More programs on celeb lifestyles

It may be a case of questionable Hollywood accounting: Public fascination with showbiz plus Tinseltown’s love of itself doesn’t necessarily equal boffo TV ratings.

From celebrity-lifestyle magazines to box-office news reports, coverage of the entertainment industry is at a fever pitch.

Fueled by that perceived interest, the TV industry has been cranking out series, both fictional and reality-based, that present behind-the-scenes angles of show business.

Plenty of cable networks have current or upcoming entries in the Hollywood stakes, including HBO, Bravo, Showtime, Comedy Central and TBS. Few have become hits, however, and some have stumbled.

HBO’s critically praised “Entourage,” a look at a movie star and his posse, and “The Comeback,” which follows the travails of an actress trying to rekindle her career, are averaging 1.4 million and 1.1 million viewers on Sundays, on the low end of HBO series. “Unscripted,” an HBO series earlier this year about struggling actors, averaged 500,000 viewers.

A rare success: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” tracking the travails of “Seinfeld” creator Larry David, drew 2.9 million last season.

On Bravo, the third season of the moviemaking series “Project Greenlight” averaged fewer than 300,000 viewers, a fraction of its draw on HBO. Showtime’s “Fat Actress,” a comedy with actress Kirstie Alley, saw audiences drop as much as two-thirds from a premiere of 924,000 viewers.

Public appetite for celebrity lifestyles and entertainment news shouldn’t be mistaken for a huge desire to know the inner workings of the industry, says Tom Weeks of media buyer Starcom Worldwide.

“I don’t think America really cares about what happens behind the scenes,” he says.

Cable has been the big player in this genre, because shows can be aimed at smaller audiences that might be more interested in insider themes. The broadcast networks have had a poor track record with such fare, including the short-lived “Action” and “Grosse Pointe.”

“The Hollywood backdrop is a little more rarefied. You’re not necessarily looking at having to appeal to 20 million viewers,” Showtime chief Robert Greenblatt says.

Upcoming series with showbiz connections include Bravo’s “Situation: Comedy” (July 26), a comedy-writing contest, and shows following comedians Kathy Griffin (“My Life on the D-List,” July 27) and Howie Mandel (“Hidden Howie,” Aug. 18); and TBS’ “Minding the Store” (July 17), looking at Pauly Shore’s management of the Comedy Store.

In some cases, writers and executives may find Hollywood lifestyles more relatable than viewers do, “Greenlight” executive producer Chris Moore says.

“Movie people … are fascinating to watch, like driving by a car accident, but they’re not characters anybody cares about,” says Moore, who believes this was his show’s best season but doesn’t expect it to return.

“People look at it and say, ‘These people have got everything. Why am I going to care?’ “

Network executives offer some reasons behind the spate of shows.

HBO, whose “Larry Sanders Show” was an earlier water-cooler hit, hasn’t been deliberately focusing on showbiz programs, entertainment president Carolyn Strauss says.

In some cases, it has been a matter of having the chance to work with top talent (Lisa Kudrow and “Sex and the City” writer Michael Patrick King on “The Comeback,” and Ricky Gervais of “The Office” as an aspiring actor in the upcoming “Extras”). In others, such as “Entourage,” fame and privilege is the surface sizzle for a story about friendship.

Bravo sees entertainment-oriented shows as fitting its mission “to look at the creative process as it relates to the arts,” president Lauren Zalaznick says.

The network has been focusing more on reality-based situations.

“The whole ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ saying is pretty valid,” she says. “Unless it really is true, it’s a tough sell.”