Boss Series Starz Fix -

Boss argues that political systems don't create corruption—corruption is the system. There are no good guys. The closest thing to a moral compass is a ruthless investigative journalist played by the late, great James Vincent Meredith, and even he has to sell his soul to get a story. Starz gave the show a cinematic budget, and it shows. Cinematographer Kasper Tuxen shoots Chicago as a character: the brutalist concrete of the Richard J. Daley Center, the frozen wind tunnels of LaSalle Street, the opulent but sterile high-rises overlooking the lake. It is a city of grey and blue, of cold metal and cold hearts.

But the king has a secret. Kane is diagnosed with Lewy body dementia—a degenerative neurological disorder that causes vivid hallucinations, memory loss, and loss of motor control. In the pilot’s stunning opening scene, a doctor delivers the news: "You have a year, maybe eighteen months. At the end of it, you won't know who you are."

Kelsey Grammer delivered the performance of his career. It is a shame more people haven't seen it. Do yourself a favor: pour a glass of something strong (Kane prefers whiskey), turn down the lights, and watch a king fall. boss series starz

Tom Kane ruled through fear and manipulation. His dementia doesn't change his behavior because he was already a sociopath. The horror of the show is that the disease doesn't make him a monster—it just strips away the mask.

Have you seen Boss ? Let me know your thoughts on Tom Kane’s final scene in the comments below. Starz gave the show a cinematic budget, and it shows

When you think of Kelsey Grammer, you likely picture the erudite, buttoned-up, and eternally exasperated Dr. Frasier Crane. For two decades, he was television’s favorite intellectual therapist. So, when Starz unveiled Boss in 2011, audiences were met with a whiplash-inducing transformation.

The show is unapologetically Shakespearean. Think King Lear meets The Godfather . Kane’s estranged daughter (played with venomous brilliance by Hannah Ware) tries to destroy him. His wife (the legendary Connie Nielsen) turns into Lady Macbeth. His protégé (Martin Donovan as Ezra Stone) waits for the slip. It is a city of grey and blue, of cold metal and cold hearts

But it is the eyes that do the work. In one scene, Grammer will shift from cold, Machiavellian calculation to terrified confusion as a hallucination creeps into the corner of the room. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama for the first season, and it remains one of the most deserved wins in the award’s history.