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 just finished watching this series on Netflix. I was hooked after the very first episode! It’s really a shame it didn’t have better ratings to keep it going before, but the network is mostly to blame for that. I had never even heard of this show before, otherwise I would have watched it. Unfortunately it seems all my favorite shows (including Jericho and Firefly) get canceled early, so I am not surprised yet another one joined that list. Most of the American public don’t enjoy intellectual shows. It seems only crime dramas and reality talent shows have any longetivity.
I think season 2 would be hard but not impossible. You left everyone hanging.
I just found this show on netflix last night and watched it in 2 days. Air it on the USA channel and I know it will get better ratings. This way they can make a session 2 after.
Love this show. Please please Season 2!!!
I really liked the show. Please reconsider and create season 2.
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This was on the wrong network. This should have been on USA network and would have done great. Maybe it can be sold to them and finish what they started.
Found this on netflix, saw all shows in about one week (work out entertainment). Very sad it didn’t continue. A good intellectual treat, unlike some of the garbage on today.
Hope Netflix brings it back. I agree with others that it just wasn’t on long enough. Also, when you move things around it’s difficult to keep track. I still forget to watch the Big Bank Theory on Thursdays nights on CBS. I think it’s a great show and have been watching it on Netflix and would definitely watch it if they or Netflix brings it back.
We just recently found this show on netflix. Loved it and watched all episodes in a couple of weeks time frame. I’d never heard of it while it was on TV. Have told others about it and they are also enjoying it on Netflix. We were very disappointed to be left hanging at the season finale and I couldn’t believe that the show had been cancelled.
I believe it was not on long enough to obtain a large audience. Bones is my number one show!!! I feel if they gave it another year or two it would have been as big as Bones.The characters were great the state it was in, and the the place it was shot from was good. The subject matter, and the characters were very interesting.I TRUTHFULLY I DO NOT WATCH TV OF THAT NATURE.
I would rather READ.
Absolutely a great show. Agree with all the fans’ comments. My daughter and I found it surfing on Netflix. Loved all the characters. Hope Netflix brings it back. How can we start a campaign?
I watched the show when it aired and wondered what happened to it. Recently watched again on Netflix. Sorry it ended and more so that the final episode was not given more closure as to what happened to all the players. As much as I would love to see a come back, don’t know anyone who could properly take the place of Michael Clark Duncan. Sorry he has left us. Loved everything I saw him in my favorite being Green Mile. Still, I think one of the reasons it didn’t do well is how the Finder actually found things. His… Read more »
I did not know about this show until my wife stumbled upon it on Netflix. Finished the entire season in a week! Too bad there was no season two. Episode 13 left a sour lump in my throat. Wish they did more.
A clever, intelligent, different, interesting show gets canceled, while all the garbage shows keep going? i, too, found it on Netflix and really enjoyed it – would love to know what happens next!!
The show was great. It obviously did not do well on television but it has been very popular on Netflix. I feel like the show would be huge if a deal was made with Netflix and they took it over from there.