It’s been a rough road for Mitch MicDeere. Now, it’s come to an end — at least on NBC. The Firm has been cancelled after one season of 22 episodes.
The Firm picks up years after the young attorney (Josh Lucas) made his deal with the mob to take his old crooked law firm down. He and his family have come out of hiding but their problems haven’t gone away. The show also stars Molly Parker, Callum Keith Rennie, Juliette Lewis, Natasha Calis, Tricia Helfer, Martin Donovan, Shaun Majumder, and Paulino Nunes.
The series represented one of NBC’s biggest launches of the season but it misfired right from the start. The two-hour premiere brought in a dismal 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic with just 6.32 million viewers.
When The Firm moved to its regular timeslot on Thursdays a few days later, the numbers got even worse. Week two dropped 29% in the demo and the ratings kept falling in subsequent weeks. After hitting an embarrassing low for a primetime show — a 0.8 demo rating with 2.97 million viewers — NBC sent it packing to Saturday nights.
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The numbers have been awful since that move — even for a Saturday night show. It’s frequently outperformed by movies and crime drama reruns on the other networks.
To date, The Firm has an average of a 0.7 rating in the demo and 2.10 million viewers. On our NBC Ratings Report Card, which measures the relative demo success of shows on the network, the show has a “D-” grade — even after low viewership is taken into account.
On the positive side, 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 eOne 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.
Not surprisingly, The Firm won’t be back on NBC (according to TVWise) because the network has opted not to renew its deal with Sony and eOne. The series could continue to be produced for other markets however and even possibly be picked up by a cable channel here in the US. There’s been no word on the show’s fate beyond NBC so, for now, we’ll have to wait and see.
There are 22 episodes in the first season of The Firm and tonight’s marks the 17th. Right now, the finale is slated for June 23rd. If a second season isn’t going to be produced, hopefully the last episode will supply enough closure for the few million faithful viewers who’ve kept watching.
What do you think? Are you sorry that NBC isn’t continuing the show? Would you watch on another channel or purchase season two on DVD?
Image courtesy NBC.
Really enjoyed series 1 of The Firm. Need to see the conclusion! It’s a well presented show with great cast. Can’t understand why it wouldn’t have a satisfactory ending.
Great show! Was looking forward to many seasons. Love the characters and story line. Hopefully someone will pick it up and continue. Not many good tv shows out there at the moment
We just discovered The Firm on Prime TV and love it. So disappointed it hasn’t continued
Watched all the first series in one week of lockdown, finished on a cliff hanger now find there’s no season 2! Sorry Amazon but not good enough, we should have been told at the start .
I absolutely loved the series The Firm it was edge of my seat stuff and I stayed up night after night watching it back to back I love it and want more I can’t emphasise enough how much I enjoyed the Series The Firm please please bring on series 2 !!!!!!! N
I enjoyed the series, it’s messy with overlapping storylines but I’d like to see its conclusion for sure
Just watched the last episode of season 1 & what’s going to happen next? Oh no, you’re kidding me, no second series! Come on guys, it’s a disgrace. Trust those over the Atlantic just don’t appreciate a great series when we obviously do!
Gutted this finished after 1 series. Thoroughly enjoyed it, great cast and story lines.
I though it was great
Great series amazon yes we need series two
A brilliant show, that gives you a lot to think about. It’s taut, constant twists and turns, intelligent and the McDeere family dynamic adds a real dimension.
Come on Amazon, get Series 2 made!
What a major disappointment……great drama…….can we get on DVD?
This show is UTTERLY BRILLIANT!!!
I don’t go in for binge-watching, but I couldn’t wait to get to the next episode! What’s the matter with you guys across the Atlantic? SOMEONE HAS TO PICK THIS UP…IT’S SO READY FOR THE SEQUEL…
I loved this series really good suspense, Why it’s been cancelled is beyond me, and its a shame on those people that decided this. And it’s a great pity that these replies must be a positive and not overall general, So what is the point of this exercise. None.
Please Amazon……..Get Season 2 on its a brilliant show with great characters. Can’t think of a better show at this moment in time. It’s compelling viewing without the usual amount of swearing and gruesome sciences. A perfect show for all
I agree, give it to someone else. I for one love Canadian series.