I don't really know how the STARZ network works in the US, whether you have to pay extra for it or it comes standard with your cable or Internet package. So I don't know how many are likely to have seen the premiere of a new series called "Boss." Based on the few who chimed in about "Spartacus," few here may have access to this channel.
If you don't, there is a second series you're missing out on. "Boss" looks to be TREMENDOUS. Kelsey Grammar overcomes the biggest handicap of "stereotyping" in television history (literally...he played the same Frazier character for 20 years), and makes you forget you ever knew him as Frazier. His is a tour de force performance, and worth watching the series for in itself IMO. In a nutshell, he plays the Mayor Of Chicago. This is not exactly the same as being the mayor of Fairfield. Being the Mayor Of Chicago is a Big Deal, one of the most important political positions in America. His character has things so in hand as "Boss" of this city that he can manipulate the City Council to vote any way he wants, intimidate who- ever he wants, dictate who is going to win the upcoming Gubernatorial primary, and pretty much run things the way he fuckin' wants to. He's the Boss. Trouble is, as we find out in the first moments of the series (and in the trailers, so this is no spoiler), he's dying. He has a degenerative brain disorder that is going to eat away at his sanity, his speaking ability, and even his motor functions over the next three to five years. He's toast. But he's also the most powerful person in Chicago, and is not about to give that up. This makes his character interesting in the same way that Walter White in "Breaking Bad" is interesting. Kelsey Grammar is not only the star of this series but its producer. He obviously saw it as a chance to completely reinvent himself as an actor. He pulled that off in the first few minutes of the series, using only his face, shown in close-up by director Gus Van Sant as he's told the news about his future, and how short and troubled a future it will be. I look forward to how he continues to reinvent himself in future episodes.
