First Impressions: Boss

The pilot of Starz’s new series Boss is impressive: very strong cast, a plethora of powerful moments throughout, and wonderfully directed by Gus Van Sant. Boss could quickly join the upper echelon of television with its strong acting, complex storyline, and thanks to Sant’s unique style, a fantastic pilot episode with a very strong visual style.

If you’re not a Kelsey Grammar fan, don’t let that stop you from watching Boss. Gone are the Frasier mannerisms we grew to hate over 20 years, and the failed returns to sitcoms along with them. Grammar redefines himself as Tom Kane, longtime mayor of Chicago who is diagnosed with a terrible brain disease in the opening moments of the pilot. He is powerful, ruthless… sort of the typical alpha male corrupt political mind we’ve seen a million times before, but Grammar’s understated performance drives a fascinatingly dark character. Sant really establishes Kane as a character with a lot of close up face shots, giving us mere glimpses into the eyes of Kane and what is going on behind all the posturing and politicking. It’s a joy to see Grammar dive into someone so dark and corrupt, and still maintain the highbrow sort of air he’s carried with him on network television for decades.

I could go on and on about Kane’s character and Grammar’s acting, but there is a story behind it all. The pilot does a good job of launching a number of different story lines, setting up the entire first season without giving away too much of the structure (and inversely, doesn’t hold back too much). There are a few I wonder about: the daughter being involved in church could lead us down some soul-searching moments interspersed with expositions about faith that I really don’t need to bear witness to (and the hint she might have some old drug problems is not the most original one, either). The storyline of the new man running for mayor looks to be the big fish of the first season, though, and I’m looking forward to watching the interactions of Kane and this newcomer Zajac.

Boss has already been renewed for a second season, so Starz apparently saw something in the already-produced opening hours of the show. Boss looks to be here for the long haul, and without the fear of cancellation, can take its time developing its stories and characters, and I’m really looking forward to what is already the best show Starz has ever produced. In other words, WATCH IT!

A bunch of random thoughts I had on the pilot:

– Did everyone note the presence of oranges in the Zajac/Kane scene outside? We all know what that means… (and if you don’t, go watch The Godfather or Ted’s last scene on Breaking Bad).

– What a strong supporting cast. Martin Donovan and Kathleen Robertson stole some scenes early in the pilot, and they are but a few amongst this surprisingly deep cast.

– does anybody feel like this could just be another take on the story of Uncle Junior? Think about his arc through the six seasons of The Sopranos and tell me I’m wrong.

– Right now, I can only see this show ending in two ways: he regains his humanity and dies with his family, or he dies corrupt, powerful, and alone as he ever was. What do you think?

Boss will air on Friday nights, so stop back Monday throughout the first season (the next seven weeks) to read recaps of each episode!