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.
And, of course, no closure on the season finale. Figures. Someone, please pick this show up! I hate it when networks dump shows and not allow the writers to provide proper closure!
NBC is making a big mistake canceling the Firm! I love the show! I hope cable picks it up! Come on TNT or USA networks!
Unbelievable!!!! This is a great show,what the hell is wrong wth NBC????I PRAY CABLE WILL PICK IT UP,I WILL DEFINITELY WATCH IT!!
I am sorry to her that the series will end. I have enjoyed all the episodes. It is well written, well acted and so exciting. It really follows the style of John Grisham novels. I can’t understand why people don not watch. Hopefully more episodes will be produced for other countries such as Canada.
I can’t believe this show is being cancelled. It is awesome we are always waiting for the next episode. The biggest problem is the moving of time slots and then the month long hiatus when it wasn’t on then you have no Idea of when it’s coming back. I’m sure this was the cause of the low ratings. Please some network pick it up!
This is the most exciting series I watched ever..It would be a very bad decision to cancel it!
NBC you have really screwed up this time! This is definitely one of the best shows you have ever had and you are cancelling it????? You’ve got to be kidding! The main problem with lack of viewers is you kept moving it around on different days and times. The other problem is you put it up against other popular shows in the Thursday timeslot. Luckily I had it set to record on my DVR so I never missed a show. I will definitely be watching for this show on cable and I hope someone picks it up. John Grisham is… Read more »
yes i would buy or rent the first or second season. IMHO it would be a better show if they would cut out some of the violence, which is the only complaint i have of the show.
The Firm is an awesome show… can’t believe more people dont watch it.
I cannot believe they are cancelling The Firm. FINALLY a GOOD, really really good show comes around and after 22 episodes it is cancelled? Can’t something be done to change this? Isn’t there some way someone could pick it up right away (cable, etc) and keep it going?
There are many more fans than you realize for The Firm. PLEASE, please find a way to keep the show going!
Starr Fagerstrom
I am a huge fan of the firm. It was my loyalty to John Grisham, who consulted but did not work on this drama. On the Today show, he called it smart/worthy of its namesake, and I think that is true. The storyline about Noble Insurance was creative and kept my interest even making an unusual twist on a solution for the healthcare crisis. I think the second story line is playing out okay. We’ll know more as the trial progresses this week and Mitch’s new relationship with Joey plays its next hand. I would watch another season and hopefully… Read more »
Great show.smart and suspenseful.yes I will watch on cable every night!
Can’t believe that we finally got a good show on TV and they cancel it. Hope it comes to another chanel
I hope someone can bring back the Firm!!!! Love the show. So sad to hear that NBC won’t do a season 2!!!! Bring back the Firm!
I love the show!! Very, very upset that NBC is canceling the Firm!!!! Getting upset that all the good shows get cancelled. I would definitely watch on another channel!