that it might be to late for this but can you bring back the finder.
I think that the finder should get anouther chance. I just finished watching the finder on Netflix and I fell I. Love with the story line and I am sad and disappointed that I will never know what happens next. It left you with a huge cliff hanger. I wish they could have at least five more seasons.
I watched all the season episodes in three days. I never had a chance to see it while running, but to my favor, Netflix chose to run the season. I couldn’t stop watching it. Every episode was as interesting as the previous ones. I really wish it could have made it. I’ve watched Bones, and all the reality shows and none held my attention like The Finder did. Really sad!
Series’ like The Finder add a new twist to crime shows; Numbers shows how mathematics can be vital in solving crimes by estimating where the criminal will strike next; whereas Bones shows that anthropology can be used to find the criminal based on similarity of the damage on the bones; and last The Finder shows how a man, after being in an explosion in Iraq, has an insatiable urge to find the answers, when called upon, by connecting dots that no one could even imagine said dots going together. I think it’s in your best interest to start this series… Read more »
In order for a series to be found by the public, it first has to be on long enough for that to happen. People, when bored or tired of the things they always see go to sights like Netflix or Amazon to find the shows they want to watch. I for one am one of these people, so take it from me when I say it sucks to get hooked on an amazing new series just to find out it was canceled before it even has the chance to start.
I like and tolerate the series Bones but me and my family love The Finder series. The Finder adds a new twist to crime shows; Numbers shows how mathematics can play an essential role in solving crimes by estimating the criminals next step; whereas Bones shows the anthropological aspect of crime solving; and last The Finder shows how a man, after being blown up in Iraq, has this insatiable urge to find things when called upon. All of these series’ make good shows because they show different aspects in which to help solve crimes, all from the perspective of different… Read more »
Soooo disappointing that there are no more seasons to this show! Please do something with it Netflix!
My wife and I do not like Bones but have watched all the shows of The Finder several times. I hope that the exec at Fox that cancelled the show is also cancelled.