'Boss' gets the pink slip

The premium cable channel Starz announced Tuesday that it won’t air a third season of its critically-acclaimed series “Boss” about fictional Chicago Mayor Tom Kane.

The Kelsey Grammer-starring series recently wrapped its second — and final — season.

It’s sad news — if not entirely unexpected — for the show’s fans, of which I’m one. I loved “Boss’” blend of soap opera sudsiness, Shakesperean drama and big-city politics, Chicago-style. Grammer’s performance was mesmerizing and same goes for the rest of the cast, many of whom are Chicagoans.

“After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to not proceed with ‘Boss,’” reads the Starz statement. “We remain proud of this award-winning show, its exceptional cast and writers, and are grateful to Kelsey Grammer, Farhad Safinia and our partners at Lionsgate TV.”

“Boss” debuted last year with a riveting scene: Mayor Tom Kane in an old slaughterhouse, being told by his doctor that he had a fatal, degenerative disease. Kane tried to keep his illness a secret and continue to rule the city with an iron fist. Nothing could get in his way in his pursuit of power. Nothing, it turns out, except Starz executives.

Starz says there might be a 2-hour “Boss” movie made to give the series a finale, but no deal has been confirmed yet.

That would give viewers some welcome resolution as to Kane’s fate. I’d tune in, even though I’d rather be tuning into a season three premiere.