Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

fritz-114 How many loose ends can a writer leave before ANY viewer decides that the writer is in fact awful? How many lines can an actor deliver before the viewer gags? Well...Starz pulled the plug on this crap-can of waste before it ever had the chance to insult any more viewers. Thank you goes to Starz for letting Kelsey Gramar that his acting is SO terrible that no one can believe what they are watching. How many times do we have to hear "Suffice it to say.." How trite, how moronic and how unbelievable the writing is. BLAH! If what you are looking for is some super series like breaking bad or such this is not it. If you want action this is not it. If on the other hand you enjoy story lines that go nowhere, characters that go in and out of character from episode to episode than "Boss" may be just the answer your looking for.

jzappa Boss starts off with more promise than the similarly themed House of Cards in many respects. First of all, unlike the popular Netflix show, it's not about Democrats, nor is it about how slick and likable these manipulative people are. It's about a city government, to begin with, which is a better microcosm to work from, and it's a Conservative one (they want to privatize and outsource education jobs, we see hopeless shortages in subsidized medicine, etc.), which is much more in tune with the zeitgeist of the country right now. There is no fanfare or bravado to the slickness of Mayor and Mrs. Kane's double-dealing, nor anyone else's. We see clearly what is lost and gained in an uninflected way, while their personal demons subconsciously steer them into further jadedness or desperation, how the vaguest feeling of power or wealth slipping away will light a fire under them to redouble their efforts.On the other hand, it is a Starz show, which means characters have to all be sleeping with somebody and having marathon sex extensively during episodes. The show admirably shoots for an HBO-grade Wire-esque credibility and realism, but it can also feel like a vexation to watch when extensive sex scenes between the same characters is constant and many other scenes also constantly fall into sexual impulse. This is erotic, yes, but once we've established two characters' desire for one another, let's wait till their relationship changes before showing them in the sack again. Otherwise, it's the exact same sex scene. It doesn't develop the story and it has increasingly less value as exposition.Grammar is a reliably powerful actor. He plays a character that is readymade to be enthralling. Above all, he is a King Lear, a Charles Foster Kane, a giant force to be reckoned with. But particularly, and vitally, characters who have to live with a deep secret are a cake walk with a bow on it for actors. It's subtext that writes and performs itself. We, and he, learn this dismal, distressing news in the first scene, the first shot, the first long, unbroken, ever-tightening shot on his commanding face, effectively setting the show off with a bang.Though it was the brainchild of Iranian writer-producer Farhad Safinia, Gus Van Sant's direction sets the tone for the show with his gentle touch, which deftly balances naturalism with the deep subjectivity of extreme slow-motion and macro close-ups, effectively holding the mundane up to a microscope while the hard-boiled chatter of real life marches on. So, even at its worst, Boss beams with brains and nerve, and a cynical comprehension of politics as a mere waiting room for plutocratic privatization by way of disenfrachising the people and using the language of favors to sweet democracy up in a tornado of money.

runamokprods Season 1; While this isn't without flaws, especially in the first few episodes, it develops into an intense, tremendously well acted and deeply chilling portrait of power and its various abuses. Kelsey Grammar is a frightening Godfather-like mayor of Chicago, who reveals just enough humanity for us to hope for some redemption. Or are even those flashes just an act? Almost everyone in this show is working an angle, playing their cards, hoping to come out on top and not worried about who they step on to get there. Filled with some really surprising and often depressing turns, this is as dark a look at American politics as I've seen in a long time. And to me that makes this important viewing. Because sadly, as over the top as the show can seem, why do I think it's much, much closer to reality than we'd all like to believe? As for the weak spots, there are a couple of performances in supporting roles that don't quite keep up, and especially in the first few episode a lot of gratuitous sex that feels shoehorned in. Believe me, I love a good sex scene. Just not when it feels like there's no reason for it to be there besides someone in power saying 'hey, no one's been naked for 15 minutes!' But that starts to fade as the season goes along, as do the plot holes. At the same time the emotional power grows, and by the last couple of episodes it's simply mesmerizing.Season 2: Not quite up to the level of excellence of the first season, but it comes close. For the first 5 episodes it grows convincingly and compellingly ever darker, while staying in the bounds of reality it had established, But them it pulls back from the precipice of true tragedy (which admittedly would have left it nowhere to go if there was a season 3), and becomes a little more melodramatic, a little more improbable, Still compelling and entertaining, but a bit more pulpy, a bit less Shakespearian.But, none-the-less this was one of the better series in recent TV that sadly no one seemed to ever watch.

kwmuter 10 minutes into the first episode of the 2nd season (the first time I ever saw Boss) I was completely hooked.1. The story/plot is powerful and interesting. While it is delightfully twisting, intricate, shocking, and complicated, I was able to "jump aboard" without seeing the first season. (Damn! I sure wish I had seen season one...)2. Kelsey Grammar just blows me away. His portrayal of Kane is just fantastic. Wow. He must be seen.Having said all this, I just read that it's been cancelled, and the last episode I just watched is the last one. Period. What the hell?!! It never fails. As soon as some quality television comes along, I get sucked in, then it gets cancelled due to poor ratings. It never fails. And it never fails to tick me off. Just take a look at all of the other user ratings for this show... I'm not the only one who is captivated by the excellence of the writing, acting, and production of "Boss". What gives? What the heck is wrong with the t.v. viewing public/audience?!! I suppose the cancellation of great shows like "Boss" makes room on the schedule for what the viewers all really want and need: More Honey Boo-Boo spin-offs. More Kardashians. More "Housewives of XXX". Perhaps some more hoarders, ghost hunters, rose bearing bachelors, or dancing c-list "celebrities", Great. The viewing public is getting just what it apparently wants, and just what it deserves. God forbid some quality drama sneaks in there somewhere.