Kelsey Grammer's New Show 'Boss' Premieres Friday
Marriage problems aside, gone are days of Kelsey Grammer playing the always proper Frasier Crane, in his new show, "Boss," he'll be playing a Chicago mobster Mayor.
The new steely eyed and hardened character of Mayor Tom Kane is a big departure for Grammer who now must be unlikable and intimidating.
Premiering Friday at 10 p.m. EST/PDT on the Stars network, critics are raving about the show.
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Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter says, "Kelsey Grammer’s drama strips politics down to ugly truth -- creating an ‘it’ show that marks the arrival of Stars."
He further gives the show praise saying, "You can look back at the history of any number of storied cable channels and pick the series that truly set them on the right course -- the series that made them players. For HBO it was “The Sopranos,” for Showtime it was “Dexter,” for FX it was “The Shield,” and for AMC it was “Mad Men.”
David Hinckley of the Daily News writes, "Imagine if Tony Soprano had run Chicago instead of the Jersey mob, and you'll get some idea what to expect in "Boss," a hard-boiled new drama that catapults Kelsey Grammer into a different universe from Frasier Crane."
"That relentlessness might be the main thing that will keep some viewers from getting absorbed in this complex and rewarding drama. ‘Boss’ rarely takes its foot off the accelerator, and the filming style, with frequent lingering closeups of eyes or lips, magnifies the intensity," Hinckley added.
The premise of the series follows Tom Kane, the Mayor of Chicago, as he has been recently diagnosed with a type of degenerative neurological disorder. The mayor hides the disease to all those but his doctor. His life is so chaotic that no one else seems to notice anything is wrong although suspicions are raised.
The question of the series is: how will he remain in charge?
Grammer has been promoting the series on various talk shows around the globe, but the topic that always seems to come up is his ex-wife Camille and their bitter fighting and court custody hearings.
He recently told Piers Morgan of CNN, "The Real Housewives was my parting gift to her. Now whether or not it worked out for her doesn't matter. It was my way of saying 'Look you always wanted to be famous, here you go.'"
He goes on to say Camille was looking for the attention of Hollywood and wanted all the perks that came along with it. Kelsey explained how it was apparent their marriage was falling apart on the show and he knew the end was near.
Grammer married British TV personality Kayte Walsh earlier this year. He tells Morgan that one of the most hurtful things Camille said to him involved a traumatic time in his and Kayte's life.
"The thing that she said that hurt me the most -- that I think that hurt both Kayte and me -- was the thing about the child we lost, and something about it being karma. That was disgusting," he said.
At the moment, Kelsey and his ex-wife are in the middle of a heated custody battle over his 9-year-old daughter Mason and 7-year-old son Jude.
