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 think the wife should have had problems with Mitch sooner, she was just too nice. Now it is getting interesting.
The Firm is a great show; great story line, characters and action. NBC is crazy to cancel it. Remember M*A*S*H*?? That show had lousy ratings in its first season, but look how that one turned out? Sometimes it takes a couple seasons for audiences to appreciate a good show; there’s so many shows on so many channels today it takes time for the good one to establish itself. Hopefully another network will pick it up; it’s too good to end after one season.
The Firm is one of the best programs , well acted ,plots that keep you on the edge of your seat. Yes I would watch it on another network or channel. It,s so much better than all of those silly reality shows and sitcoms.
I love the firm! If they continued it on cable that would be great but I could also love with it being produced on DVD or watching it online. I’m also pretty sure it’s doing well in Canada so us in the states could watch it online still (that is not confirmed only a guess because the show is one week ahead in Canada). Also I’m extremely mad with NB because they are also cutting Awake. Every good show is one season. I remember last year how I was extremely mad when ABC pulled the plug on no ordinary family.
I loved The Firm, Medium, Outlaw and now Harry’s Law. It feels like anything that isn’t a reality show or watched by anyone under 30 doesn’t seem to cut it anymore. Wherever there is quality writing and acting, get ready for them to pull the plug. I hardly want to get invested in watching a series because they are cancelled before they are allowed to reach potential.
I can’t believe it, everthing I like to watch gets cancelled after the first season. I enjoy watching The Firm and I like the actors. Give me a break, NBC. I was even more upset when The Event was cancelled. That was my favorite show and you didn’t even have a 1 or 2 hr special to end the show properly, just left us hanging. And while I am on the subject of show cancellations, I cried the night Medium ended, didn’t even see that one coming either. I guess I won’t be watching much TV anymore, just a bunch… Read more »
I enjoy the show. I particularly liked the characters and the personalities chosen to play the parts. Most network TV is plagued by a certain amount of sameness. This was different and provided a break from the typical TV drama.
I hope it moves to cable. I honestly watch less and less on the networks anymore. Cable has a number of lower budget shows that feature new ideas, are repeated several times a week and have characters and actors that do not fit the typical worn out Network formula.
Good luck to the show.
We really like The Firm. Like the show Prison Break a few years ago, the show keeps you on the edge of your seat! Hope someone decides to pick this show up and continue.
We love The Firm. It is one of the best dramas out there and NBC cancells it. Keep it up NBC and pretty soon you will be at the bottom of the board.
We would watch The Firm on another station. So yes, PLEASE bring it back.
NBC has a habit of canceling “good” shows. Maybe if The Firm has been put in a decent time slot it would not be cancelled. Great show, suspense, etc. Why NBC? I think that maybe I will give up getting interested in a show on this channel as it probably would be cancelled.
Sorry to hear The Firm got cancelled I really enjoyed watching it, I hope it gets picked up by a cable network , if it does I will continue watching it.
I enjoy the detail and shift in intensity along with a variety of well-developed characters. Unfortunately the common tastes of the public has parsed down quite it measure since these “idiot” reality shows that lower the bar [actually that bar has been removed completely] in terms of talent in all areas that used to produce “entertainment tv” for the masses. People have accepted shouting and noise as the common denominator for most of the television shows. So goes this county…..and “content and well-developed plots, stories” is not common fare. I would like to see more shows like this one that… Read more »
We LOVE the Firm. So sad that reality TV gets to stay and good shows like this are canceled. Please bring it back!!!!!
My wife and I thorough enjoy this show, which we view as DVR recordings. We also happen to like Merlin, obviously for different reasons, and hope The Firm also gets picked up by somebody.
Our whole family loved the firm. I hope it comes back on a cable channel. We will definately be watching!!!!