Kelsey Grammer is the Mayor of Chicago, he’s got a degenerative disease that causes, amongst other things, powerful hallucinations, and shit is s.e.r.i.o.u.s.
This is one of the best dramas I have ever seen, it’s Breaking Bad meets The West Wing and it shits all over both.
There. I said it.
The first episode is directed by Gus Van Sant and he stays on as exec producer. This is beautifully shot (and I don’t use the word ‘beautiful, like, ever). It’s quick and nimble and stylish and terrifying. It’s exhilarating TV. Kelsey Grammer is so good as a political heavyweight / bad guy / tortured soul it’s actually depressing that he hasn’t had better roles until now.
The cast although relatively small names are collectively outstanding, I have a girl crush on Connie Neilsen who plays Grammer’s wife and is so stylish and gentile it makes me want to be a proper lady. There were moments when I involuntarily said ‘no. fucking. way’ of Grammer’s performance and some of the plot twists made me press pause so I could savour the moment.
There were episodes that I watched twice back to back because they were so rich in content and so beguiling I couldn’t help myself, and they’re an hour each.
The worst thing about this show, and I bite my thumb at the fucktard at Starz who made this decision, is that they cancelled it after season 2 so there’s unanswered questions and a gaping hole in my life where season 3 should be.