NBC has cancelled the Thursday airings of their low-rated legal series, The Firm, and sent it packing to Saturday nights at 9pm beginning February 11th.
The Firm follows attorney Mitch McDeere (Josh Lucas), his wife Abby (Molly Parker), and their daughter Claire (Natasha Calis), as they emerge from the witness protection program after 10 years. They relocate to Washington, DC to restart their lives but problems from the past quickly resurface. The show’s cast also includes Callum Keith Rennie, Juliette Lewis, Tricia Helfer, and Shaun Majumder.
NBC had high hopes for the legal drama but it stumbled in the ratings right from the start. The two-hour premiere of The Firm registered just a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 6.32 million viewers. The numbers got even worse once the show moved to Thursday nights and, for the past two weeks, has only mustered a 0.8 rating with fewer than three million total viewers.
It’s no surprise that NBC is banishing The Firm to Saturday nights with ratings like these. Grimm repeats will fill the Thursdays at 10pm timeslot for the immediate future. Starting March 1st, the peacock network’s new drama Awake will take over.
While it looks highly unlikely that NBC will purchase a second season of The Firm, it seems certain that viewers will get to see all 22 episodes of season one.
If The Firm had been a typical network show, the episode order probably would have been cut down to 13 installments because of the low ratings. However, NBC’s deal for The Firm is unique and a bit more like the one the network had for Merlin, the supernatural drama produced by the BBC.
Sony and Entertainment One partnered to produce The Firm, primarily for the overseas market. Thanks to pre-sales and Canadian production tax credits, the cost of producing the series was already paid for and NBC was able to pick up the show for a greatly reduced licensing fee, just like any other secondary buyer.
If The Firm had been a big success, NBC would have made quite a profit on the series. As things worked out, the network may still be making some money on the deal or at least hasn’t lost much.
Will there be a second season? That depends on Sony and Entertainment One, not NBC.
What do you think? Do you like The Firm? Do you think it should continue?
Image courtesy NBC.
the show is sooooooo boring!! no further comments
This show is awesome! Josh Lucas is nice to look at too.
the actors and actresses were terrible.i don’t know why they could not have got bettere ones.
I really wasn’t going to watch it. But my mother said it was such a good movie that she wanted to watch the show. So I ended up watching it and I really enjoyed it. Now I’m very disappointed because the show has me on my feet. It’s ashame how good decent shows are always getti cancelled
Tough slot. Really liked the show.
My parents really seem to like it. For their sakes, I hope they get to see the 22 episodes.
We feel this show is well-crafted and an exciting legal drama. We anticipate viewing each new episode.
I was never a fan of the book, didn’t like the movie, so I have not even given this show a moment’s thought. The only reason I even know anything about it at all is what has been written on here, and I see that it opens that timeslot when I am scheduling my DVR. I feel bad for the fans who enjoy watching it, but honestly it was just filling time as far as I am concerned. Maybe they will replace it with something I will enjoy. Awake has peaked my interest, so maybe this is all for the… Read more »
The Firm is the best show besides The Good Wife on tv now; I will DVR it so it doesn’t matter what time slot they put it in as long as they continue to air it. I get so frustrated to commit to a show then with no warning it gets canceled … this show is great
I loved The Firm, it is to good to be cancelled.
I really like the show! If NBC does in fact cancel it, I sure hope one of the other networks picks it up.
I really wasn’t gonna watch, but I thought I’d see how the pilot did, and it was decent, so I continued watching and got into it, now I’m sorry I did.
i love this series FX or TNT should pick it up
[…] we previously reported, The Firm has been pulled and shuffled to Saturdays at 9pm. Starting March 1st, the Thursdays at 10pm timeslot will be filled […]
I knew this one was DOA as soon as I saw the pilot. Do writers get a bonus when they start a show 23 hours earlier and then spend the rest of the show getting us back to the start of the show and then ending the show?
What dolts we must have in Hollywood these days!
ENJOYED THE SHOW AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER SEASON