CBS has ordered a second cycle of the hit reality series, UNDERCOVER BOSS, for the 2010/11 broadcast season.

UNDERCOVER BOSS, which follows high-level chief executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies, is the number one new series of the 2009-2010 season, averaging 18.74 million viewers, 8.0/17 in adults 25-54 and 7.1/17 in adults 18-49.

The series premiered following the Super Bowl to 38.7 million viewers, the largest audience for a new series following the Super Bowl. It also ranks as the biggest new series premiere since 1987 and the most-watched premiere episode of any reality series.

“We are thrilled with the overwhelming response to the series and how audiences seem to connect to it on several levels,” said Jennifer Bresnan, Senior Vice President, CBS Alternative Programming. “The wish fulfillment of seeing the top boss perform jobs of the rank and file is universal, and the employees’ stories discovered at each company are often relatable and inspirational.”

Each week, UNDERCOVER BOSS follows a different executive as they leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companies. While working alongside their employees, they see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organizations and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad while discovering the unsung heroes who make their companies run.

Stephen Lambert and Eli Holzman are executive producers for Studio Lambert, Ltd.

Source: CBS

A lot of people who work in or write about the television industry were, to put it mildly, surprised when CBS scheduled the premiere of “Undercover Boss” after the Super Bowl.
Well, it turns out that the folks at CBS knew what they were doing. “Undercover Boss” is the surprise hit of the season.

On Sunday, the fourth episode was the second-most-watched show of the night, trailing only the final night of the Winter Olympics. And the second half-hour of “Boss” actually beat the Olympics among the all-important 18-49 demographic.

The biggest question at this point is: How will the producers be able to keep this going? Now that “Undercover Boss” is a hit, how will they be able to keep up the pretense?

Now that tens of millions of people have seen the show, you’d think it would be far more difficult for the boss to show up, trailed by a camera crew, and not be instantly identifiable.

“That will be something that we have to address,” said executive producer Stephen Lambert. “We’ve got a number of ideas how we’re going to deal with that, which aren’t necessarily ideas that I think are good for me to articulate now.”

Read the full story on Desert News.

A significant number of the 38.6 million viewers who got a taste of “Boss” after the Super Bowl came back for more the next three Sundays. The most recent episode — featuring the head of White Castle working menial jobs in his restaurants, a company bakery and a frozen food plant — drew more than 15 million viewers opposite Vancouver’s Closing Ceremony.

But the true lure simply may be the way “Undercover Boss” demonstrates that, as hard as the executives think they work, those under them work just as hard or harder with less compensation and less support, a message that can’t help but resonate.

“The principle of the boss who doesn’t really know what it’s like on the front line is a principle that is strong,” Stephen Lambert, the show’s executive producer, told a group of reporters a few weeks back.

The most understandable but least satisfying aspect of the program is that no one has gotten fired for what they have said or done in front of the CEOs. The boss of Hooters, for example, was inexplicably forgiving to a manager who demeaned his wait staff in a variety of galling ways on camera. He wasn’t even written up on camera.

“The reward, punishment and future course of action for the employees is determined by the chief executives at the participating companies,” CBS spokesman Chris Ender explained, although producers have editorial control.

1. Think synergy.
2. Continuous improvement is key.
3. A fresh set of eyes can see missed opportunities.
4. Employees can inspire management.
5. Many great leaders started at the bottom.
6. Communications is always a challenge.
7. Replicate what works.
8. An army runs on infrastructure and logistics.
9. There are tricks to doing just about anything.
10. Engineers make great executives.