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.
We love this show and would like to see it continue
I think this is an awesome show. All these networks put on tv is crappy reality shows. I am so over junk like the being call good tv. I have enough reality in my real life. Please keep this show it get me excited about tv and it is one of the few things I watch on the joke of a network NBC. NBC what happen to you guys the times of friends and ERIC and Will and Grace. This show could put you back on that track.
NBC cancelled The Event and Chase, now they want to cancel The Firm. I found all of these shows quite entertaining and looked forward to watching them. NBC do you wonder that you are at the bottom of network TV? You don’t to stick with a show long enough to see if the ratings do increase. NBC, like other everyone is else is so concerned with the all “important” 18 – 49 age group. Why are they more important than 50 and older age group? I hope NBC decides to rethink its position about canceling yet another entertaining one hour… Read more »
Just started watching recorded episodes of the show and we love it. We almost hate to start watching new shows because the networks don’t seem to want to give them a chance to build an audience !!!!
PLEASE DON’T CANCEL THIS SHOW !!
This show rocks!!!
I’m really enjoying The Firm. I hope they don’t cancel it. It is one of the best shows on tv. We never miss an episode.
Please don’t cancel. By far the smartest show .
We all love this show
I really hope they don’t cancel this show! I love it! If they do decide to cancel I just hope they let the entire season (which is almost like 2 seasons since its 22 episodes long, YAY!!!). I hated they moved the night it played but my DVR caught it, and now that its showing on Saturdays I really don’t mind that either since there isn’t anything on. I’m hoping if enough people comment on sites like this one saying not to cancel, hopefully someone at the top might see that there are devote fans and order a season 2.… Read more »
This is a sharp and smart show. I never miss it! Don’t cancel it.
Our family loves the show!
Great….a good show worth watching on NBC and they cancel it! The Awake show taking its place looks completely LAME!
LOVE THIS SHOW!!! PLEASE DO NOT CANCEL!!!!!!!! NBC will NEVER give anything a chance. Why don’t they put this on right after The Voice one of the only other Good Shows they have. I bet ratings would shoot straight up
The FIRM was started in the middle of the year against another show that was already established. You are not allowing it enough time to get it’s own audience. Please give it another chance.
I enjoyed the movie and all the twist and turns and looked forward to the tv series. I have watched it every week and enjoy the premise of the stories and the characters. Friends of mine have found it to be a very different type of crime series and will miss it very much due to the cancellation of the show. Please reconsider and give this program more weeks or chance to make it.