Boss takes place in modern-day Chicago. Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) is the mayor and he rules the city with an iron fist. His influence spreads throughout the state and he holds sway over Governor Cullen (Francis Guinan) as well. As the show opens, we learn that Tom has Lewy Body Disease, a degenerative neurological disorder which will effect his mental and motor functioning. Tom decides to keep this news to himself, despite the fact that those around him may soon notice the symptoms. Tom is served by his two loyal assistants Ezra Stone (Martin Donovan) and Kitty O'Neill (Kathleen Robertson), both of whom do whatever he asks without question. While Tom does many things in the public interest, he also bullies, intimidates, and blackmails those around him to get what he wants. He and his wife, Meredith (Connie Nielsen) live together (some of the time), but they have a marriage in name only. They are both estranged from their daughter, Emma (Hannah Ware), who works as a pastor in a bad part of town. One of Tom's major projects is an expansion at Ohare Airport. When the construction unearths a shocking discovery, Tom is forced to go on the offensive to defend his reputation. Meanwhile, Tom is positioning young State Treasurer Ben Zajac (Jeff Hephner) to run for governor so that he can continue to have influence over all local decisions. But, with his health in question, can Tom continue to run his empire?

Boss is a very serious and gritty show which takes a no-holds-barred look at big-city politics. We see how the mayor's office holds sway over the entire city and how Tom and his staff can manipulate city council, local businesses, and the press to get their way. We also see how no one can be trusted. Everyone has at least one skeleton in their closet and backstabbing and double-crosses are the order of the day. Tom Kane is smart enough to have alliances with enough people that he can wiggle his way out of any situation by cutting someone off at a moment' notice.

The show may focus on politics, but when you did under the surface, Boss is nothing more than a night-time soap opera like those from the 80s, such as Dallas and Falcon Crest. Whereas those shows focused on big family businesses, Boss focuses on government and all of the players involved. Tom is the J.R. Ewing or Blake Carrington of this world and everyone else walks a fine line between worshipping him and fearing him. Tom makes no bones about how ruthless he can be and he seems to delight in striking terror in others. However, his diagnosis has shaken his confidence, and it's given Boss a note of originality. The once untouchable mayor now can't trust his body, and in one of show's more intriguing twists, learns that he can make important decisions without remembering a thing.

While the show's focus is solid, Boss does have some issues. The show's biggest problem is that there isn't a single likable character on the program. Again, Boss goes out of its way to show that everyone is flawed, but it goes too far in that everyone is so crooked or damaged that no one can serve as an anchor to the audience. Some are less cruel or twisted than others, but you probably wouldn't want any of them over for dinner. The stories also get muddled at times. Boss has several plot-lines going at once, and some lack in detail and definition. Also, some of the political specifics are glossed over, seemingly in the hope that you won't question them too much.

One many levels, Boss is good but not great. In short, it's a stable show. However, it does excel in two places. First of all, Kelsey Grammer is very good as this dark character which is very different in what we've seen him do on TV before. He's asked to show a range of emotions here, as he can go from screaming at someone to having a breakdown due to his illness. He's always captivating when he's on-screen. The show's other saving grace is the plot twist (sort of) which takes place in Episode 7 -- just when we thought that Tom was on the ropes, he does something which demonstrates just how black his soul is. While not as prevalent as police or doctor shows, we occasional get political TV programs, but few are as dark as Boss.

Boss: Season One implies that there's no fidelity in politics courtesy of Lionsgate. The two-Disc set contains all eight episodes of the show's first season. The show has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The transfer is sharp and clear, showing no distracting grain and no defects from the source material. Some scenes do contain grain, but these are done for dramatic effect. The colors look good, and they can often be important when it comes to the character's costumes. For the most part, the image isn't overly dark, but some scenes border on this. The picture is fairly detailed and the depth is acceptable. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 5.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The crowd and street scenes provide good surround and stereo effects, which are often nicely detailed, allowing us to pick out individual sounds. The show's music, while sometimes atonal, sounds fine. The dialogue is always intelligible.

The Boss: Season One Blu-ray Disc set contains only a few extras. Disc 1 offers an AUDIO COMMENTARY for the episode "Listen" from Creator Farhad Safinia and Cinematographer Kasper Tuxen. Disc 2 contains an AUDIO COMMENTARY on the episode "Choose" from Creator Farhad Safinia and Executive Producer Richard Levine. "The Mayor and his Maker" (17 minutes) is a conversation between Safinia and Grammer in which the pair discuss the origins of the show and how the stories and characters were developed. It's interesting to hear how some of the ideas grew and how King Lear grew into Boss.