Boss

Starz! is starting to give HBO a run for their money in original programming. Their Spartacus series is one of my all time "guilty pleasures".

But "Boss" ups the ante considerably with this deadly serious & very dark melodrama of politics in Chicago.

Forget "Frasier Crane", Kelsey Grammar has the role of a lifetime playing the titular character of Mayor Tom Kane & he knocks it completely out of the park with somber rhetoric, explosive rages & double dealings. When he is on the screen he dominates it.

Of course, given the talent of series creator Farhad Sarfinia maybe the only task of Grammar's was not to screw it up. Either way it works brilliantly.

The supporting cast is excellent. The plot lines are labyrinthine without ever becoming lost.

If you like compelling drama about dirty politics & politicians you will thoroughly enjoy these 1st 8 episodes --the 1st season.

If you haven't read the book "Boss" by Mike Royko and you haven't already fallen in love with the new Starz series Boss, then you should do both.. NOW. I know it has only the first episode of the first season but its not a pilot, the entire first episode was directed by Gus Van Sant in Chicago and almost like one of the best 50 min. movies you ever saw. It is starZ answer to the great cable TV shows i.e. Dexter, OZ, The Sopranos, True Blood, The Shield etc.

The new series Boss is not based on Royko's book but almost the history of Chicago's gritty politics and policies. It encapsulates the anti- heroic and heroic decisions of our beloved mayor and Boss. Kelsey Grammar is Spectacular. His presence is so palpable it seems the entire cast, who are fantastic, have him on their mind when acting. Kelsey Grammar is the Bulldog mayor, he is the King of the City, he is the Boss.

I've only ever seen one other true modern tragedy in 'dancer in the dark'. This series is exceptional in that it does not pander to your indulgence in a character. They remain outside you throughout and all perish. this is the best TV i have ever seen, the wire was good but its blue collar sentiment annoyed me, this has none. The sopranos depiction of power was good but again involved comedy (small time crooks). The characters here are not comic. There are moments where the display of their power is a little out of the writers depth, but it would have taken poetry to fully realise these moments and that I think would alienate a TV audience. Regardless of this there are no complaints from me. After watching this you will finally feel like you have seen something that was not made for the faint hearted and something that did not do this by shock violence, something that used the actions of characters alone to achieve its truly dramatic effect. brilliant

...one of the best dramas currently airing on television? It sure feels like it.

It's only been two eps, so far, so I hate to jump the broom & risk being married to a soon to be flop but.... This feels like the real deal!

I'm immersed... captured by this tale, right from the beginning. Kelsey Grammar shows his acting chops as he's nvr shown bfr (but I always knew it was thr.)

He plays the mayor of the greatest city in America with great feeling, complexity & depth.. and a menacing streak that takes him far from "Frasier". The eps have, so far,, been well written, smart & intense.

Can't wait to see what happens next.

I first watched boss a while ago, got bored on the 1st episode and stopped it. Then there was a time i has nothing else to watch so i started it again. And it's a show that grows on you. This series is really harsh, even more than house of cards-harsh and yet so realistic. There were specific episodes where the malice and skill and wit of the protagonist couple was more than anything you'd ever watch. Kelsey Grammar and Connie Nielsen are both extremely talented and Kitty is also an interesting character. I'm so, so sad the show didn't continue cause there was so much potential. Hope i'll see a 3rd season some day, although that's probably not possible.