Boss

There’s something in the air. David Bowie’s in the charts. Suede has reformed. And Frasier’s back. Well, not Frasier exactly, but it’s hard to divorce Kelsey Grammer from the endearingly pompous psychotherapist he played for over 20 years.

Things have changed. Grammer is, in fact, back in the decidedly noncomedic Boss (Thursday, 11pm on More 4). He plays Tom Kane, the amoral, takenoprisoners mayor of Chicago, who is hiding a dangerous secret.

There’s a jarring moment or two as you recalibrate your expectations from ‘waspish repartee about bottles of Merlot’ to ‘Season 4 of The Wire’. Once you’re over that shock, though, I think you’ll like Boss. It’s a sharp, adult, bonedry drama that will probably never achieve huge audiences but will, I’m sure, engender fanatical devotion among a culty following. I expect most of them will devour it in daylong chunks on DVD.

The series has already come to an end in the US. Its two seasons failed to maintain sufficient audience share, despite major awards and widespread good notices. We are promised that its storylines will all be tied up in a seriesconcluding special.

That’s far in the future, however. This opener, directed by Gus Van Sant, sets out the premise – with Grammer’s wily political tactician being told by a doctor that he has fi nally come up against a foe he cannot outmanoeuvre. The symptoms of his terminal condition include irrational outbursts and hallucinations, so we can never be sure whether he’s confused, grooming a successor or manipulating a potential rival.

Imagine an uneasy coalition between The West Wing and King Lear, and you’re somewhere close. Boss isn’t for everyone, but there isn’t half enough television that’s made for grownups these days. It’s worth giving this candidate a chance.

Another blast from our popcultural past reemerging this week is Jonathan Creek (BBC One, to be shown sometime over the Easter weekend). The conjurordetective – part Margaret Rutherford, part Paddington Bear – has been missing, presumed sawn in half since 2010’s Easter special, and his last full season was way back in 2004. This oneoff show is apparently the harbinger of a new weekly series tentatively scheduled for next year.

Preview material was somewhat thin on the ground as we went to press, but I can tell you that two actors once considered for the title role will be appearing. Rik Mayall appears as a wheelchairbound detective, and Nigel Planer is the apparent victim of the crime.

Sheridan Smith is back as Creek’s (third) sidekick/ companion Joey Ross. And, of course, the plot involves a murder with supernatural overtones that appears to have taken place in a locked room.

Some things never change. Isn’t that nice?