Starz cancels BOSS, DOWNTON ABBEY Renewed for Fourth Season by ITV

Boss Canceled, Downton Abbey Renewed. Starz has canceled television show Boss after two season and ITV has renewed Downton Abbey for a fourth season. Downton Abbey‘s renewal did not surprise me at all, its a good show. What struck me out of left field was the cancellation of Boss. Boss was one of the best political dramas I have ever seen, so smartly written, excellent twists and acting with a narrative that never talked down to the audience.

I thought Boss was one of the flagship programs on Starz, especially with this being the last season for Spartacus: War of the Damned but I was wrong. Like with equally smart Rubicon on AMC, it was all about the ratings, not the quality of the show.

The official cancellation statement by Starz:

‘After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to not proceed with [a third season of] Boss,’ Starz said in a statement Tuesday. ‘We remain proud of this award-winning show, its exceptional cast and writers, and are grateful to Kelsey Grammer, [creator] Farhad Safinia and our partners at Lionsgate TV.’

On Boss‘ ratings:

The series, which earned a Golden Globe nomination for best drama and an acting win for Grammer, drew 659,000 total viewers to its original October 2011 premiere en route to 1.72 million overall over its first weekend, falling shy of recent scripted launches. Season two returned down from its freshman run with a mere 317,000 viewers, ending in October with a season high of 440,000 viewers. The Lionsgate TV drama’s sophomore season averaged 937,000 viewers when factoring in multiple premiere weekend airings, down from its first-year average of 1.1 million.

On closing out the show:

Sources confirm to THR that Starz has had talks to wrap the series with a two-hour movie. The second season finale tied up the season-long mystery with Grammer’s Tom Kane still in full control of Chicago, and with his illness still under wraps.

I hope that they do not proceed with a wrap up movie. They did that with Firefly and it didn’t turn out well.

Regarding Downton Abbey, the show “finished its highest-rated season to-date in the U.K.” PBS airs the show in the US. ITV was “expected to order a fourth season of the drama due to solid live viewership and boosts in delayed viewing.”

On Downton Abbey‘s third season ratings:

ITV said that the third season of the period drama, which in the U.S. will start on PBS on Jan. 6, averaged 9.7 million viewers when including delayed viewing on the same day, for example via DVR. Season one had averaged 8.4 million viewers, and season two had averaged 9.5 million.

On season four of Downton Abbey:

The fourth season will be set in the early 1920s and return to ITV in the fall of 2013, followed by an extended Christmas special. Filming is set to start in February…Gareth Neame, managing director of NBCUniversal production label Carnival Films and executive producer of Downton said the new season will include some new faces. “Viewers can look forward to more drama, comedy, love, hatred, jealousy, rivalry, ambition, despair and romance,” he said.

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Source: Hollywoodreporter