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. Hopefully another channel will pick it up. Take off all the stupid reallity shows and keep this one.
The Firm is one of the best shows on TV. The cast is fantastic, the storyline intriguing…why do they have to get rid of it. The final show is being aired here in Florida next week and I’m already upset! If there is anyway that this show could get picked up by another network…I hope it does. Josh Lucas is awesome and I love Ray’s character.
The show is very slow. It needs some help with the writing. The movie was quick and energetic.
Could I also say, the Abby character DESPERATELY needs a change in actress. Molly Parker is a good actress, but she alone of all the new actors is NOT a good fit for her character. I think that will make a HUGE difference in the show.
I’m hoping this show will find a home on cable. It’s a compelling show, that wasn’t given a chance to succeed. I cannot believe that the reality shows continue to dominate the tv scheduling. Please cable channels, pick up this show!!!
We felt the show got off to a slow start, but we think it was one of the best considering the OTHER JUNK ie/ realitiy shows are so sickenin, finally a show with some drama and real people, sorry to see it go.
I have enjoyed the series. My difficulties have been trying to keep up with the schedule. The cast is good. There is room for improvement but I am biased as I always enjoy any role Lucas undertakes. I certainly hope the series finds a way to continue.
I love this show & am very disappointed to see it cancelled. Hopefully it will get picked up on cable. I’m SO tired of ridiculous reality TV, for once there’s a show that makes you think a little and they cancel it. PLEASE renew on cable!
I hope someone else picks it up. The storyline was confusing. Good acting but hard to follow.
Really sorry this got canceled. I agree that the momentum built, and I liked the actors a lot. Really hope somebody else picks it up and gives it another chance.
The writing was horrible and Julie the Lewis’s acting was even worse. I only watched because all of the prime time shows are in the off-season, and reality shows are for people with IQ’s below 100. Good riddance. I won’t miss this show at all.
The series finale was terrible (aired June 30th on Global). Final shot is Mitch jumping off a roof and running. I guess he decided not to pursue the case against the russian FBI informant????
Thanks for the spoil… :/
The people at NBC are idiots. Just like them to air a new show for a year, give you a chance to love it, then yank it off. Idiots.
This show started slow but built momentum as the season went on. We love the intrigue of the show and wish or a second season. Give this show a chance.
The problem(s) with this show: 1. They tried to be too clever and tricky with their time-shift storytelling over the first few episodes. It got tiresome. More gimmick than story value. 2. It reeked of being a Canadian series (almost like one from the 90’s). I’m Canadian, eh, so I know whereof I speak. 3. This was probably some of the worst casting and direction (Canadian director?) of any U.S. prime-time drama in ages. These were indie-film actors, not TV stars. Maybe some Hair and Makeup would have helped (non-Canadian)? This is typical of “we got funding in Canada and… Read more »
My husband and I tape this show every week then have a night where we watch a couple of episodes. We absolutely love this show and hope it continues. They really peaked our interest by introducing the informant….