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.
The show is even super popular in Norway!! This is really one of the beste series I have ever seen, don´t let it die!!
Inam so disappointed in NBC for cencelling the Firm. It makes me not want to watch any of their shows for fear of liking them and then having them cancelled. They should have changed the night and time it aired before canceling it. Seriously disappointed in the network.
I am really upset that the Firm also got cancelled!!! All these network services suck big time!!! I loved The Firm and I loved the storyline, I think the problem was not that there weren’t enough viewers, but because it was shuffled around so many time’s and on different chanels that I had to search on the internet for when the next episode would be and on what chanel! Perhaps if it stayed on a specific chanel at a specific day and time it could have made a huge difference!!!! I hope another network will move forward with this series… Read more »
Please bring The Firm back! Probably the best written, best acted show on TV and NBC cans it. Disgusting.
This is the 2nd time NBC has cancelled a show that i really like.The Firm is one of the best shows on TV right now.I have become a big fan of Josh Lucas.NBC cancelled Chase and i was greatly disappointed in the cancellation of that show too.Please NBC execs..keep The Firm going next season!!
We liked the story lines and plot development of The Firm. We enjoyed watching it and was sad to hear that it would not be renewed by NBC. We hope that it finds another home on another network. It is much bettter than most programs on TV. Bring it back for one more year.
Yes we would continue to watch a 2nd season on a new network or on dvd.
Yes I liked this series. I watched it each week no matter what day it was on and would continue to watch it for a second season. I hope it is picked up by someone
I hate that the only shows on tv nowadays are mostly reality tv. The firm was a great show and I’ll watch it on whatever as long as I get to see it play through! I REALLY hope someone picks this series up.
I hate that the only shows on tv nowadays are mostly reality tv. The firm was a great show and I’ll watch it on whatever as long as I get to see it play through! I REALLY hope someone picks this series up.
We would definitely watch this show on another network! Hate that it has been canceled!
I think it was one of the best shows on TV. The acting and writing are superb. My guess is NBC doesn’t know how to market a great show or Americans are to hung up on stupid reality shows to know a good show when they see it.
The Firm is a really good series. The initial episodes tended to be a bit confusing because of the fast pace and style, but it became a riveting series. I think NBC has made a bad call in cancelling it. I would watch it on any network that picked it up.
I am sad. I love this show!
The Firm is a fantastic show!! I really look forward to it every week, then it gets bumped off for some stupid show. Give us more of these types of shows and way less of reality shows. I am so sorry that it has been cancelled.
I agree with all the previous comments. My husband and I both just really enjoyed this show and followed it Sat night without a problem. Harry’s Law too. Good grief do you just have to be of single digit IQ to not appreciate a really good show with depth, entertainment and great acting. I hope a cable channel picks it up! We’ll be there!