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.
Absolutely love this show. We never miss an episode and would love to have a second season to watch! Please!
This showis great, I actually stay in on Saturday Night just to watch it…I hope another network picks up a second season
The Firm is an awesome show!!!! Please keep it alive!!! Way too many great shows are being cancelled…There has to be something drastically wrong with this rating system….I think it needs a major overhaul!!!!!!
Finally, an intelligent and exciting series, please let’s keep it on the air!
“The Firm” has been one of my favorite new shows this season. I can only hope that it, like another favorite of mine “Southland” (which has been running on another network for several seasons) it will be picked up by another network!
We love the firm. Watched every episode. If we missed on prime time, taped it or watched on demand. Hope there is a 2nd season.
We love The Firm, best legal series in years. needs better marketing and this show will be huge. Great writing.
I think the firm is great. Please allow season 2.
Love this show. All of a sudden it disappeared from the Thursday night schedule. Can’t ever find a listing for it on NBC for Saturday nights so I watch it on Comcast, On Demand after it’s showing. REALLY disappointing to see this show get cancelled!!!!!
I love it and can’t wait to see it weekly!Please don’t cancel it!
I agree with everyone above. This is one of the shows we wait for each week, along with The Good Wife. I absolutely love it and would be very sad to see it go!
Love this show! It’s smart! Its writing, acting, story lines, and suspense make this one of the best shows on T.V. Advertise it and keep it in one place for a while and watch more viewers jump on the bandwagon. Thanks for asking.
Don’t cancel the Firm! We love it!
Our whole family LOVES the Firm…. it would be a big mistake to cancel…The story is wonderful and the cast (can’t be beet) Please, please don’t take it off the air.
Very good show, but NBC originally made the mistake of attempting to compete with “Person of Interest”, which is probably the best show on TV. I would like to see this series renewed for Saturday nights.