'Boss' Creator and Star Respond to Low Ratings

[Midnight 6]

Because it airs on Starz, a premium cable network, viewership for Boss was never going to be high. But the series managed to attract around half a million viewers (if that) throughout its first season. Compared to the 1.2 million viewers that Spartacus: Vengeance, another Starz series, averaged, Boss's viewership is paltry.

Creator Farhad Safinia knows this fact, he informed reporters at the show's TCA panel on Thursday. "I am completely aware of what the numbers are and I'm heartbroken," he said. "There are so many great things about the show that I feel it deserves a larger audience."

The series was renewed for a second season before the show even premiered, so fans of the series should be thankful to Starz's faith in the show for the next ten episodes. But will the network renew the series for a third season based on quality alone? Star Kelsey Grammer doesn't doubt it.

"I'm fairly confident that whatever Starz's interest is in the show is because it's a great story to tell," he said. "I'm honestly not aware of what the show's numbers actually are."

Plans are for the show to continue until protagonist Tom Kane's (Grammer) death by the degenerative neurological disorder he discovered he had in the show's opening minutes. "We're looking at a timeline that is going to be studied until his ultimate demise," Safinia said. "This man is changing and therefore the seasons are going to change."

But that of course depends on whether the show gets renewed beyond its second season. It seems like any growth in the show's viewership would be a good sign for a third season, though Safinia remains cautious. "I hope we get to tell the entire story," he said.

Boss season 2 will premiere August 17 on Starz. Seriously, watch it.

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