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Starz Renews New Series ‘Boss’ For Second Season Before Premiere
Starz’s new drama series Boss, which has already been renewed for a second season, premiered with a so-so 659,000 viewers at 10 PM on Friday. That was below recent Starz series debuts Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena, (1.098 million), Camelot (1.125 million) and Torchwood: Miracle Day (819,000). Of course, in premium cable ratings often take back seat when making calls on renewals, as evident by HBO’s decisions to stick with such series as Treme, Bored To Death and How To Make It In America. (Though Starz yanked Party Down and Gravity because of weak ratings.) Boss, which stars Kelsey Grammer as an unscrupulous Chicago mayor with a dark secret, averaged 1.05 million viewers for the two Friday airings and 1.72 million for the weekend, also below Gods Of The Arena, Camelot and Torchwood.
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Is Torchwood getting renewed, or can I drop Starz?
I have a feeling those numbers will build. The pilot was terrific. I hadn’t planned to watch but caught a minute of it channel-surfing, then DVR’ed the repeat airing to catch the whole thing.
Anyone know if we can watch the show as it airs on netflix streaming?
Starz deal with Netflix is no more so no.
Starz will no longer offer original programming for Netflix subscribers. This was a recent shift in philosophy they made even before they were on the outs with Netflix, so even if a deal with Starz and Netflix gets made to renew their current deal (which expires early next year btw) there will be no ‘Boss’ in their library.
If you have a PC, you can watch Starz in live-time. Somewhere in the view instantly section there is an option to stream the Starz channel as it happens on TV. This means you’ll have to watch it as it airs (10pm) but at least you’ll get to see it!
The dissolution of the Netflix/Starz relationship technically goes into effect in February, I believe.
Hey Brian Sher,
Congrats on the SOFT ratings start! You TRULY deserve it!!
We get it – Kelsey is playing against type. Nut after viewing the first episode, it is the poor writing that really turns the viewer off. Many lines are chewed up anbd spit out, and definitely do not sounds like anyone in real life.
BOSS may be a curiousity for many viewers tuning in to see the “new” Kelsey, but the writing has to improve if the show is going to warrant a second season. BOSS is not as bad as CAMELOT was, but it is not as good as other premium cable dramas either. Just because it was renewed, does not mean Starz can’t reneg on its agreement.
i (respectfully) disagree…I really liked the pilot and went back to read it afterwards.
I (disrespectfully) disagree… BOSS has one of the best written pilots out there. A poorly written script wouldn’t have sparked a bidding war amongst all of the premium cable networks…
Nope, this show isn’t worth the hype.
Have you re-watched the Sopranos pilot… The show is fantastic, but it is something that built over time and was great in its aggregate. I think anyone who is a fan of anything remotely intelligent in this era of reality and network dregg should champion a show like Boss. Given our cultural slide, it is an underdog and one worth nurturing, lest you be content with more of the same.
Party down was better than this. Starz originals are a mess. Did they not promote because they know it sucks or because they don’t know how?
You must not have been in their target demo b/c the promoted the hell outta this in my media world. I didn’t watch it because I just can’t stand the guy. I can’t even watch Cheers anymore b/c I sit there thinking about what a frickin’ scumbag he is.
Camille?
ReallY? I’m not judging the comment. You’re entitled. But you are passing judgment on your entertainment based on the actors personal life. Your entertainment. Why don’t you turn that focus on the rest of your life – the car you drive, the gas you buy to drive it, the food you eat, the officials you… I have to go. I have better things to do.
Boss isn’t very good. Kelsey just seems like he’s overacting when he gets upset.
The ratings are going to plummet for the next episode just like it does for the majority of shows. Starz were idiots for greenlighting a second season before the first episode had even aired.
And quit blaming Netflix for not striking a deal with Starz considering Netflix was willing to pay over $300 million to Starz but Starz wanted even more.
Greedy pigs. Where’s Occupy Starz?
Really? What about this show doesn’t make you feel like its aspiring to something greater than the usual. Hate for hate’s sake? I found THE WIRE after it aired. I was embarrassed that I didn’t champion it when it was on. When it was ignored, tucked away in a corner…This show may not be that, but its heart is in the right place and…
on one hand,it’s difficult to watch any actor who displays his entire personal life all over a reality show…”a gift to my ex-wife”? what kind of crap is that? . He made his own personal choices, no matter that she’s an air-head. What does matter is the writing was simply bad…WHY?…did a little fact checking…turns out this guys Nancy Regan’s brother-in- law! Now I get it!…who cares if he has any talent.
So very disappointed in the show.
Nancy Regan is a TV-movie actress up in Canada. What about that is scandalous? Are you meaning to say that Laura Regan (Farhad Safinia’s wife) is sisters with Nancy Reagan (Ronald Reagan’s wife)? Because if so, that “fact checking” you did was pretty bad (as is your punctuation).
Kelsey is too much of a pampered Hollywood pussy to play a credible badass.
Who cares about an actor’s personal life? Or, the producer’s? I don’t care what my housekeeper does in her personal life as long as my house is clean. Kelsey’s amazing in the show. I love everything about it…
This was one of the best pilots of the year.
Grammer’s performance was nuanced and powerful. The writing was taut and bold.
I can’t fathom anyone with a good critical eye dismissing this show. It’s got legs and a whole lot of room to run.
Haters will hate – TRUE. But I wanted to LOVE this show. Really I did…But I couldn’t. Man, I even love Chicago and Kelsey Grammer. Sure the flashy dialogue was great. But every character is unlikeable even if this show is a soft boil. So, why should I root for this guy? I rooted for Tony Soprano because he loved his family and he was good at his job. The success of shows like this depends on us rooting for the main character – like The Sopranos – so, it seems the success of The Sopranos depended not on Tony Soprano the mafia king pin, but on Tony the regular psychoanalysis patient. Where by day, Tony is a crook, a thug, and a murderer. BUT on the couch Tony is a regular guy, with the same hopes, dreams, problems, and anxieties as the rest of us. I think this would have been better if we saw how Grammer’s character rose to power only to professionally struggle to keep it and personally get the major setback we learned about in the pilot…
I’m not sure what the ratings should be for a show that airs on Friday night on Starz. Maybe they should look into Tuesday and Thursday nights for original programming. I mean I love Strike Back, but I’m not sure anyone watched it on Friday. They may have DVR’d it and caught it over the week.
HBO and Showtime have such a headstart on Sunday’s you’re going to have to find another day that’s not Friday to launch a show. Also would it kill Starz to have a block of shows. Get another show to bookend with this (so you give people reason to stick around).
Mr. Jackson (or can I call you Whistlestop) you will find out as you get older that not everyone goes out on Friday nights. Plenty of people are at home in front of their TVs.
Some are gaming, some are watching DVDs and what’s on their DVRs and some are actually watching TV.
Even ppl interested in a Kelsey Grammer political drama with disease overtones.
Ha, I am one of those people. I am just saying it wouldn’t kill them to look into another night to program, nor would it kill them to have a second show to watch either before or after to keep me tuned into Starz. I want more original programming not less. I pay for Starz.
Lions gate needs to get out of the tv biz and stick to core feature film strategy. When that dump this dog division and it’s management… I’ll happily buy the stock.
ahh, thanks for the shout out for Party Down…sigh gone too soon.
The first showing was seen free by most people I know, on the internet a week ago. That is how I did and it was great, this show will build over time. As I said before if I wasn’t getting laid off I would have bought the Starz package just to see this show.
Pilot started strong. The next episode, not quite as much. The third episode, ugh. Rapidly sliding into parody territory, and that’s not even considering the ridiculous and completely unnecessary soft porn elements.
I thought Kelsey Grammer was brilliant in this series. One of the best series I’ve seen. The writing is one of the things that makes it great. “Narrow is the road”.
I share the comment about The Wire. It was also extremely under rated.