6 Reasons TV Series Boss should be Revived

Boss was a TV show ahead of its time. It was a well-acted, well-produced Starz TV drama about a Mayor of Chicago who treated his office like a fiefdom and his administration like a mob organization. Like House of Cards‘ Frank Underwood, Boss‘ Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) manipulated and got rid of people that got in his way, sometimes quit viciously. Cancelled in 2012 because of low ratings, Boss earned Kelsey Grammer a Golden Globe for best actor at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

When one considers the current state of United States television and United States politics, Boss would have a far better and stronger audience now than it did at the height of its ratings. Boss is more relevant now that it ever was when it originally air.


6 Reasons Boss should be Revived

Politics as Entertainment

Politics and entertainment via United States politics are en vogue. Thanks to the circus-like shenanigans that ensued during the 2016 United States Presidential election cycle, during the transition, the first years of President Trump’s administration, and the President’s tweets, U.S. politics are more entertaining than they have ever been in the past.

When Boss first began airing on Starz in 2012, the real world, U.S. political environment was: somber, serious, and far less social media savvy. Now its a powder keg of entertainment, online, offline, and on television.

Four major political TV shows are on air right now: House of Cards, Homeland, Veep, and Our Cartoon President. The latter is about the current administration and another show in that vain is on the way – Fire and Fury. There is also the constant political parodies on Saturday Night Live.

President Donald Trump

45th President of the United States Donald Trump, in some ways, is a mirror of Mayor Tom Kane. Both men are alpha males, exude masculinity, are aggressive, and have no compunction to telling someone exactly how they feel about them to their face.

Though President Trump is a political neophyte, Trump and Mayor Kane know how to expertly manipulate the news media to their advantage.

As an administrator, President Trump wants people to do what he says (or implies). Mayor Kane tells people what to do, and they do it, or else. Kane wields the type of authority and power, a mixture of political suave and thuggery, that President Trump, or any other non-fictional U.S. President for that matter, can only dream of in the modern political day and age.

The Current State of United States Politics

Like Republicans versus Democrats, Boss is about Chicago Mayor Tom Kane versus multiple adversaries (politicians, business men, reporters, etc.), including the deteriorating condition of his mind.

His mental condition notwithstanding, Kane, and other politicians on Boss, know how to generate political momentum or when they see it somewhere else, they know how to insinuate themselves into it seamlessly, partially reaping some of the positive public relations benefits. Real world example: President Donald Trump recently used the epic ratings from Roseanne‘s TV revival as a positive for himself at a political event while he was on-stage.

Liking many of the political situations generated and the politicians appointed since the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, Boss illustrates an atmosphere of: self-dealing, off-book beneficial arrangements, threats, bullying, home life strife, political trade-craft, orchestrated speeches, office politics, and the mechanics of leadership.

House of Cards’ Success

If Boss had begun airing after House of Cards‘ first season aired on Netflix, Boss might have gone on for five or six seasons instead of two. House of Cards proved that there is a large and hungry audience for strongly written and acted TV political dramas.

With House of Cards coming to an end after this upcoming season (its sixth), a Boss rival could fill the political drama shoes that House of Cards will be leaving vacate.

Homeland’s Ingredients

Like House of Cards, Homeland invigorated the political TV drama genre, with a compelling, initial story-line, behind-the-scenes espionage machinations, competing agendas colliding, and problematic home lives (or non-existent home lives) for its main characters. Besides C.I.A. trade-craft, Boss has all of the aforementioned elements in abundance. In addition, the unabashed conniving by some of the characters on Boss is impressive and well-executed.

Journalists

Some journalists in Boss, one in particular – Sam Miller (Troy Garity), are investigating a political figure and covert bad actor, namely Mayor Tom Kane.


That journalist, and the cadre of other investigative reporters on Boss, are very much like the investigative reporters that have come into the national spotlight during the last two years in the United States.

On Boss, Mayor Kane has a combative relationship with the press that eventually focuses on one persistent and dogged reporter. In House of Cards, Democratic Majority Whip in the United States House of Representatives Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) uses a reporter to his own political ends during that series’ first season. In real world politics, President Trump has a combative relationship with multiple reporters and uses multiple reporters to his own political ends.

In a Boss revival, an escalating amount of reports could get the scent of Mayor Tom Kane’s deteriorating mental state, making his Mayoral term (or terms) an embattled and highly entertaining one.

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