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The Season 2 trailer for Starz’ “Boss”drops the bad news to Kelsey Grammer’s Mayor Tom Kane right away.

“Mr. Mayor, you have to know,” says his doctor, Ella Harris (Karen Aldridge), “your best days are behind you.”

Ouch.

The trailer shows the embattled Chicago mayor’s hands trembling thanks to the degenerative disease he’s trying to hide from both friends and foes. But that secret battle isn’t the only one he’s fighting in the new season, which premieres at 8 p.m. Aug. 17 on Starz. His political rivals are aligning against him, as are, it appears, his former aides, and possibly even his wife.

We get glimpses of new cast members Jonathan Groff, who plays Kane’s new adviser Ian Todd, and Sanaa Lathan, who stars as Mona Fredericks, chief of staff of another politician. Returning stars Connie Nielsen, Hannah Ware, Jeff Hephner, Kathleen Robertson, Troy Garity and Rotimi also appear in the trailer, and almost every one of their characters seems to be making a move against Kane of one way or another.

Lest you think Kane is laid low by all these woes, the trailer ends with his signature bravado and defiance.

“The only thing that’s believable about you,” he says to someone off camera, “is that you have the unmitigated stupidity to threaten the mayor of Chicago.”

Looks like August is going to get extremely heated in Chicago–at least Kane’s Chicago.

Here’s what Starz says about the new season: “This season, Kane ferociously beats back the physical symptoms of his illness with high doses of medication. But this comes at a cost–experiencing heightened psychological manifestations of the disease. Without his longtime advisors Stone and Kitty, Kane is also forced to reconfigure his inner circle. Surrounded by strangers and without much time left, he acts quickly to protect and repair his legacy by cutting out the cancers within the political machine. But as corrupt heads roll and his list of enemies grows, Kane’s virtuous actions begin to erode the very foundation of power he’s worked a lifetime to build. In order to maintain it, Kane must govern as he always has–ruthlessly.”