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Critic Reviews
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When you have a story as thoroughly involving as this one, evoking both "King Lear" and "Citizen Kane," and when the performances are this good, Boss almost directs itself.
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Starz has its channel-defining series in Boss, a wholly impressive new drama that comes out of the gate with gravitas, swagger, originality and intrigue.
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The Gus Vant Sant-directed pilot of what is easily the most important project in Starz history pulses with the sort of corruption that absolute power sires.
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Grammer's performance is thoroughly engaging and convincing. And the events swirling around him never fail to snap, crackle and pop.
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The script is tight and ambitious, as it attempts to anatomize corruption in the big city.
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Even at its worst, Boss radiates intelligence and toughness, and an appreciation of politics as a nonstop performance in an unscripted drama.
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Onto this short list of tightly written and intensely acted thrillers now comes Boss.
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TV viewers who watch Boss probably won't be disappointed and even those who are wary of latching onto a new series have reason to give the show a chance.
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Starz' new eight-episode drama is at once the most cynical and most captivating portrayal of American politics ever presented on television.
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The cable network's political drama even has my vote for the best new show of the season.
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The show's many subplots are handled clumsily, but these two [Grammer & Nielsen] are too good to pass up. 25 Oct 2011, p.48]
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While Boss is a very promising drama with a great lead performance, it might be better off easing up a bit and just letting viewers appreciate Grammer's career-redefining work.
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Boss is electric with self-importance, and that is in itself is a hoot, given its particular combination of thematic pomp and expressionistic pulp.
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It's a solid enough formula, and if the writers have overly epic ambitions, they also have a collective eye for detail.
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Boss makes the stories compelling and chilling all over again.
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Lots of the characterizations work wonderfully, and the acting is fantastic.
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Some of the intrigue is cleverly done, but none of it connects to characters we care about.
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Its early episodes are a mix of power and disappointment.
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Ultimately, this is an easier show to admire than it is to recommend.
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The problem is, the show that's been built around the actor (who's also a producer on the project) isn't nearly as interesting as what Grammer brings to the screen, and the sluggish pacing and melodramatic excesses of Boss could put off those drawn in by the actor's confident star turn.
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A smart look at political power brokers that gets silly on the subjects of sex and violence.
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It's all played solidly enough, though so many elements seem plucked from other fare.
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It's hard to imagine viewers voting with their clickers for this pretentious political soap.
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Boss works hard to resist the usual "this is how we do things in Chicago" nonsense and dutifully aims for a somewhat "Wire"-esque believability. Yet it can also feel like a burden to watch.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 95 out of 111
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Mixed: 6 out of 111
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Negative: 10 out of 111
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Dec 31, 2011
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Dec 14, 2011
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Oct 24, 2011Boss unlike most shows this season doesnâ