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 this show. I had no idea it was such a disappointment on NBC. I will surely watch on any other network and/or buy it on DVD.
love The Firm Hopefully cable picks it up thats where I watch most of my shows at least they give them a chance
love love loved the show hope cable picks it up thats mostly what I watch now at least they stick by their shows
I love the firm. Hopefully another network will pick it up. Maybe USA network, since they broadcast most of the shows I watch.
Seriously??? I absolutely love this show!!! We record it every week, I can not believe it would not be renewed!
Prime example of the network shooting itself in the foot – a 2 hour premiere followed by slippery slope time slot changes, etc. I love this show and NBC should be embarassed for not treating it with the respect it deserves.
NBC can’t even get the closed captions in sinc. My hearing is shot and I miss words, I enjoy the closed captions makes the show more enjoyable. The CC are so out of sinc that I have to turn them off, another favorite Harrys Law is the same way. These were the only shows worth watching on NBC perhaps USA will pick them both up.
Yes, we have enjoyed “The Firm”. I am sorry to hear it is to be cancelled. It would be great if it were to be on a cable channel. Hopefully, you can find a way to continue the series.
Thank you.
Sarah Smith
Loved the show. Watched faithfully whenever we could find where they moved it! Love Josh Lucas & the cast was so refreshing! Only negative was the loud musical background that made it hard to follow the narrative at times. (We are in over 65 age group ). PLEASE BRING IT BACK!
The show was terrific if you would track down when NBC was showing the episodes. They switched this around like a step-child (because it had a plot, actors and an actual story line?) I mean, come on, showing a new episode at 2:00AM and wondering why ratings were dismal? No wonder NBC went from top of the pile to way below all competitors, they must have brain dead teenie-boppers running the network.
Thoroughly enjoyed the show. Hope one of the cable channels picks it up. NBC is totally ignoring demographics other than the younger demographic!!
I loved the show and am sorry it is being cancelled. I guess quality TV does not matter anymore.
Really enjoyed the show. When my schedule didn’t permit watching when broadcast, I always made sure to catch up on the show’s NBC site. If NBC doesn’t renew, I certainly hope another network picks it up.
Actually a very good show. Much better than a lot of other shows. Moving to Saturday made it a sure failure. Hope a cable channel picks it up.
NBC has cancelled a lot of shows this year….wonder what they are going to do to fill the gaps….The Firm was one of three shows I watched on NBC….They cancelled all of them so I guess I will not be an NBC viewer next season…..