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.
We never saw this series on TV but purchased it on DVD in a retail store after it aired. We should have looked up whether there was a season two before getting caught up in the plot line. We watched the entire season and enjoyed it quite a bit. How disappointing that there was no real end to the plot line. Wish producers would reconsider a season 2 and resolve the conflict rather than leaving it up to viewers to resolve creatively in their minds.
I absolutely hate it when I get engrossed in a show, and then it is cancelled. If it had poor numbers from the start, why didn’t they just cancel early on and avoid disappointing viewers. Meanwhile we are destined to watch all those so called reality shows- now THEY are crap tv.
i love the firm, i hope that has season 2.
Im greatly disappointed. This was my favorite new show and I couldnt wait each week to watch it. I would definitely watch future seasons. Bring it back!
We are very disappointed in NBC cancelling the show. We could not wait for the next week to air we were so into this series. It was well done and kept you guessing what would happen next. I would love to see it back for another season either with NBC or another network.
OMG! I can’t believe it! I love that show and kept me on my toes all season long!
I would love to see it back on, I would watch for sure.
Sad to read about the coming season being cancelled.
We are very disappointed, it was the best show that’s been on tv in a long time. If NBC had done a better job with the time slot & marketing it would have been a huge hit. Sure hope another network picks it up.
The Firm has been a favorite work out video for us (the action detracts us from the monotony of the treadmill), and we would definitely watch it if a second season becomes available.
My honey and I were glued to the TV when this show came on..I cannot believe it is canceled.. I hope another network picks it up..
The firm kept me on my sit for a whole two days. Its an absolutely captivating drama that allows all family viewing. Can’t wait to get a hold of season two regardless of what channel they are showing it on.
I completely agree with poor marketing and time slots. this was a high quality show, and my whole family is greatly dissapointed! It is a-lot better than most of the crap they offer now.
Perfect example of poor marketing by NBC and equally poor positioning of the show in the network’s weekly schedule. The Firm IS one of the best shows to come out of network production in years. One of the Cable’s should see that and wrest it from the hands of the now clearly incompetent crew at NBC.
We always looked forward to watching this. Was frustrating when they would hit and miss and not be consistent with the showings, maybe this is why it was low in numbers? WE love it and could hardly wait until the next one. We like the way it was put together and always kept us on the edge of our seats…What a disappointment!!! One of the best we have seen since 24!!
Someone plEASE pick up The Firm!! This was a great show with a great cast!! Should not have been cancelled!!!!!!!!
Disappointed on the cancellation. I really liked the show & couldn’t wait to watch another. After ’24’ wrapped up a couple of years ago, I have been looking to fill a void with an exciting action drama and was hoping this was it. Also watched ‘The Event’….another good show cancelled. I wish more than a year would be given for some of these shows. It’s like trying to manage in the NBA.