I wouldn’t jump to any rash conclusions, but the numbers for the second-season premiere of Kelsey Grammer’s series, “Boss,” weren’t great.
Last Friday’s season opener on STARZ averaged only 317,000 viewers, despite a huge promotional push and some good critical reaction (and, yes, I realize these are the dog days of August, but still).
That number, by the way, is nearly a series low; after “Boss” premiered last season to 660,000 viewers, it steadily tailed off, reaching a low of 250,000 viewers before rebounding a bit. The Season One finale snared 505,000 viewers last December.
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Fresh stream: Best-selling author Scott Turow has written a new three-part Web series called “Rochelle,” which premieres this Monday on YouTube’s WIGS channel.
The series, directed by Rose Troche (“The L Word,” “The Safety of Objects”) revolves around a troubled woman (Rosanna Arquette) who hires an escort (Nazanin Boniadi) to break her ex-husband’s heart.
More YouTube: “One Tree Hill” and “Smallville” creators Brian Robbins and Joe Davola, meanwhile, have launched Awesomeness TV, a new YouTube channel which premieres its first scripted series, “Runaway
s,” on Aug. 31. The seven-episode series revolves around the disappearance of a private school’s “most controversial couple” (Karalynn Dunton, Grant Harvey) on the same day cops find the victim of a violent murder.
Awesomeness TV is at youtube.com/awesomenesstv.
Also on the Web is “Behind the Lights,” a new digital series (it premiered yesterday) which looks at the most-coveted behind-the-scenes jobs in sports (professional and college). Next Wednesday’s episode, “Flipping the Field,” tracks the head groundskeeper of the Oakland Coliseum. Andrew Santino hosts (mademan.com/behind-the-lights/).
And Hulu has a new original travel series, “Up To Speed,” which comes from acclaimed producer/director Richard Linklater (“Dazed and Confused,” “School of Rock”) and features tour guide/historian Timothy Speed Levitch as he travels around the country. The Sept. 6 episode finds Levitch in New York City.
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Last, but not least:
* Cat’s dog: Cat Greenleaf introduces viewers to her new shelter dog, Walter, on Saturday’s “Talk Stoop” (1:30 a.m./Ch. 4) with special guest Woody Harrelson (“Bullet for Adolf”) . . . “TRYathalon” was Disney XD’s top-rated telecast of the week in total viewers (825,000) and several kids demos (6-13, 6-11 and 2-11). It’s part of “Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living” program . . . VH1 has renewed “Single Ladies” for a third season set to air later next year . . . The second season of CBS’s “Blue Bloods” is out on DVD Sept. 11. Tom Selleck stars . . . Former “Malcolm in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz plays drums for the indie rock band Kingsfoil. Their new album, “A Beating Heart is a Bleeding Heart,” is out Sept. 25.