jeomo I noticed a lot of people have compared this to The Wire. I think they must see it as yet another gritty urban reality series. Some have compared it to Houee of Cards. I think they must see it as yet another show about unbridled greed for political power. Certainly Boss has some of both in it, but to me the appropriate comparison is to neither of these series, because (based on the first season only), I don't think either one was at the core of this series, just part of the context.I think the appropriate comparison is to The Enemy Within.. Yes, yet another government takeover plot, but with an interesting twist. In this case, the enemy isn't a faction within the government, but within the brain of the government leader whose power is to be usurped. This is the role of power in this series, not over others, not simple greed for power, but power over the mind of the Boss himself. Essentially, the Boss begins to transform into his own imposter, and his core personality struggles to resist that takeover and retain its control...not over the government, but his own mind. Thus we see him act sympathetically one moment and cruelly another, as he wages battle with The Enemy Within.I don't know if the series continues to play out this way in the second season, and I may never know. I was so taken with the premise, I may just leave it there. Plus, in spite of the clever premise, and KG's tour de force performance, I didn't actually enjoy watching the series all that much. (But don't mind me. I wasn't especially impressed with The Wire, either, so what do I know.) Still, an astonishing performance + clever premise = 8 stars.

claredackombe I just can't understand why a show like this is cancelled whilst so much other 'tosh' just runs and runs. Grammar, Neilsen and Donavan are just mesmerising. Another reviewer mentioned its like Macbeth, I'm not so sure. We join a man clinging on to power rather than duped into grasping it. We certainly don't see a man who may not be up to his job. More a man who lost sight of his ideals. Though certainly Kane will sacrifice anybody and anything to retain power. Nielsen is sublime as his wife. Her motivations as dubious as Kane's. She is dignified even in the most lowly acts. There are moments of brilliance in this and I'm genuinely sad that I only have season 2 left to watch. If I could start a campaign to get this show recommissioned, I would! If only the TV execs could have preserved this show as well Kane and his staff preserved his office.

paul2001sw-1 As an American political drama, 'Boss' has two obvious precedents: 'The Wire', and the real life political drama currently underway in Washington DC. 'The Wire' was written by a journalist who knew everything about Baltimore, and felt very real: it's politicians were often shown as corrupt and ambitious, but also trying to do their best for their city while held by overwhelming constraints. I mention real, national politics to make one specific point: that whatever the personal issues, the fight between the President and Congress is dramatic because it's not just a story of clashing egos: there is a huge ideological and policy gulf between Obama and the tea-partiers. And in this respect 'Boss' is very disappointing. For the "Boss" himself, a fictional Chicago mayor, politics is all about horse-trading, making deals, staying in power. But in spite of the fine (and false) sounding speeches the candidates make, there's little sense of anything being at stake beyond the careers of the characters; for sure, Mayor Kane is a Democrat (Democrats have Chicago sewn up in the real world); but after watching a whole series, I have little sense of what Kane is in politics to do, or the real world factors outside the political arena limiting his ability to do so. Indeed, the series portrayal of the real world in general is quite weak, it's a cardboard land occasionally visited by its political protagonists, a place they go to mine votes, but not somewhere a viewer can really believe exists. This wouldn't matter is the remaining element, the political deal making, was convincing, but it isn't. Some examples: (i) the mayor asks key people to deliver votes for him, but how they do this is never made clear (ii) the mayor is implicated in a pollution scandal, so his response is to publicise how much another city is suffering, so that he can appear its rescuer (iii) when the scandal doesn't go away, he regains popularity by deliberately arresting his own daughter (iv) when his aide is caught leaking, he has the aide murdered, virtually at the aide's own request. This is a fantasy version of machine politics, and the back-plot (the mayor has a terminal disease) is simultaneously unnecessary and underdeveloped. Add some over-tricksy direction (lots of scenes cut out of temporal order for no particular reason) and the result is a decidedly patchy drama: there's promise in the premise, but it's played out as sanctimonious soap opera.

Fgp217 From the second I started watching Boss, I was enthralled. Whereas some of my other favorite shows may take several episodes to get me hooked, this one only took a few seconds. In my opinion, the show excels greatly at all the things that make TV great: Stellar performances from the majority of the cast; impeccable writing (that is so perfectly understated while also keeping me on the edge of my seat and constantly shocking me); and "cinematic", polished, and a creative directing and editing. The show is smart, dark, sexy, and full of mystery.They've taken a city, Chicago, and placed us full-force into its politics, with the cities mayor, Tom Kane. The show is about Kane's power, and it's exhibited in such impressive ways through absolutely amazing writing. The added twist, the mayors degenerative brain disease, thickens the plot and raises the stakes.The plot-lines that these characters are involved in run so deep, it's almost hard to keep up at times. Every single character, save Kane's daughter, Emma, in my opinion, exhibit equally interesting and engaging plot-lines.