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 Firm was my Dad & I’s favorite show! We watched it every week. I was beyond upset at how it ended-it left so many questions unanswered. Is there any possibility of it coming back to another TV station in the near future? There *needs* to be a second season for the viewers who followed it.
The program got off to a slow start. As the weeks went by it got better and better. I can’t believe what I just viewed is the finale. There is more than enough great material left “hanging’ to do at least 1 more season. I would watch it on any TV station.
Yes, I am VERY disappointed that this show is being cancelled – at least without a proper resolution to the story. I’m not surprised in the show’s cancellation since its ratings were not so good throughout this season. But to cancel the series without resolving the conflicts presented in the show during its final airing is simply plain WRONG! I’m sure NBC’s decision to cancel the show was made long ago and I believe the network owed it to those who have been loyal to following the show each week a final show that resolved the conflicts presented and brought… Read more »
I love this show. My all time favorite. Soo sad it won’t be back for another season. But maybe will put season 2 on DVD ??? It would be amazing!!!!
The Firm is one of our favorite shows. The storyline is different and the cast is great beyond words. Chemistry is everything and they all have it. Please continue this show and dump some of the reality shows. Not enough shows like The Firm.
This program got off to a slow start but as time went on it became addictive. I would watch it on any TV network.
I couldn’t be more disappointed that this is being cancelled. Our family looked forward I watching it every Saturday night. COME ON NBC!!!!
Best show on TV since 24. I was very disappointed when I read this, and I hope that The Firm will continue to be aired on tv.
I meant Walker not Walter
I really hope a cable channel picks up “The Firm” for Season 2, as it was something I really enjoyed watching. I missed the first couple of episodes, but my wife filled me in on what was happening and I loved the way it was written.
It seems that the majority of U.S. viewers are just too dumb to understand and enjoy cleverly written shows like this!
Love “The Firm”! I’m very disappointed that it has been cancelled on NBC. There are so many shows to watch these days that I just think it didn’t get its fair share. Great actors, great storyline…definitely hope it is picked up by another channel for sure.
Love the show and will definitely watch where I can pick it up. I love the cast as well.
I just watched the season finale tonight and I would love to see what happens to the McDeer family, the Moroltos family , Patrick walter and everyone else. I would watch the Second Season on another channel and or buy the second season on DVD. As long as I know what happens because ending a show like that just puts everyone on edge wanting to know what happens next
Hey put this up against HAWAII 5 ‘o on CBS Monday night and you’ll have a winner, Saturday night pm and you NBC moved it around so much no wonder the ratings were low. If I missed it I watched it on Hulu
I love The Firm!! Please reconsider another season. Maybe on Sundays for better ratings.