Weekend Preview: Who’s the ‘Boss’?

Boss (Starz, Friday) — Series premiere. Between this new drama and “Magic City,” Starz is making a serious play for my attention. Kelsey Grammer stars as the mayor of Chicago and the chief operator of its powerful political machine, and if that doesn’t sound enticing to you, read this:

He controls the necessary votes on the city council. He gets to more or less handpick who will win the gubernatorial primary. He is a gifted orator (as you would expect any Kelsey Grammer character to be), a smooth deal maker and, when he needs to be, a terrifying bully.

He is at the height of his powers.

He will be dead in less than five years.

That’s not the tagline; that’s from a review.

American Masters: Pearl Jam Twenty (PBS, Friday) — If you didn’t see Cameron Crowe’s documentary in theaters and you like Pearl Jam, then this is probably worth recording tonight. Starts at 9:00 Eastern. (Trailer at the bottom of this post.)

World Series (Fox, Saturday & Sunday) — The series moves to Texas for Games 3 and 4. “New Girl” star Zooey Deschanel will sing the National Anthem before Sunday’s game — but will it be better or worse than her sister Emily can sing it?

Once Upon a Time (ABC, Sunday) — Series premiere. I absolutely hated this for its clunky, stupid writing, but apparently its getting warm-to-middling reviews from other critics. I don’t know what the hell their problem is.

The Walking Dead (AMC, Sunday) — I keep seeing articles with headlines like, “Can ‘The Walking Dead’ Be Something MORE Than Just a Zombie Story?” Hey screw you people. It’s a badass piece of genre fiction that’s well-executed and unlike anything else on TV. “But can it be something MORE?” F**k off, nobody’s asking if “True Blood” can be something more, and that show eats hog.