Boss - Season 2 - DVD

Content: Only with difficulty has Chicago's mayor Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) accepted that he suffers from a degenerative nerve disease that makes him lose more and more control over his body. But Kane doesn't want to give up himself or his office so easily. That's why he keeps quiet about his illness and has fought his battle for re-election with all his might. This one has been won and his political opponents are finished. But Kane cannot rest on his laurels. More and more often his illness comes back with intense attacks. In addition, his wife Meredith (Connie Nielsen) is seriously injured in an attack that was clearly aimed at Kane. In his prestigious project around the social housing development Lennox Gardens, he repeatedly encounters difficult opposition. And finally, Chicago faces the threat of insolvency. So the prospects for his second term are anything but rosy. But Kane is willing to do whatever it takes to emerge victorious and leave behind a glorious political legacy. And for that he also accepts that he has to make one or the other sacrifice - and neither his closest confidants nor his own family are safe from that...

Boss belongs to the series that can be held up as a good example of the high quality of contemporary series fare. Multi-layered characters, sophisticated scripts, a gripping dramaturgy and first-class actors make this political drama a very entertaining, but also demanding TV series. Already in the first season, the machinations of Mayor Tom Kane were sometimes very complex fare that demanded full attention from the viewer. And so it goes on in the second and unfortunately already last season. It may be that the very political themes and the very dark basic atmosphere were the reason why Boss did not find the larger audience that this series deserved. But the fact that the commercial success failed to materialize says nothing at all about the quality of this very high quality production. For it remains at a very high level in these concluding ten episodes.

This is not just down to the good scripts and very engaging camerawork. It's also largely the strong cast that makes Boss so worth watching. First and foremost, of course, is Kelsey Grammer, who here strays as far as possible from the role of Dr. Fraiser Crane that he embodied for over two decades in Cheers and Fraiser and that made him one of the most beloved TV personalities in the United States. But Mayor Tom Kane has absolutely nothing in common with the slightly neurotic, yet extremely likeable psychiatrist. Grammer shows here that he can also act really threatening and ice-cold. But he is allowed to show different sides of the politician. On the one hand, there is the side oriented towards his legacy, which goes over dead bodies to realize its goals. Anyone who stands in Kane's way will be eliminated - by whatever means necessary. But there is also the other side, characterized by fear and insecurity, caused by his illness. More and more in the course of the second season, Kane is haunted by hallucinations that keep throwing him off track - even if only for a split second. How Grammer can go from politician with an icy stare to vulnerable man and back again in a matter of moments is just great.

But the rest of the ensemble also delivers very well here. Embedded in a mix of thriller and drama, spiced with a pinch of eroticism and plenty of intrigue, many of the supporting actors are on top form. Admittedly, the fact that the series almost completely lacks the lighter sides and the action is almost completely dark makes Boss very heavy fare. But if you get into the tone and pay full attention to the various storylines, you'll be rewarded with first-class TV fare that's very authentic and staged in a damn exciting way. Absolutely recommended!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the DVD leaves a consistently positive overall impression. The good picture quality reveals the first-rate camera work, which can easily compete with many cinema productions. The picture is clean, the colouring very atmospheric and the sharpness of detail is at a very good level, especially in brighter scenes. The sound, which is not unusual for a drama series, is rather restrained, with the somewhat centrally mixed sounding dialogue setting the tone. But at least more subtle ambient noises occasionally ensure that the surround channels get at least a little use. Good!

Extras: The second season has an optional subtitled audio commentary on episodes 1, 5 and 10 from producer Dee Johnson and a guest on each. These are very informative and interesting commentaries for fans of the series, and are further supplemented by a featurette of just under 15 minutes about the second season. Good!

Conclusion: Boss is again in its second and unfortunately already last season first-class TV entertainment, which political drama with tense thriller elements, a pinch of eroticism and great actor performances to a gripping whole. Especially leading actor Kelsey Grammer leaves a lasting impression. The DVD box of the second season presents the individual episodes in good picture and sound quality and also has some informative audio commentaries and a decent promo featurette to offer. For fans of high-quality US series entertainment therefore applies as with the first season: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp