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.

It's not every day you find a show as original and authentic as 'Boss'. It really delivers in the realism department and challenges you with unexpected twists and turns. It's too much to follow at times but it just adds to the richness.

What I like most is the attention to detail without the boring melodrama. Many parts are skipped over in favor of the important parts. It really allows you to get into the heads of the characters without bogging you down with irrelevant drama. It's quite similar to 'The Wire' for all of those reasons.

I was a bit puzzled at the low IMDb rating it received and just assumed it was a too complex for casual viewers. But after looking at the voting breakdown I realized a large group of people were giving it 1/10 with the rest up at 9 or 10. I'm guessing some people don't like Kelsey Grammar's political views.

Note this series is rated R and contains swearing and fairly graphic sex scenes. But it is done very tastefully in my opinion and just gives the show extra depth.

Im not one to mince words and try and sound intelligent in my reviews. Ill just say this show is amazing and well worth watching. The acting is superb and the plot is absorbing.

Kane is a beast of a character and totally dominates the show. I never watched Fraser but I now realise what a great actor Kelsey Grammar is. The supporting cast is excellent and always value add to the storyline.

Its very difficult to guess where the show is headed. I like how the storyline is not predictable.

I put this up there with my favourites, The West Wing and The Newsroom. I look forward to seeing how the plot develops and where the writers take this amazing show. Enjoy!

...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.

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.