Boss Creator “Heartbroken” Over Low Ratings: "I Hope We Get to Tell the Entire Story"
Kelsey Grammer
It's no secret that Boss, despite its famous leading man and Golden Globe win, has been struggling in the ratings.
"I am completely aware of what the numbers are and I'm heartbroken," creator and executive producer Farhad Safinia told reporters at the Television Critics Association's fall preview sessions Thursday. "There are so many great things about the show that I feel it deserves a larger audience."
Exclusive first look: Are you ready to get hooked on Season 2 of Boss?
Boss was renewed for a second season even before the show debuted. The series premiered to 1.05 million viewers last October on Starz.
Unlike Safinia, Boss star and executive producer, Kelsey Grammer, sounded less worried about the show's popularity. "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."
Grammer, 57, said he's had many fans come up to him to say how much they enjoy the drama. "On the flipside, there are people who come up to me and say, 'Hey, when are you coming back to television?'" he said.
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Safinia also believes it was the show's low ratings that caused Grammer's Emmy snub. After winning a Golden Globe award in January for his performance, many awards show pundits predicted he would also snag an Emmy nomination. "Kelsey not getting nominated is a travesty. I just don't understand it," Safinia said. "The only explanation I can come up with is perhaps that people didn't get to see it."
Grammer, however, said he wasn't surprised after he also didn't receive a Screen Actors Guild award nomination. "For some reason, my peers don't think this is worth recognizing," he said.
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Looking ahead, Safinia simply hopes that the writers will be able to live up to the promise Boss made to viewers in the first episode to follow Mayor Kane until the end of his fight with his degenerative neurological disorder. "We're looking at a timeline that is going to be studied until his ultimate demise," he said. "This man is changing and therefore the seasons are going to change."
Added Safinia: "I hope we get to tell the entire story."
The new season of Boss premieres on Friday, Aug. 17 at 9/8c on Starz.