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.
Just loved the show The Firm. Would definately watch the dvd and would watch it on any channel that would pick it up.
BGG
Just loved the show the firm actually one the whole family could enjoy great actors and actresses. Would definately buy a dvd and would watch it on any channel.
We are so disappointed that the show was cancelled. I agree with other viewers that the air dates were so erratic, fortunately we recorded the series so that we didn’t miss any of the episodes. I think the problem was if you missed the first one, it would be difficult to fully appreciate the suspense if you tried to watch it several episodes into the series. I thought the stories and the cast were great. I hope some other network will pick up the series and promote it better. We would also buy the DVDs if the show is continued… Read more »
I just watched the finale, and was expecting closure since in its description it said “series finale”. But the end actually started a whole new chapter and left tons of questions. I’m tired of NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox doing this with new shows. You wonder why viewers don’t watch new shows? Maybe because the returning shows we’ve invested years with don’t just disappear but end nicely wrapped in a bow. Shame on you. If you won’t invest in your shows, why would I ? I think I’ll stay with the old shows. Networks never learn.
so sorry!!!! I’m so sad! My family really looked forward to the show every week!!!!!!! Pleeeeaaassseeee!!!!!!! we wanna………!
it cant be over like that, nbc shitheads they left everything open we dont know what will happen u dont do that to the viewers
My family really looked forward to the show every week.
We just never knew when it was going to air. The station would not put it on when it said it was going to be on.. no wonder they did not get the numbers.
ENJOYED THE FIRM I HEAR IT IS CANCELLED SO SAD WAS EXCITING TO WATCH AND MY WHOLE FAMILY WILL MISS THE SHOW TOO BAD BRING IT BACK TO LIFE!!
Thats too bad they are ditching the show, i watched it or taped it all the time luved the show and the storyline & characters/acting was great had a thrill to it and kept you thinking. I hope they continue with the show sometime:)
i thought the show was awesome, i didn’t tune in to watch it, i usually just downloaded the episodes. but i thought the show was good. the movie with tom cruise was good as well. hopefully they continue it on a different channel or just release the dvds
I hated that CBS is not going to continue with it because I love it. I thought it was one of the better new shows this season and I never missed it. Please pick it up somewhere and let us know what is going on. Not only that, it has a great, great cast.
We absolutely LOVE this show! Great writing and great acting. Always keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would love to see this picked up by another station or even produced on DVD. I would definately buy it!
so sorry that there will not be a season 2. i thought that the actors all preformed well and the plot was very good.
The Firm is a real intelligent show with good plots, great actors! I hope another network will pick it up and boost the advertisement. Maybe it is lacking some advertisements they do with Revenge, Once Upon a Time or True Blood or Game of Thrones, that is why it’s not so popular. If they advertise it good I think it would be one of the most viewed. It’s a keeper. Once you start watching it, you crave for more….
I LOVED THIS SHOW! And I would buy a season 2 on DVD. I really hope they will continue the show.