# Boss (2011)

> A Chicago mayor who runs the city through deception and favors begins losing his memory to a degenerative brain disorder.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/35772

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Farhad Safinia
- Network: STARZ
- Cast: Kelsey Grammer, Connie Nielsen, Hannah Ware, Jeff Hephner, Kathleen Robertson, Troy Garity, Rotimi, Jonathan Groff
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1833285/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: cynical, bleak, tense, intimate, brooding

## What critics say

Audiences rated the series positively, with a strong lead performance from Kelsey Grammer and a dark, morally compromised portrait of political power, though the first season was rated lower than the second.

## Synopsis

Boss (2011-2012) is an American political drama created by Farhad Safinia for STARZ, a two-season run of eighteen episodes that was canceled before its story could finish. Kelsey Grammer plays Mayor Tom Kane, a shrewd and ruthless power broker who sits at the center of Chicago's machine politics like a spider in its web. His wife Meredith Kane (Connie Nielsen) and daughter Emma Kane (Hannah Ware) orbit his household, while political allies such as Ben Zajac (Jeff Hephner) and Kitty O'Neil (Kathleen Robertson) carry out his deals. The engine of the show is simple and cruel: Kane keeps the city running through favors, deception and quiet threats, but a degenerative brain disorder is stealing his memory and his trust in the people closest to him. Each episode juggles backroom negotiations, jobs, disputes and loyalties while the mayor struggles to hide his decline. Fans of House of Cards and The Wire will find resonance in its cynical urban power games and morally compromised characters. The atmosphere is bleak, tense and intimate, with a family drama beating beneath the political maneuvering. Its prestige drama style and dark psychological tone make it a sharp study of power and its cost.

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