'Harry's Law' canceled by NBC after two seasons

"Harry's Law" is done at NBC, having fallen victim to networks prizing demographic ratings over total audience size.

Series star Kathy Bates tweeted the news on Friday (May 11): "Sad news today. 'Harry's Law' will not be renewed for a 3rd season," she writes. "We are all terribly sad. Many thanks for all your support." (NBC had no comment.)

The legal drama is averaging 8.8 million viewers this season, which is better than all but one scripted series ("Smash") on NBC. It only scores a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49, however, which is worse than any NBC series (other than "The Firm," which is also on its way out) currently on the air. And because advertisers pay a premium for younger viewers*, "Harry's Law" gets the boot.

*(The theory is that because older viewers watch more television on average than younger viewers, they're relatively cheap to come by. Advertisers also like to target young viewers, the thinking goes, because they're not as set in their ways and can be more easily persuaded to try new products.)

"Harry's Law" joins "Awake," "Bent," "Best Friends Forever" and "Are You There, Chelsea?" on the cancellation block at NBC Friday.