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.
If they don’t carry this over to cable, they’re stupid. Take the show to cable, take the gloves off of it, and really make the show something to see. If someone’s smart enough to do that, then they’re talking “Lost”, “Sopranos” , “Desperate Housewives”, “Breaking Bad”, “Weeds”, etc, level of success with “The Firm”. I’d love to see the show even more edgy than NBC will allow it. The idea of someone being stupid enough to completely cancel it boggles the mind.
I’m truly unhappy that this great show has been cancelled. The network draws you in and makes you care about these characters and then cancels the show instead of giving it more time. Everyone doesn’t like reality shows and that’s all there is on now. All my favorite dramas have been cancelled. The network honchos should get a life.
The Firm was excellent in terms of it’s storyline. The approach of the ‘chapters’ kept me interested. Actor synergy worked well. Hopefully an American Cable Network will pick it up.
Otherwise– it’s dealing with reality shows and repeats that are increasingly gettin tired.
Refreshing show was such a break from a culture of mindless stupidity. So very sad. Plastic corporate rednecks win again
So sorry NBC has cancelled this. Bad move on their part. I hope someone else will pick it up.
I would love to see the Firm picked up by another station! My husband and I just started watching the episodes on Hulu to catch up and we are addicted. It is too good to cancel!!
This is a great show- it craps all over that reality stuff that’s being shown. Dont take it away from loyal fans that can’t stand the other junk being shown on T.V. Don’t let “reality” tv win!!!
Please bring back this show. it was awesome!
My husband and I really enjoy The Firm. We’re very disappointed that NBC has dropped it. We REALLY hope another channel picks it up. We’d continued watching it FOR SURE!
I can’t believe they have cancelled the Firm one of the best shows out there. Hopefully someone will pick it up.
Please do a second season. This is a great show and the cast is a perfect fit. If NBC doesn’t want to renew, hopefully another channel will pick them up. My husband and I looked forward to watching this on Saturday nights, so hopefully someone will pick them up for a second season and show NBC that they made a huge mistake. Why not cancel some of those reality shows instead!
My family enjoys the Firm each week. We would definitely watch if picked up by another channel and would consider purchasing season 2 on DVD.
I’m really disappointed. My husband and I are very faithful viewers of the firm and the news and nothing else. Hope another network picks it up. We will definitely watch.
My husband and I love this show…I can’t believe they cancelled it and of course the ratings are going to drop when it’s on a Saturday night. I really hope cable picks up the next season so we aren’t left hanging. This is one of the good shows- so sick of reality shows.
Bring this show back!! The suspense from week to week is nerve wracking!!! What a great show!!!