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.
I love The Firm. Josh Lucas is an excellent actor and the rest of the cast is outstanding too. I don’t like the back-tracking story line, but the story is well written and acted. It’s too bad NBC couldn’t see this.
I love this show! I would definitely watch on another network! Why do all the good shows I watch get canceled?
I love this show and my kids like it as well…they range from 10-21
I would continue to watch what ever channel it show on.
I definitely would continue watching the series, i love the The Firm. We have left hanging after just 18 episodes! I hope that NBC reconsider.
I love the show, in my opinion it’s the best show on tv. I hate to see that it’s cancelled after 1 season.
Would too watch The Firm on any channel!
Keep the show on the air please!
I love The Firm, and I would continue watching if the show hadn’t been cancelled. However, I saw Josh Lucas on a talk show where he said that he didn’t really enjoy working on the show, so it probably wouldn’t have continued anyhow. I was disappointed to hear him say that.
I’ve always questioned how accurate the ratings really are. I think there are a lot more fans than the producers think.
Ah that is sad to hear! I wonder why he didn’t like it? I agree with you about the ratings too.
I definitely would continue watching! We can’t be left hanging after just 18 episodes!
I love the firm. I have DVR every eposide or have watched on hulu. I work nights and weekends. So I hardly get to watch any tv eposide live. So sucks that its based on live ratings when most people have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Ya for this economy
I would also continue to watch The Firm on any channel!
I want more on any channel. It was the best show on!!!!
I’d pay $100/episode for The Firm. Now I can’t find episode 19 on my guide, or the internet.
Also, I’d be happy to buy the whole first series, just to ensure I get 19–22.
And I’ll pay in advance $1,000 for series 2, if they do it.
Rick Boettger » You can purchase the whole series via iTunes. They only have 18 eps so far but will offer the rest too.
I would definitely continue to watch The Firm on any channel. I love Mitch McDeere.
What a shame that The Firm has been cancelled. It is an interesting and intriguing tv show. It is a shame that our networks are filled with senseless reality and comedy shows that add no value. Please bring it back!