Boss Series Starz ((top)) File

Boss argues that political systems don't create corruption—corruption is the system. There are no good guys. The closest thing to a moral compass is a ruthless investigative journalist played by the late, great James Vincent Meredith, and even he has to sell his soul to get a story. Starz gave the show a cinematic budget, and it shows. Cinematographer Kasper Tuxen shoots Chicago as a character: the brutalist concrete of the Richard J. Daley Center, the frozen wind tunnels of LaSalle Street, the opulent but sterile high-rises overlooking the lake. It is a city of grey and blue, of cold metal and cold hearts.

But the king has a secret. Kane is diagnosed with Lewy body dementia—a degenerative neurological disorder that causes vivid hallucinations, memory loss, and loss of motor control. In the pilot’s stunning opening scene, a doctor delivers the news: "You have a year, maybe eighteen months. At the end of it, you won't know who you are."

When you think of Kelsey Grammer, you likely picture the erudite, buttoned-up, and eternally exasperated Dr. Frasier Crane. For two decades, he was television’s favorite intellectual therapist. So, when Starz unveiled Boss in 2011, audiences were met with a whiplash-inducing transformation. boss series starz

Have you seen Boss ? Let me know your thoughts on Tom Kane’s final scene in the comments below.

Kelsey Grammer delivered the performance of his career. It is a shame more people haven't seen it. Do yourself a favor: pour a glass of something strong (Kane prefers whiskey), turn down the lights, and watch a king fall. Starz gave the show a cinematic budget, and it shows

Gone were the tailored suits of Seattle and Boston. In their place was the raw, brutalist power of Chicago’s city hall. Grammer didn’t just play a character in Boss ; he underwent a metamorphosis into Mayor Tom Kane—a political titan whose body is failing but whose hunger for control is insatiable.

The show is unapologetically Shakespearean. Think King Lear meets The Godfather . Kane’s estranged daughter (played with venomous brilliance by Hannah Ware) tries to destroy him. His wife (the legendary Connie Nielsen) turns into Lady Macbeth. His protégé (Martin Donovan as Ezra Stone) waits for the slip. It is a city of grey and blue, of cold metal and cold hearts

This is the story of why Boss remains one of the most underrated, brutal, and brilliantly acted dramas of the 2010s. Set against the steel-gray skyline of Chicago, Boss introduces us to Mayor Tom Kane at the absolute zenith of his power. He has run the city for decades, not through democracy, but through a feudal system of favors, blackmail, and iron-fisted alliances. He is the king, and the City Council are his court.