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.
I love The Firm and want to see more.
All I know is that this the LAST series I will ever start watching on NBC. They move their shows around, change times and nights, pre-empt them for weeks at a time with idiotic reality junk and sports, fill every episode to the brim with heavily biased social and political agendas, and then cancel them without notice. (The show is no longer listed on NBC’s comment site, so it’s done.) They ruined one of my very favorite series this way: Law Na Order & it’s spin-off SVU & L.A. L.A. began with an agenda of immigration issues, then went on… Read more »
My husband and I love “The Firm.” We started watching it from the 1st episode and never missed it. We even recorded our previous favorite “The Mentalist” for later viewing – perhaps Saturday night. This was the best new show on TV this season!
Great show. Shame on NBC and TV watchers.
Keep The Firm! We are soooooooooo sick of the reality garbage and it seems we are always losing another decent program. I’ve read the networks are dropping Body of Proof, Memphis Beat, Harry’s Law (although they changed into something opposite), and now, the Firm. Someone should have learned from what happened when they dropped Southland.(Thank you TNT!) I disagree with the “ratings”. I think networks just don’t want to pay union scale and there are so many dopey people wanting to be in a reality series, they’ll work for nothing. It’s sad.
We really enjoyed the show. We have really gotten hooked! It’s a shame that it couldn’t make it. It is the best drama I have seen in a long time.
This is the best show on the air right now. Superb acting and excitement. Please do not cancel!
It is good, probably the best new show I have watched this year honestly…But, its based on a novel and remember America at large doesn’t read anymore. And most people that read a lot don’t watch much tv. It was never going to work in the ratings
I really love this show. I am a HUGE John Grisham fan and this is the best thing on TV right now! Leave it alone NBC! You take off the good shows and put garbage in its place. Stick to something decent for a change!
The Firm was a great book, movie, and premise. The TV series could have been good too but suffered from surprisingly poor casting in Josh Lucas. Lucas as an anchor character in this show was not able to pull it off lacking intensity, likeability, and has an annoying lissssp which at least to this viewer was a constant distraction. I’d like to see the show recast and given another shot.
Yes, we like it. I hope it continues. It’s too bad they put it in a time slot against the established and very good “The Mentalist” which we watch on CBS. It was predictable that it would get low ratings. We wanted to see it, so we watched all four or five episodes on Hulu.com. Like Paula said another great show will go by the WAY side, and there will be nothing but garbage to watch. If they want their shows to succeed they should find a time slot against something not so popular.
The show is GREAT!! and everyone I talk to is watching it and enjoying it!!!
Pay attention NBC, there are a lot of people who are watching and enjoying this show.
Don’t believe the ratings… whoever is doing the research is not getting the right data… perhaps the polling is skewed geographically or something because, as I said, everyone I talk to is watching and enjoying. GIVE it a chance! The stories are getting better and better. Get more of the non-office adventure going too… kidnap the kid, etc., etc.
I think there is more going on behind the scenes, there are other series far worse that are still on air today. They probably had some kind of plan for the ratings and could have easily dumped it for another series, because they have the power to do that. How much power do the fans really have. Maybe I am too hooked on this series, but it is something to think about.
I love it–once again a great show will go by the waste side so we can wait for some more garbage reality shows to hit the networks or another star search show!!!!
The Firm is getting better and better – lots of issues and twists. Give it a chance NBC – get some hot writing going – the cast is perfect and there’s lots of material yet to be fleshed out.
I have tuned in since hearing that one of my favorite movies and books was being made into a TV show. I really like the show and enjoy the chemistry between the brother and the secretary played by Callum Rennie and Julliette Lewis. I also enjoy the suspense of what’s going to happen to the family with respect to the Mafia’s revenge. The daughte, played by Natasha Calis, is great, totally natural and believable as is her mom, played by Molly Patker. Josh Lucas is great as well. NBC needs to give this one more time! Get some more stuff… Read more »