This week was supposed to look into ABC’s failed sitcom “Work It,” a show about two men that cross-dress as women in order to keep jobs in a struggling economy. Essentially it was an updated “Bosom Buddies.”
    
While its premiere on Jan. 3 garnered good ratings, that was probably just because it premiered before many of the other spring offerings. Either that or people watched the pilot and were turned off in droves. ABC canceled the show after only two episodes. Indeed, “Work It” was one of the most reviled shows by critics this year. Doesn’t that sound just ripe for review?
    
Unfortunately, in order to sweep the embarrassment under the rug, ABC has pulled the only two aired episodes from ABC.com and Hulu. After scouring the Internet, alas, there is no physical evidence anymore that “Work It” existed, outside of the wails of reviewers.
But there was one show from the fall that this column did not have time to look at — Starz’ new original series “Boss.” Starz positioned the series as its major drama, holding off on premiering it until Oct. 21, long after nearly every other major fall show had begun. The pilot episode even had a big-name director, Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting,” “Milk.”)
   
 Starz made a few questionable decisions with the show. A month before the first episode even aired, the network ordered a second season. And while the show garnered tepid ratings, the network did not help matters by airing one episode the Friday after Thanksgiving.
   
 The series begins with Chicago Mayor Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) getting diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder. Kane comes face to face with his own mortality, but he only reveals his worry and vulnerability when alone or in the presence of his estranged daughter Emma (Hannah Ware).
    
All the while, Kane is choosing a candidate to back in the state gubernatorial race, siding with state treasurer Ben Zajac (Jeff Hephner) against the incumbent, McCall Cullen (Frances Guinan). But some of Kane’s political adversaries, including Cullen, start talking to Zajac about potentially dropping out of the gubernatorial race and waiting to challenge Kane for the mayor’s seat.
    
Despite being Starz’ foray into joining HBO and Showtime on the pay cable, prestige television circuit, “Boss” is not as engrossing as “Boardwalk Empire,” nor does it have the rabid fanbase “Dexter” grabbed. Even still, the show’s eight-episode first season is worth going back to watch.
    
Much of the reasoning behind that recommendation comes from the show’s star, Grammer, who won a Golden Globe for the role. Grammer dominates the show with scenery chewing sequence after scenery chewing sequence.
    
From his tenures on “Cheers” and “Frasier,” Grammer is no stranger to episodic television, but here, more so than his other television endeavors, Grammer anchors “Boss.” His fiery energy not only denotes that this is a harsher role than he usually grabs, but he also makes up for some of the show’s storytelling limitations.
The understated acting of much of the ensemble cast also helps the show. In particular, Hephner and Guinan illuminate the yin and yang nature of the incumbent and the young upstart in a political race. One particular scene, in which Cullen sits down with local voters long enough to eat exactly one bite of food and get his picture taken for publicity, is just cynical enough to ring true.
    
However, much of the characters in “Boss” are either morally bankrupt, apathetic toward life or both. One wonders whether the environment the show creates, in which a major city mayor is so ruthless as to have people killed to keep his stranglehold of power, is realistic.
    
The show’s center focuses on Kane’s family, all three living separate lives and mostly ignoring each other. Kane alludes to distancing himself from his daughter because of her past substance abuse and the potential effect that it could have on his political career. But the ruthlessness of that act — as well as some of Kane’s other moves in the series — make his attempted reconciliation feel hollow.
   
 Indeed, the show’s protagonist, on some level, is not supposed to be a good guy. But by beginning the series with his diagnosis, viewers are supposed to feel something for Kane. However, after viewing the season, it feels more like the disease is a plot device to substitute for characterization.
    
The closest the show comes to a truly compelling and cohesive storyline is Kane’s aide Kitty O’Neill getting caught between loyalty to Kane and an affair with Zajac. But even that begs for further story wrinkles.
    
While the show can be over-the-top and even unrealistic at times, the strength of the acting in “Boss,” as well as its thrilling, almost soapy take on the political life, only speaks to its potential.

— Robby O’Daniel is a graduate student. He can be reached at rodaniel@utk.edu.