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.
Great Show, one of the better ones on TV today…hope they bring it back…
Im from Belgium and my fiancee and i started watching the pilot of The Firm and ended up watching the whole first season in 3 days!! Omg how can someone watch this show and NOT like it?!! Its like prison break, every episode is a cliffhanger! And finally a show where its “reveiled” how unfair things sometimes go in a courtroom.. I really really love The Firm, pleaaaaase make a season 2!!!
It is a shame that NBC won’t renew The Firm because it is a great show and great acting. The story line is gripping and keeps you coming back for more. To be honest, The Firm and Harry’s Law were the only two show’s we watched on the NBC network because we are die hard CBS fans. It is a shame that they looked at the shows as the reason why they won’t air them again. How about looking at the network as a whole? Just a thought? I would watch The Firm on another network, just like we watch… Read more »
Please produce the season 2 of The Firm, its gripping and its brilliant….I don’t know why other people did not watch it but for me its a must-see TV series…it has a lot of potentials and i learned so many things from the series its not just about the law but the value of family…To all people out there who haven’t watch season 1 yet, well just give it a try i’m sure you will fall in love with it, definitely it will catch your attention and find your self so engross that you can’t stop yourself but to watch… Read more »
No wonder NBC has such poor ratings. The Firm was great and I was looking forward to new season. I am not going to start any of these weekly drama series anymore. Why waste my time when they don’t seem to give them a change!!!
Loved the show… please bring it back…
I loved The Firm and hope that there will be a Season Two! The time slot was bad and it was pre-empted several times. Please bring it back!
please bring it back – every episode a cliff hanger
I’m super sad. I looked forward to each episode. It’s the only show I recorded to watch. Maybe things would have been better if the website ever had the correct dates.
I’m super sad. I looked forward to each episode. It’s the only show I recorded to watch.
I loved Firm so much…please plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz renew it.
Its the only show I recorded! LOVE the FIRM!!
How could you cancel such a great show?
I loved the storyline, the acting, and always looked forward to it.
One of the horrible things about tv today is that shows are not given a chance.
I also agree with comments about the website, show times changing, etc.
It made it very confusing to follow.
This was a real show, please bring it back!
The Firm was one of my FAVORITE shows. I can’t believe they cancelled it!! What a huge disappointment.
All the moving around made it hard to keep track of and the website was horrible at updating loyal fans.
I would love to watch that show in any format and on any station, 2 to 3 million viewers is not bad at all. Just stop changing the days the episodes are aired. This does not make for faithful viewing and or real ratings.