When we published our first TV Power Rankings in 2005 listing the best shows on television, the revolution in TV viewing habits was well underway with cable shows like “The Sopranos” raising the bar for TV dramas. Meanwhile, DVDs and on-demand viewing started to change the way we watched our favorite programs and discovered new ones. Since then, the changes have only accelerated, and now many teenagers and people of all ages are addicted to streaming TV, watching everything by their own schedules. Many have even “cut the cord” and eliminated their cable TV subscriptions altogether. Water-cooler discussions about “must-see TV” have given way to shows aimed at niche audiences.

With these developments, the quality of the shows has improved dramatically. That may not be true for sitcoms and most of the stuff on network TV, but many have called this the new “golden era of television,” as the cable networks in particular have given talented writers and directors the freedom to create masterpieces like “The Wire” and “Breaking Bad.” Now with Netflix triumphantly entering the fray with the excellent “House of Cards,” the bar keeps getting raised even higher. I watch fewer movies these days as the quality rarely matches that of the best TV shows, which also have the advantage of developing characters over a much longer time period.

“Breaking Bad” has been one of our favorites for years, and it tops our list again as it completes its final season. When it’s all said and done, it will be part of every conversation of the best TV shows ever. Our list is dominated by cable TV dramas and we’ve left off reality shows. Some are entertaining, but none match the quality of the programs on our list.

We’ve kept spoilers to a minimum, but you might want to avoid some of the write-ups if you want to avoid learning about plot developments.

1. Breaking Bad

Expectations for the fifth season of Vince Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” would’ve been running high anyway, given that Season 4 concluded with Walter White (Bryan Cranston) bringing an explosive end to Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) while also revealing just how far he was willing to sink to get things his way. It doesn’t get much lower than poisoning a child to trick your former partner into working for you again, but the knowledge that it truly was the beginning of the end (i.e. the final season) really amped up the adrenaline. With posters for Season 5 showing Walt surrounded by stacks of cash and emblazoned with the tagline “Hail to the King,” the question at hand was whether or not Mr. White would be able to keep his ego in check successfully enough to take over Gus’s meth empire. The answer: not entirely. Although Mike (Jonathan Banks) agreed to join the operation more out of an attempt to help keep Jesse (Aaron Paul) safe, he quickly grew frustrated and tried to bail out, only to end up in a terminal tussle with Walt. Meanwhile, the domestic situation in the White house has reached all new levels of tension, thanks to a power struggle of sorts between Walt and Skyler (Anna Gunn). As the first half of Season 5 wrapped up, however, the biggest reveal of all took place, with Walt’s DEA-agent brother-in-law, Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), finally discovering that he’s the infamous Heisenberg. This show has yet to disappoint, and there’s no reason to think it’s going to start now. – Will Harris. Check out our “Breaking Bad” blog here and our Fan Hub page here.

2. Homeland

I’ve had my share of “binge TV” watching with all the new platforms at our disposal, and so I wasn’t surprised when I blew through the first season and a half of “Homeland” over a long weekend. I’d heard all the buzz but had missed out on Season 1, but like most viewers, I was hooked after the first episode. The power of the cliffhanger at the end of the first season was blunted a bit, however, as I quickly hit the button to start the first episode of Season 2. When you power your way through a series like this, sometimes the impact of a single episode isn’t felt as deeply, as you quickly move on to the resolution. On the other hand, immersing yourself in a show over a short period of time also has its rewards. With Season 2, we’re left with another mind-blowing finale after more twists and turns for Carrie’s unlikely relationship with Brodie. Some have argued that the events have gotten too unbelievable, but given the topic of terrorism and the CIA, little seems too far-fetched these days. With Carrie, Claire Danes has created a character that we’ll remember for a long time, and I suspect this show will be near the top of our list for years to come.

3. The Walking Dead

Fans of Robert Kirkman’s comic book series have been patiently awaiting the arrival of The Governor ever since it was announced that AMC was adapting “The Walking Dead” for TV, and if you were unfamiliar with the source material prior to Season Three, then you probably know by now why it was such a big deal. Though the new season has been plagued by many of the same problems as previous years (namely, dragging out subplots longer than necessary), the addition of David Morrissey as The Governor has made for some great television. And while you can’t say the same about Rick and Andrea’s respective character arcs, others have stepped up in their place, including Norman Reedus as fan favorite Daryl and Chandler Riggs as the rapidly maturing Carl. The zombie quota has also been increased exponentially, which is never a bad thing, and now that Danai Gurira has joined the cast as sword-carrying Michonne, the zombie kills have become more inventive by the week. It hasn’t quite lived up to its excellent debut season, but “The Walking Dead” is still one of the best things on TV. – Jason Zingale

4. Game of Thrones

Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom” may have been HBO’s best freshman series of last year, but “Game of Thrones” is still king of the premium channel. There’s nothing else quite like it on television, and though Season Two wasn’t as good as its debut season on a purely episode-to-episode basis, the payoff was arguably better, showing the full complexity and richness of the universe that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss inherited from George R.R. Martin. The third season expanded that scope even further, with several new characters quickly making their mark, and old ones (like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Jamie Lannister) continuing to evolve within that moral gray area where “Game of Thrones” thrives. It also featured some of the most shocking story developments to date, perhaps none more so than Episode 9’s infamous Red Wedding, which made Ned Stark’s beheading look like child’s play in comparison and will likely go down as one of the biggest television events of the year. The audience reaction to that episode is very telling of the show’s pop cultural footprint, and when the writing and acting is this good, it’s no surprise why its popularity continues to grow. – JZ. Check out our “Games of Thrones” blog here.

5. The Newsroom

Along with “Girls,” this HBO drama probably received more negative criticism and mockery that any other show on our list. Anything produced by Aaron Sorkin will bring out plenty of haters given the political topics he often chooses, but many journalists weren’t too happy to have Sorkin shine a critical light on their industry. But we all know that cable news sucks with its emphasis on ratings and manufactured controversy, so Sorkin had a target worthy of his scorn. Anyone who is tired of the dumbing down of debate and those who make money exploiting the divisions in our country in the name of delivering the “news” will love the tone of “The Newsroom.” Yes, it’s preachy at times and many of the characters are oh so earnest, but you’ll find yourself rooting for them. Sorkin has created another set of fascinating but flawed characters, with Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) as the perfect vehicle to shake up the cable news business after his epic rant that goes viral, and MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) as his ex-girlfriend and producer who pushes him to take a stand. The romantic tension between them is very intense and it seems Sorkin will milk that for all its worth. The lovely Olivia Munn also shows she has some serious acting chops as the brilliant but socially awkward Sloan Sabbith.

6. House of Cards

Regardless of how you feel about Netflix’s decision to release the entire 13-episode first season of “House of Cards” all at once, it’s hard to deny that the company’s first real attempt at original programming (not counting the Norwegian co-production of “Lilyhammer”) has been nothing short of a homerun. Based on the 1990 BBC miniseries of the same name, “House of Cards” boasts the kind of top-shelf quality we’ve come to expect from networks like HBO and AMC, and in addition to being produced by David Fincher (who also directed the first two episodes), there’s not a single weak link in the cast. Kevin Spacey delivers his best performance since “American Beauty” as the calculating Democratic congressman and House Majority Whip, while Robin Wright is the perfect complement as his stone-cold marriage partner in crime. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the series is partly based on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Richard III,” because there are so many political power plays in each episode that it has the Bard’s fingerprints all over it. If you still don’t have Netflix, it’s worth subscribing to for this enthralling and immensely addicting series alone. – JZ

7. Mad Men

As Season 6 wrapped up, Don Draper seemed to be ready to finally confront his past. He was up to his old tricks again with other women, but everything came crashing down at the end of the season. Whether he follows through in the seventh and final season is anyone’s guess. We were happy to see skinny Betty return this season, and the writers have smoothed some of the edges off this lovely ice queen. Her scene in the motel with Don was pretty revealing, and we’ll see if Don learns anything from it. Meanwhile, the smartly packaged and manicured world of the late ‘50s/early ‘60s from the early seasons of “Mad Men” has given way to the chaos of 1968, with growing menace of violence seeping into their lives along with groovier haircuts and funkier clothes for many of the characters. Of course, that doesn’t apply to Don, who seems as stuck on the more classic styles as his destructive behavior. “Mad Men” remains one of the best character dramas on television, so get your hands on Season 1 if you haven’t jumped on board yet.

8. The Americans

You know you’re getting older when a new period drama comes out and all of the music, clothes and cars seem familiar because you were 16 at that time. “The Americans” is set in 1981, just after Ronald Reagan is elected, and Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” is in the background during the first action sequence in the pilot. The show follows two KGB spies living in Washington D.C. as sleeper agents for the Soviet Union. They’ve trained for years for this mission and speak perfect English. But their arranged marriage is very complicated as Philip (Matthew Rhys) flirts with the idea of defecting, while Elizabeth (Keri Russell) remains blindly loyal to the homeland. They also have two kids who have been born in America, and an FBI counter-intelligence agent has just moved across the street. The stories are intense and the acting is brilliant, with everything revolving around the intense relationship between the two agents. If you haven’t seen it, catch up on Season 1 before it returns for a second season.

9. Justified

“Justified” is one of those shows that you wish more people watched; it’s that good. Though it started out as a more formulaic crime of the week-type drama, the series has evolved into something much more substantial over the years, and this season, creator Graham Yost has really turned it on its head. That’s not to say that U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (a role Timothy Olyphant was born to play) still hasn’t had his hands full with the usual rotating platter of backcountry criminals, but there’s been more of a noir-like detective feel to Season Four’s story as Givens worked to uncover the secret behind a decades-old mystery involving a man named Drew Thompson. Unfortunately, that’s resulted in less face time between Givens and his nemesis Boyd Crowder (an outstanding Walton Goggins), but the two men have been on similar paths all season, finally converging in the February 19th episode “Decoy,” which was not only one of the finest hours of “Justified” to date, but one of the best episodes of TV in recent memory. – JZ

10. The Big Bang Theory

With its seventh season about to begin, “The Big Bang Theory” continues to grow in popularity with the reruns on TBS introducing million of new viewers to Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj, Penny, Bernadette, and Amy. Howard is now married to Bernadette, and he began the latest season on the International Space Station, while Stuart joined the gang as a regular character and Raj’s new sidekick. This show has always been hilarious, and it stands out in an era where most sitcoms are terrible.

11. New Girl

If you like Zooey Deschanel, chances are you’ll love “New Girl.” The comedy series is so perfectly suited to the adorkable actress’ eccentric personality that it’s really fun watching her let loose with some of the zany stuff she’s asked to do. No matter how you feel about the recent will-they-won’t-they plotline between Jess and Nick, it’s hard to deny the fantastic chemistry between Deschanel and standout Jake Johnson, although all five main cast members form a pretty great team. Though the show hasn’t been quite as consistent in its sophomore season, it’s still one of the funniest comedies on TV, thanks to memorable bits like “Gave me cookie, got you cookie” and the return of the hilariously indecipherable True American drinking game. The show’s success relies more on these smaller moments than the episodes as a whole, and while that’s a dangerous tightrope to walk, there’s no point in changing a winning formula. – JZ

12. Parks and Recreation

There are a number of reasons why “Parks and Recreation” belongs on the Power Rankings, but at the top of that list is the cast, which is arguably the best comedy ensemble on TV. Amy Poehler has transformed Leslie Knope from a Michael Scott wannabe into an incredibly loveable and realistic character capable of making us laugh and breaking out hearts in the same episode, and the actress has delivered such consistently great work that it’s hard to believe she still hasn’t won an Emmy for the role. It’s also no surprise that the show started to really hit its groove once Adam Scott and Rob Lowe joined the cast, although the latter hasn’t been quite as entertaining this season. Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza’s quirky relationship continues to earn big laughs, and in Ron Swanson, Nick Offerman has created a truly hilarious, one-of-a-kind TV personality. Even glorified background players Retta and Jim O’Heir have been upping their game this year, and with this much talent at their disposal, the writers have been having an absolute field day. – JZ

13. Arrested Development

Throughout its all-too-brief three-season run on FOX, “Arrested Development” received more critical acclaim than any sitcom ought to be allowed to earn, but after sadly proving the theorem that rave reviews don’t always equal huge ratings, the series was given the heave-ho into oblivion. Except it wasn’t, as it turned out, since the show’s cast and creators desperately wanted to revisit the exceptionally dysfunctional Bluth family so badly that they managed to broker a deal with Netflix to produce a fourth season. While opinions have varied wildly between “it’s even better than before” and “it should’ve stayed dead,” we’re of the mind that, just as long as you keep your expectations realistic and remember that the only way to bring back the series was to adapt the show’s structure to accommodate the lower budget and insane scheduling of the different cast members, Season Four of “Arrested Development” has proven to be well worth the wait. There are countless callbacks to past episodes, lots of well-utilized guest stars, and at least as many laughs as before. Is it the same “Arrested Development” that you remember from FOX? Not completely. But it’s still pretty darned funny, and that’s all we really wanted, anyway. – WH

14. Sons of Anarchy

The fifth season of FX’s insanely popular motorcycle drama wasn’t the show’s best year, but it did deliver some of the most harrowing and gut-wrenching moments to date, including the fiery death of Tig’s youngest daughter, and of course, the death-by-pipe sacrifice of fan favorite Opie. We’d be lying if we said that Ryan Hurst’s absence didn’t leave a gaping hole for the remainder of the season, but that was sort of the point, as it played a pivotal role in the way that Charlie Hunnam’s Jax evolved in his new position as club president. The addition of Jimmy Smits to the cast also added a nice dynamic to the Teller-Morrow family drama, and though Damon Pope didn’t prove to be nearly as menacing as expected, it was interesting watching SAMCRO deal with a different kind of threat for once. We still can’t believe that Ron Perlman’s Clay managed to make it out of yet another season alive, but let’s be honest, “Sons of Anarchy” wouldn’t be nearly as captivating without him. – JZ

15. Dexter

Now in its eighth and final season, this unlikely drama about a “sympathetic” serial killer has been able to maintain its status as one of the best shows on television. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) has always tried to channel his impulse to kill towards “deserving” victims, but now things are much more complicated, as people close to him learned about his secret, leading to real collateral damage. Fans will soon find out who survives the final season. This is a great example of a show that never would have seen the light of day on network television. If you haven’t given it a try yet, put it in your queue and you won’t be disappointed.

16. Californication

Hank Moody is the man. Sure, he’s an irresponsible drunk with a knack for finding trouble in crazy LA, but he knows how to enjoy himself, and it’s fun as hell going along for the ride. Every season brings another sexy love interest and a slew of hookups. This season featured Maggie Grace, while recent seasons featured Meagan Goode, Addison Timlin and Carla Cugino. Unfortunately, characters like wild rocker Atticus Fetch in Season 6 and rapper Samurai Apocalypse in Season 5 aren’t nearly as fun or interesting. After six seasons, the drama with Karen and his daughter is getting a little old, though in Season 6, we finally saw Becca becoming a little more interesting and a less annoying as she experimented with booze, drugs and a new, goofy boyfriend who looks like a troll. The storylines push the envelope of absurdity each year, but there are enough wildly entertaining scenes to keep us coming back for more.

17. Family Guy

We’ll never get tired of the Griffins or the sick and twisted humor of Seth MacFarlane as he continues to push the envelope of good taste. Like “The Simpsons” and “South Park,” “Family Guy” has had a great run, and it’s still one of the funniest shows on television. This past season included a spoof of “Twelve Angry Men” as Mayor West goes on trial for a murder that takes place in the mayor’s mansion.

18. The Daily Show/The Colbert Report

With the election over, many of us are sick of politics these days, yet there’s plenty of stupidity coming from politicians and the cable news outlets to keep Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert at the top of their games.

“The Daily Show” hasn’t missed a beat, even with John Oliver subbing in for Jon Stewart in recent months.

19. Shameless

When you give a brilliant character actor like William H. Macy a role as rich as that of drunkard Frank Gallagher, you’re definitely off to a good start in putting together a new TV show. Add in the beautiful and talented Emmy Rossum as his eldest daughter Fiona, and some impressive younger actors to play his children, and now you’re onto something. With the Gallaghers, we get a hilarious peek into the lives of Americans struggling at the lower rungs of the economic ladder in the poor areas of Chicago. I’m tempted to call them a dysfunctional family, but the resourceful kids function pretty well considering they were stuck with a drunk like Frank as their father.

20. Key and Peele

When done well, the sketch comedy format can be a real winner, as we’ve seen from the best years on “SNL” and shows like “In Living Color.” Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele combine filmed sketches and live stage segments on “Key & Peele.” The duo offers up an interesting perspective on many issues given their biracial heritage, which seems to give them license to make fun of everybody.

21. Hannibal

It’s always challenging to build a television show around an iconic movie character, but the creators of “Hannibal” seem to have succeeded. Gifted criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) enlists the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) to help him catch a twisted serial killer. Of course, he has no clue that Lecter is much more than just a brilliant psychiatrist, and that sets the stage for this psychological thriller.

22. Veep

It’s easy to make fun of politicians these days, but the writers and stars of this show are particularly good at it. The show captures the futility of the office of the Vice President with the nakedly ambitious and utterly incompetent Selina Meyer as the VP. She’s played brilliantly by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who easily belongs in the sitcom Hall of Fame (does one exist?). Selina is surrounded by an equally ambitious and incompetent staff that will do almost anything to curry favor and further their own careers.

23. Louie

Stand-up comedian Louis C.K.’s second stab at a television series has been more successful, with “Louie” receiving rave reviews from numerous critics. He stars as a fictionalized version of himself as a divorcee raising two daughters in New York City. The show isn’t very structured, consisting of short scenes and standup bits thrown together. Some are hilarious, while others will just make you feel uncomfortable.

24. Magic City

With the popularity of “Mad Men,” it was only a matter of time before we saw more shows set in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. “Magic City” is set in Miami Beach starting on the eve of 1959 and centers around Ike Evans and his Miramar Playa Hotel. There’s plenty of drama involving the mob and the local D.A., and there’s also plenty of eye candy (including Bond babe Olga Kurylenko) to go along with the great clothes and beautiful cars of the era, as well as the South Beach locations.

25. The League

Guys love mercilessly abusing their friends, and that’s all you need to know if you’ve ever pondered the popularity of fantasy football. For some guys, fantasy football also offers an outlet from a life filled with work, wives and kids, while for many, it’s a way to keep in touch with old friends. Many women don’t get it, as the fun goes well beyond the game itself. Now, ratchet up all the fun, competition, idiocy and juvenile behavior you’ve experienced in your own league and you have “The League” on FX. The show has been described as a “semi-improvised” comedy, and it follows a group of six goofball friends as they battle from draft day throughout the season and deal with their everyday lives. No topic is taboo on this show, so the audience gets an endless stream of silly but hilarious situations.

RANDOM NOTES

Orange is the New Black

Netflix has another hit with this new original series, and Taylor Schilling is excellent in the lead role as Taylor Schilling, a pretty New England blonde who finds herself going off to federal prison. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, with Jason Biggs and Laura Prepon in supporting roles. The show has some promise, but we’ll see if it’s ever good enough to crack the Power Rankings.

Girls

Opinions vary wildly on this show, but Jason Zingale’s recent review sums up our thoughts: “I had a very love-hate relationship with the first season of “Girls,” but Season Two is such a complete train wreck that it made me want to stop watching the show altogether. Dunham has created one of the most unlikable protagonists on TV (between her coke-fueled meltdown and the Patrick Wilson episode, she hits an all-time low), and Williams’ laughably insecure Marnie isn’t too far behind. In fact, the female characters have so few redeeming qualities – even Mamet’s lively Shoshanna resorts to some bad behavior this season – that it’s a wonder how the audience is supposed to keep rooting for them.”

Boardwalk Empire

This show began with so much promise, but everything stated to go downhill once they killed off Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) near the end of Season 2. Season 3 was a mess with new villain Gyp Rosetti, who comes across a clumsy caricature of a violent Italian mobster. Some characters, like the young Al Capone, are worth watching (can we get a spinoff?), and the show is still beautifully produced with the period costumes and music, but it no longer deserves to be on our list.

True Blood

The bar has been set very high for cable TV shows, and in its first several seasons, “True Blood” easily met that standard. Yet it’s hard to keep things compelling as the years go by, and “True Blood” has slipped a bit over the years as practically every kind of creature from werewolves, to shape shifters, to fairies and more have been introduced with every kind of magic imaginable. Viewers can’t be surprised anymore as something strange and bizarre emerges with every character. Some storylines are great, while others just take up time and keep some of the characters occupied. Fortunately, many of the characters remain compelling, and the show hasn’t lost its sense of humor or sex appeal.

The Killing

We jumped the gun several years ago when we put “The Killing” at the top of our Spring 2011 power rankings. By the end of Season 1, we were disappointed like everyone else when the killer wasn’t revealed as promised. Even worse, an annoying pattern had developed during that season with each episode implying that a different killer could have been responsible for Rosie Larson’s death. Still, Mireille Enos was brilliant as Detective Sarah Lindon, though the storyline about her son was a useless distraction. Season 2 played out the string on the Rosie Larson murder with mediocre results, and it looked like we’d seen the end of this show. But surprisingly, AMC brought it back with a new case for Lindon and her partner Stephen Holder. Season 3 was much better, but unfortunately, the ending wasn’t worth all the trouble.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

We’re hoping Larry David comes back for another season, and if he does, this show will easily make our list again.

Either way, I’ve kept in touch with Ms. Lynch ever since that phone interview, getting to meet her and Mr. Glazer in person a few months later and earlier this month I was even invited to ask her and Danny Huston a few questions when they made an appearance on Huffington Post Live. After we wrapped up that brief virtual encounter (they were in the studio, I did my bit via Google+ Hangouts), I sent her a hopeful Tweet, saying, “Maybe we can still do a proper interview to talk about Season 2 of ‘Magic City.'” The next thing you know, we were back on the phone with each other, talking about where we’ll see her character, Meg Bannock, headed this season, how she handles work-related discussions with her husband, and how awesome it is to see Sherilyn Fenn turn up on the series.

Bullz-Eye: How are you?

Kelly Lynch: I’m good! Well, I’m surviving. Mitch had a big party up at our house last night for his post-production group, who are some of the best post people I’ve ever been involved with. I mean, from sound to the music to the CG…they’re just amazing. A lot of them have never done TV, don’t want to do TV, and won’t do TV, but they’ve been Glazed, as we say. [Laughs.] He’s a beloved guy, and they just fell in love with the show and fell in love with Mitch. So we had a food truck and a bar with  mojitos and margaritas and stuff. We still have a pitcher of margaritas in my fridge that’s calling my name. I keep going, “No!” So I’m surviving, but needless to say, I had a few more margaritas last night, and I may yet have a few more today. But it was really fun, and it was really great to be able to say “thanks” to all those guys and gals. Half of the show is putting it all together.

BE: It’s a recurring theme in the comments section of my AV Club reviews of ‘Magic City’ about how it’s the best looking show on TV.

KL: It’s not an accident. I mean, they use the same lens that they used on ‘The Godfather’ on the cameras. Mitch screened the movie and said the only time Miami ever looked like the Miami he remembers from when he was a little kid was in ‘The Godfather’. He’s, like, “They got it right. They got the look right, the locations were right, the lighting, the way the sun hits the buildings and the way Miami looks…” And no one shoots on film anymore, so it’s not an easy thing to make a television show look beautiful. It’s very, very hard, actually.

BE: The work definitely pays off, though.

KL: Uh, yeah! [Laughs.] But what’s funny is that they’re all movie people, so they don’t know any different. Just about everybody who works on this, including the cast, we all do movies. So we just keep thinking we’re making this really long movie.

BE: Well, it often plays like one.

KL: Yeah, I think so, too. I mean, it’s not like there’s a caper every week. You know, there’ll be a slow burn, and then a thing that happens where you’re, like, “What?” [Laughs.] But I think this year it takes off. You’ll see this Friday, in the second episode. Things start to take off a little faster and more furiously, and the plot gets even thicker, with more knots and different pairings of people, who gets what, whether they get what they want, and if they do, how they get it, and by the end…

Well, look, we screened the eighth episode, and the small group of people that’s privy to see it just looked at each other and went, “Oh, my God!” [Laughs.] It was, like, “What have we done?” So we’re, like, itching for everyone to take the ride. But we’re not gonna be catering to you. Sorry, but if you’re gonna take the ride, then you’ve gotta buckle in, sit there, and take the whole ride with us. But it’ll be worth it.

BE: In watching the first episode of the new season, it’s pretty clear that the tension between Meg and Vera is pretty substantial, even more so than it was at the end of last season.

KL: Oh, I know! Because it was kind of like…well, with the whole thing with Vera and Ike going out dancing with Cliff, and then Meg getting a tour of the Miramara Playa, things started getting a little bit bitchy. [Laughs.] Olga (Kurylenko) and I like to think we’re just as terrifying together as Ben Diamond and Ike, with their guns and their gangsters and all of that. We know that when two girls decide that they really aren’t fond of each other, it’s a whole other level of cat-fighting. Neither of them would dare say anything to each other, but then Vera decides she’s just gonna let Meg known how she feels, so…we’ll see what Meg does with that!

BE: The best bit of their back-and-forth in the season premiere was when Meg said, “I’m not the enemy,” and Vera snapped back, “Well, what are you, then?”

KL: Yeah. Meow! [Laughs.] And we learn a little bit more about how formidable Meg is in Episode 2. She has more skills than we’re aware of, which should make Vera more frightened of the possibility of pissing Meg off. And you’ve got to think that Meg…it’s weird enough that her heart is pulling her towards this man who’s Jewish. In her time, every place that she hung out and went and lived was segregated from Jewish people. But to her, Vera is some showgirl. You know, she’s, like, “This woman is going to raise your children? You’ve got to be kidding me!” I mean, we know and love Vera, we see her heart, and she’s an incredible wife and mother and all, but Meg is not choosing to see her that way. She’s not open to seeing her that way and has just made her mind up. She’s, like, “What? You married a showgirl? You spend a weekend with a showgirl, but you don’t marry a showgirl.” It’s just her class and her standing won’t even…it doesn’t even make any sense to her. But now, obviously, she and Ben and Ike are partners in the Miramar, so…it’s going to be interesting.

BE: It was, at least, a nice gesture on Meg’s part…or it seemed to be, anyway…that she chose not to attend Ike’s celebration, even though she certainly would’ve been within her rights to be there.

KL: Oh, yeah, of course. Absolutely! But I don’t think she’s that anxious to be in gatherings with Vera, per se. She’s interested in Ike and she’s very much interested in the Miramar Playa. Last year, when Meg finally decides she’s been staring at this gaudy hotel long enough…as far as how she feels, she’s, like, “Oh, it must just be hideous inside, this place,” but she finally goes across the intracoastal and takes a look inside and is completely dazzled by it, like everybody else is about those great Morris Lapidus hotels. They make you feel like a movie star, you know? You walk in the lobby, and you just feel like, “Oh, my God, I’m Grace Kelly!” Or Cary Grant. That’s what they were designed to do, and Ike has designed his place to feel like a glamorous getaway for people. And she was completely dazzled by it and flipped on a dime from, “Oh, I can’t imagine this place! This is where our family used to have a little beach cabana, and this is where I used to play in the sand as a child, and now I don’t have this anymore because of my idiot father. [Laughs.] And Meg’s, like, “I want to be part of this. I want this in my life.” And the only blood relatives she has are those three children of Ike’s, so there’s that as well.

BE: You’ve talked before about how you’ve got a completely separate relationship with your husband when you’re working with him – as in, “He’s not my husband, he’s Mitch Glazer” – but how do you approach him when you find a moment in the script or on the screen where you feel like it needs some tweaking? Is it weird, or does that separation make it comfortable for you to do that?

KL: Oh, no, it’s totally comfortable. But I usually don’t do it at home. I’m really weird about it. There are a lot of actors who live and breathe their character 24/7 while they’re working, but we shoot over five and a half months or so, so for me it’d be a hard thing to do. So when we’re at home, we’re Mitch and Kelly, but at work, I will absolutely go to his assistant, the amazing Jennifer Jackson, and ask for a meeting with Mitch. And I will sit with him, like all the other actors do, and say, “You know, I know you can’t tell me what’s happening in Episode 7…” [Laughs.] “But here we are in Episode 3, and this thing that’s been laid in, is this something that’s, y’know, gonna keep going?” And sometimes he’ll say things like, “You know what? It’s like life. And I really don’t want you to know what lies ahead for you.” Other times he’ll say it’s something he wants the character to have in her, that there’s something that Meg wants and it’s this or whatever. But he won’t always spill the beans for me. Not at all.

One of the reasons that we both love doing this is that, y’know, you’re living a life. When I do a film, I try to know exactly how to calibrate everything. For one movie I did (‘Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story’), I was a crack addict, schizophrenic woman who’s dying from AIDS and also an alcoholic, based on a true story, and, y’know, that’s about as complicated as it gets! [Laughs.] And we were nominated for three Emmy Awards, and I’m very proud of it. Thora Birch played my daughter, along with a young Ellen Page. But I had to graph it out exactly, so it was, like, “Okay, she had her medicine for schizophrenia, right now she’s just had a bender and the medicine…” I literally graphed out the whole thing emotionally and physiologically. We have more information than what we actually do.

With Magic City, we get our scripts and we read them, all of us at the same time, and…I think, for all of us, the real, true challenge is to make the writing happen on screen. He should publish the writing, though, because he’s a beautiful writer. Everything’s there. The music, the setting, the smell in the room…everything. But, yeah, it’s funny, because I just approach him like he’s my boss. I have to make an appointment. He, like a handful of show runners, does everything. He cast all of us, basically, he writes all the stories, he’s completely involved with the editing and the post work. Every minute of all of it is him. So it’s, like, he doesn’t have any time, so I have to make an appointment. And I like it that way. I want everyone to be as hard on me as anyone else. I want the ride to be the same that everybody else has. I love being a working person, y’know? I come from Socialist, Minnesota. [Laughs.] We’re workers! We work! So I go to work. That’s how I look at it. And I love that feeling. I don’t want that taken away from me. Sometimes I do get really curious, though, and I’ll try to entice him into telling me secrets. So far, that’s, uh, not worked so good. He’s very strong willed.

BE: The last time we talked, I hadn’t actually seen the season premiere, but now that I have, I fully agree with you that Sherilyn Fenn wears her attire from the early ‘60s very, very well.

KL: Yeah! Sherilyn is…oh, what can you say about her? I just adore her. She’s so good in the part, and Madame Renee is an ongoing character. If we’re lucky enough to go a third season, she’ll be back with us. She was very, very nervous about playing Madame Renee. She loved ‘Magic City,’ she read the script, and she was, like, “Oh, my God! I don’t know if I can do this!” [Laughs.] I mean, she was really, really nervous. And she just killed it. Every single episode she’s in, she’s fantastic. And you so see the girl in the woman, y’know? As far as Madame Renee goes, this is, like, Judy Silver or one of the other girls, and she’s grown up and decided that she wants to run her own empire. She’s based on a true character, a woman named Madame Sherry, who built the Moorish Castle, a house of ill repute, and was very much involved with the mob. So much of ‘Magic City’ is based on truth and fact and real people. Miami and southern Florida is the craziest place on the planet!

BE: As far as playing Madame Renee, I said in my review that Sherilyn “gives us an idea what the future might’ve held for Audrey Horne if she’d bothered to work her way up the corporate ladder at One Eyed Jack’s.”

KL: That was such a great quote. And I completely agree. She’s just incredible. I mean, she puts those clothes on, and…well, she always looked like she was 1958, y’know? She didn’t fit in then, she doesn’t fit in now. So much of what she did in the dreamy David Lynch stuff, it was, like, “Well, that’s perfect for her.” She’s very much a woman out of time.

BE: As for the show’s other notable new addition, it’s ironic that I wasn’t able to get my Random Roles with James Caan onto the AV Club until this week, since, as it turns out, he won’t make his debut on the show until this week, anyway.

KL: Exactly! Yeah, he comes in good and strong in Episode 2 this Friday. He makes his mark, believe me.

BE: It’s actually a great idea, though, to give his character a week’s worth of being referenced, so that he’s set up as this power player before actually showing his face. It positions the viewer to start wondering, “So who is this guy?”

KL: Absolutely. And I don’t know if you remember, but Lily is actually on the phone with Sy (Caan’s character) at one point in Season 1.

BE: I did not remember that.

KL: Yeah, she has a phone conversation with him. Y’know, for people who think that they get everything and they know what’s going on and that it’s so obvious… If anyone thinks that, there’s going to be so much that’s going to happen that’s building on little tiny clues and secrets that you may not have caught, but they’re there. There’s a very complicated web of mob activity going on, as there really was in Miami. And a lot of women were involved in that as well. Lily’s playing a really, really dangerous game, and she likes it. Part of the reason why she’s playing is because she likes it. There’s something about her, obviously, that she’s afraid of her life on one hand, but on the other hand she’s made this life. She’s drawn to it, this level of danger and these guys. But, yeah, she’s acquainted with Sy, which is something her husband is not aware of, I don’t think.

BE: Would you say that Meg’s playing a game as well, or is she just being a businesswoman?

KL: Well, I… I guess we’ll just have to find out.

BE: Oh, it’s like that, huh?

KL: [Laughs.] Well, I’ll tell you one thing: she’s her own woman. She’s managed her money just fine. She has a team of advisors, but she’s in charge of her empire. She makes all the decisions. She gets the facts. The first time we see her is with Ike, when they’re together at the segregated bath club. When she says, “Give me the books,” and all of that, she’s the one who… She can look at those sheets and balance the numbers herself and tell you if it’s a good idea or not. So she knows money, and she knows how to make it, and she knows a good thing when she sees it. She was a powerful woman back in her day, which is so much fun to play.

In fact, one of the things that I really think is cool about Mitch’s show is that you have women of their time, but all these women are intelligent and empowered. Judy Silver absolutely is in charge of her empire. She rents her stool at the Miramar, as the women did in the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc and those hotels back in the day. But she doesn’t work for anyone. Stevie helps her out, but she makes her own money. Lily, as you’ll see this year, becomes even more empowered in her own story and her life. And Meg, she’s looking to have a relationship or people in her life because she wants it, not because she needs it. She doesn’t need the security. She needs the love and the family. Vera had been a superstar in Cuba and had her own career going on. So these are all women who are quite formidable and want to be partners with men. They don’t always get what they want, but they’re asking for that. Mercedes, y’know, is becoming a young career woman, flying around the world on her own, but with the situation with her mom and not wanting to leave her dad all alone in the state that he’s in, that changes her plans. But she’s a foreshadowing of the ‘60s, really: the girl who’s so young and kind of deciding to be a career woman. All these women are sort of self-possessed and have these things they want to do.

BE: Which is good to see on TV. You can’t say that about but so many shows.

KL: No, you really can’t. Not even in the ones set in modern day. A lot of times, you’ve got a really, really attractive woman, but then suddenly there’s a guy, and she’s really just the wife who has nothing to do. If it’s a comedy, then he’s dumb but funny, and she’s… [Trails off.] I don’t even know how many of those shows there are. But we all appreciate ‘Magic City’ because of that. To live half the year in that time, there are challenges, and we do feel put in our place in one regard, because that’s the way it was for women. In some ways it still is. Some women are making 70 cents to a man’s dollar. It’s still not what it could be or, obviously, should be.

With that being said, I don’t feel I’ve ever looked more put-together in my whole life on any show I’ve ever done, outside of Ivan on ‘The L Word,’ who was quite dapper, albeit a guy. [Laughs.] But just the makeup, the wardrobe…all of it. The cars we drive, the home that my character lives in…it’s outstanding. Meg has a ballroom. It’s ridiculous! And I’m really a jeans and t-shirt girl, so it’s really fun for me to go so far out of my own comfort zone and find myself fitting into this other world. I used to look at these movies, seeing Grace Kelly and all that, and just think, “Wow, what would it be like?”

BE: And now you’re living the dream.

KL: I am! [Laughs.] It’s “Let’s Pretend” to the 10^th degree!

Bullz-Eye: So the second season of “Boss” is coming to a close…

Kathleen Robertson: Yep!

BE: Your character, Kitty O’Neill, had a decidedly different dynamic in Season 2 than she did in Season 1. How much forewarning did you have about how Kitty’s storyline was going to play out during this season? Did you know from the get-go, or was it only doled out to you on an episode-by-episode basis?

KR: I knew from the get-go. I sat down with the writers at the very beginning of the season, and they sort of explained to me what the storyline was for her. With the exception of the finale. They were very secretive about the finale, and I didn’t know what was going to happen until the week before we shot it and I read the script. Have you seen the finale?

BE: I have not yet.

KR: [Tries and fails to disguise her giddiness.] It’s so good. It’s so good. They kept saying to me all through the year, “Just be patient. Just be patient and wait for (episode)10.” I said, “What does that mean, though? Like, am I gonna get killed? What are you…what happens in 10?” “Just be patient.” And then they’d say, “10 is your episode, and you’re gonna be really happy with it.” So I was. And I am really happy with 10. It’s amazing.

BE: 10 may be “your episode,” but it’s arguable that you’ve had a lot of episodes. Kitty’s evolved throughout the season, at least in a certain sense. At the same time, though, she also ends up making it pretty clear that she doesn’t really know who she is unless she has someone to serve.

KR: Yeah, that’s true.

BE: Did you see that as being a part of her character from the very beginning, or was that something you discovered as time went on?

KR: Well, with Season 1… [Hesitates.] Farhad (Safinia) said to me at the beginning of the series, “For Season 1, Kitty almost has a reverse arc.” She kind of starts here… [Holds hand up and then begins lowering it.] …and ends here. And it’s kind of like that in Season 2 as well, because from the moment we meet her in this season, she’s pregnant, she’s sort of deciding if she even wants to be in politics anymore…she’s deciding who she is. So the journey for her over Season 2 was a much more internal one, and it was much more a case of asking, “Who am I without my identity?” And for her, the identity isn’t just working for Kane. It’s being in this whole world that she’s sacrificed everything for. So she sort of flirts with the idea of trying to be an alternate Kitty throughout the season, and by the end… [Smiles knowingly.] When you see the finale, I think she ends up where she belongs.

BE: In regards to the “alternate Kitty,” for instance, we see her trying to make something out of her relationship with Sam, but from what we know of her, we don’t even really know for sure that she can have a proper romantic relationship.

KR: Absolutely. Like, the abortion in Episode 3, that was an interesting moment for her, because…well, to me, it seemed to represent a lot more than just what it was on the surface. There was the idea of what that life would be like, the choice of a woman considering trying to be something that she’s not. But Kitty…she’ll never be that. She’s a political animal, and that’s the only way she feels alive. I think that we all sort of have those components and parts of personality, the parts of us that are damaged and the parts of us that don’t work right, and we try to fix them, but sometimes those things are just who we are. And I think that, for her, by the end of the season, she kind of comes around to the realization of, like, “I’m probably not going to change. And that’s okay.” And…I kind of love that about her. [Laughs.]

For me, it’s much more interesting to get into the intricacies of who she is and why she is the way she is than to sort of…like, the midsection of Season 2 was definitely challenging, because it was that thing of, “Would she really ever fall for this guy?” Absolutely not. But she’s going to try, just because he seems like…he sort of represented truth. It’s, like, “This guy’s pursuing the truth, this guy’s the real deal, what you see is what you get.” And then she slowly realizes that that actually wasn’t even the case with him. Yeah, there were definitely moments during this season where I was thinking, “She would never do this, this is absolutely not her.” And they would say, “Well, yeah, exactly! That’s the point!”

BE: Kitty would also seem to be a challenging character to play, given that a great deal of her reactions tend to involve looks rather than lines.

KR: Absolutely. And I love that. I’m always the actor that loves to cut lines. I would much rather try to convey what I’m thinking and feeling without any dialogue. That’s, for me, the most fun. Yeah, I get to do that a lot, and it’s really nice. And our show affords that. A lot of television…I mean, I watch a lot of television, and I think that you can do that as an actor, but if the show doesn’t sort of unfold in a way that lets you do that, it’s missed. Do you know what I mean? Like, if the camera’s always moving and never letting you have your moment, then the audience won’t be able to pick up on those nuances. And I like that about our show: you can really have that. A lot of times, the camera just stays on the person that has no dialogue. I mean, if you remember, in Season 1, even with Kelsey (Grammer’s) very first scene in the whole series, when he was finding out his diagnosis, the camera never went off of his face, and he didn’t have a single line. So the show does that a lot, and I love that. Like, I’m talking to you and blabbing away, but what you’re registering is kind of more interesting than me just blabbing away. So I love that, and…I’m rambling. [Laughs.] But you know what I mean.

BE: Some critics have accused the series of offering gratuitous nudity. Not that I have a problem with that, per se, but do you view it as being only what’s necessary to achieve the dramatic effect, or do you sometimes go, “Wow, really”?

KR: I…I don’t know. [Hesitates.] Do you feel like they accuse a lot of cable shows of having too much nudity, or is it specific to this show? Because to me…and maybe I’m wrong…I don’t think that there’s more nudity or sex on this show than there would be on another show on HBO or Showtime.

BE: Well, I think at least part of it may come from the fact that the show is ostensibly a political drama first and foremost, so it’s, like, “Is it really furthering the storyline that much more to have all of this in here?”

KR: I think that the component of sex in “Boss” comes from the fact that I know the writers have always felt, and Farhad said from the very beginning, that you can’t truthfully make a show about politics and not have sex be a very big part of it.

BE: Well, I understand the sex/power aspect, of course.

KR: And look at some of the stuff that went on sexually in politics – in reality, I mean – during our first season. It was kind of insane. So…this isn’t the NBC version of what this world would be like. It’s the cable version of what this world would be like and who these people really would be. You know, people have asked me, “Do you feel comfortable playing a character that really goes there and really has so many extreme scenes?” And for me, it’s, like, if that’s all it was, then that would not be interesting to me and not something that I would be interested in being a part of. But all you need to do is watch an episode of our show to realize that it’s…it’s a really fucking good show. [Laughs.]

It’s really amazing writing, and these characters are really fascinating, every single one of them. So I just don’t really think about that component of it, because it’s part of who she is. It’s a huge part of her identity, and I think that to not be willing to go there would be doing the character a disservice and doing the material a disservice. I knew going into this show, when I read the first episode and I knew Gus Van Sant was producing it and I knew it was part of the character, so it was a decision: “Either I’m gonna go for this and really play this role or I’m not going to do it. But I’m not going to do it half-assed. Either I’m gonna do it or I’m not gonna do it.” So I made that choice to do it, and…I’ve done it. [Laughs.]

BE: Before I ask you about a few other things you’ve done over the years, I believe I’m supposed to casually bring up the new Starz Play application for Cox subscribers.

KR: [Laughs.] Yes! Let’s talk Starz Play!

BE: Have you yourself had a chance to play around with the app?

KR: Yeah! It’s amazing. You can do it on your iPad or your iPhone, and it’s, um, I guess it’s similar to… [Lowers voice.] I’m probably not supposed to say this, but it’s kind of like HBO Go, right?

BE: I don’t think that would be inappropriate to say. I mean, it is the Starz equivalent to HBO Go, so I think that’s a fair point of comparison.

KR: Well, it’s great, I know that. And this show…I mean, don’t you feel that, like all great cable shows, if you haven’t seen them, it’s fun to be able to go all the way back and start from the very beginning? We’ve done 18 shows so far, and you really have to go back and start from the beginning to fully understand and appreciate it and get the most out of it. That’s always the challenge with cable shows, especially with Starz, which is a network that not everyone gets. It’s the challenge of getting the shows out there and getting people to see them. We’ve had some endorsements recently which have helped us, like Oprah. Did you hear that?

BE: I didn’t.

KR: Oh, yeah, Oprah’s been Tweeting about it and saying that “Boss” is one of her favorite shows. And Anderson Cooper did a big thing about how he was missing “Breaking Bad,” but that “Boss” has replaced “Breaking Bad” for him. So things like that really help a show like this. We need to raise awareness and get the eyeballs on us, and I think the Starz Play app will really help with that.

BE: Hopefully it’ll do the same for “Magic City” as well.

KR: Yeah! Absolutely.

BE: Okay, time to hit on a few other things you’ve done in your career, and I’ll start by saying that I would’ve absolutely been fine if we’d bypassed “Boss” altogether and you’d just told me 30 minutes worth of anecdotes about working with Joe Flaherty on “Maniac Mansion.”

KR: [Gasps excitedly.] Oh, my gosh! I love Joe. He’s such a good friend of mine. He’s amazing.

BE: So when you started working with him, were you aware that he was Joe Flaherty?

KR: Oh, yes. Oh, yes, I knew. I knew all of the “SCTV” people. I grew up in northern Ontario, and so growing up in Canada, comedy is a big deal, and “SCTV” is an even bigger deal. I mean, you grow up watching reruns of it. It was reruns of “SCTV” on all the time. [Laughs.] And “Kids in the Hall” and all that great comedic stuff. So, yeah, when I got “Maniac Mansion,” it was all the “SCTV” people. It was Joe, but it was also Eugene Levy, who was the producer of that show, and we had all the writers and all the people from “SCTV,” the hair and makeup people and everything. So it was a huge deal. And my dad was so excited, because, y’know, “SCTV” is God there. And Joe was amazing. And it was a such a cool first job for me, because we did 66 episodes, and it was very similar to “SCTV,” in that every week we would do a show, but then we would do parodies. So they would come to me and be, like, “Okay, this week you’re going to play Juliette Lewis from ‘Cape Fear,’ and we’re gonna build your ears out a little bit and we’re going to get you a retainer and the wig.” And they would teach me how to do those. Like, “This is what you need to watch for. Watch the way they hold their body and the way they say things.” And it was just the most amazing training for me as a young actor to have those comic geniuses around me, saying, “Do this and do that and…just watch the way she sits. Pick up one little trait and just keep hitting that trait.” So it was amazing. A great, great experience. And George Lucas produced it, which was bizarre, too. It was a bizarre experience. But it was great. And so fun.

BE: Do you have a preference between comedy and drama? You’ve certainly shown aptitude for both.

KR: It’s funny. I did a series a few years ago that I produced called “The Business,” which aired on IFC.

BE: I have Season 1 on DVD. And wish they’d release Season 2.

KR: I know. So do I! I loved doing that. The guy who created that always says to me, “It’s so weird to me that you do all this drama. You’re a comedian! What’s with all this dramatic shit?” [Laughs.] So, yeah, I’ve definitely done both comedy and drama, but I tend to get more dramatic offers. That tends to be what people send me. But I love doing comedy. I’m actually going to do a movie in a couple of weeks that’s a comedy, which’ll be kind of fun to do, to mix it up a bit. After playing Kitty, I need a few laughs!

BE: What’s it like being on the other side of the camera? As you say, you produced “The Business,” and you’ve written a script or two here and there.

KR: It’s great.

BE: What made you decide to go that route? Was it just to try and spice things up?

KR: I think it’s just a natural progression. I’ve been doing this for so long, and…I really love to write. And I really love just the ability to be creative without having to sort of wait for someone to give me permission to be creative. Being an actor is all about waiting for that phone call, for someone to say, “Do you want to come and do this?” Writing, for me, is the most creatively fulfilling thing that I do, just because it’s mine. And I don’t have to listen to anyone else. I love that. And I’m hoping that’s something that I can continue to do. I really, really love it. I’ve written a couple of pilot scripts. I sold the first pilot script, and the second one that I wrote, I’m out with it right now, trying to sell that. So we’ll see!

BE: Similar to the comedy-versus-drama question, do you have a preference between working in film and on television? Although the dividing line is getting smaller all the time, I suppose.

KR: I definitely have a preference as far as what kind of television. Cable television? Absolutely. Network television? Not so much. I mean, there isn’t a single show that I personally watch on network right now. Do you? What do you watch on network?

BE: Honestly, I tend to watch mostly sitcoms, and when I watch hour-longs, they tend to be sci-fi. I’m really enjoying “Revolution” at the moment.

KR: Okay, I haven’t seen that yet. I’ll have to catch up on that.

BE: C’mon. You even starred on (“Girls Club”) with Giancarlo Esposito, too. You’re slacking off.

KR: [Laughs.] I love him. I just saw him during the Emmy weekend, and he’s just the sweetest guy. Have you ever interviewed him?

BE: I have. He’s great.

KR: He’s so sweet! I just love him. He’s such a great guy. He was so happy for me and “Boss,” and I was so happy for him and everything he’s doing. God, he’s so good on “Breaking Bad”! He’s amazing. I think as an actor, if you get the opportunity to be on a great cable show and to pursue that character over the course of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 hours…there’s nothing that touches that. Doing a movie is great, but you only have two hours to sort of figure out and explore who that character is. With a great role on television, it’s just so fun to see all those little details and all those little colors of who that person is. You don’t get that in film. So I love doing “Boss.” Doing a role like this on a show like this…it’s amazing.

BE: The writers obviously have the final say, but how much input have you had on “Boss” as far as developing your character? In other words, what have you brought to Kitty that wasn’t there before you arrived?

KR: Well, in Season 1, no, not at all. Because Season 1 was basically…you know, when we started Season 1, they already had the entire season mapped out, so there wasn’t really any room for anything to change. Season 2 was a little different, just in that we had a little bit more input and there was a little bit more discussion upfront about, “Would this happen? Would that happen? Does this feel false to you?” Because at a certain point with television, it does very much become a case where these characters are ours, and it’s our interpretation of who that person is. So the directors come in and out, and…television is very interesting that way. It’s very different from film, because with film it’s all very much about the director, and the director will give you notes and focus. But in television, sometimes the directors will say, “Well, you tell me: would she do this? Would she sit there?” And you’re, like, “Well, no, she wouldn’t sit there, because she knows the door’s there and they’d see her, so she’d never do that.” “Oh, okay, let’s move it, then. Let’s have it here instead.” So it does become much more…you’re navigating that character through the world.

BE: Time to ask the obligatory Clare-on-“90210” question, and it’s a two-parter: do you have a favorite Clare storyline, and do you have a most-ludicrous storyline that still stands out?

KR: [Laughs.] Oh, Clare. It’s so funny, but, honestly, I don’t know if I have a bad memory or if I’ve just kind of blocked it out, but people ask me questions about “90210,” and I genuinely can’t…I mean, it’s just so long ago! I think I had…didn’t I have a ridiculous “I Dream of Jeannie” Halloween costume once? That’s probably the most ludicrous moment I can think of. That was weird, because that was my first American job, and it was the first thing I did when I moved here. It was right after “Maniac Mansion.” And when I auditioned for the show, I had never seen the show. That’s the truth. I called my sisters, and I called my best friend back in Hamilton, and I said, “I’m auditioning for ‘90210.’” And I knew of it, of course, because it was a huge, massive phenomenon. So I said, “I’m going to go audition, so can you tell me…I have the sides here, and I need to know who these characters are. Like, who’s Brandon? Who’s he played by?” “Oh, that’s Jason Priestley.” “Okay, so this scene is with Jason Priestley. I know who that is. What about this Donna? Who’s that?” I mean, genuinely, I had no idea. And my sisters, of course, and my best friend were freaking out. And then when I got the job, it was originally just for five episodes. So it wasn’t even really much of an audition. It was just kind of…I went in, read, and it was, like, the next day, “Oh, you got the part, it’s five episodes.” And then it turned into 99. [Laughs.] Which I love. I love that it’s one short of a hundred. I got out just in time!

BE: How did you enjoy getting to play the villainess in “Tin Man”?

KR: Oh, I loved that show! That was great. So much fun. Zooey (Deschanel) was a blast to work with, and it was a great role. Again, it was a really challenging, strong, complicated, fucked-up woman. [Laughs.] It was great, though. Those costumes were something else. My body was trashed every day. I mean, the bruises and the cuts from the armor and the weight of it… The guy who won the Academy Award for “Moulin Rouge,” he did all the costumes, so he was, uh, intense. So you wore those costumes! So, yeah, it was great. A great role and a lot of fun.

BE: Do you have any Robert Halmi stories? Or possibly an impression? It seems like everyone’s got one of those, too.

KR: He was just really, really sweet. Do you mean bad stories?

BE: No, quite the opposite. Everyone seems to love the guy.

KR: Yeah, he’s just a teddy bear. So sweet. And that movie…it’s so weird, because that’s the only science-fiction show I’ve ever done. I mean, I guess it’s technically considered sci-fi. But it’s the only one I’ve ever done, and it is just a whole other world! [Laughs.] The fans from the sci-fi world? They are loyal. I joined Twitter fairly recently – I’m trying to get better at it – but someone Tweeted me a photo of this event they were at, and there were all these girls dressed up as Azkadellia from “Tin Man.” Just really amazing costumes, with the wig and…just amazing. I was just blown away. I mean, that was a few years ago, but here are these girls dressed up like Azkadellia. I’m telling you, it’s pretty intense. I can’t imagine if you were on…like, I just did a movie with Michael Shanks, who was on “Stargate,” and the stories he told me about the fans and how intense they are…it’s amazing. [Pounds fist on table.] We need those fans on “Boss”! Where’s our crazy people dressing up like Mayor Kane and Kitty? [Laughs.] We need those Halloween costumes!

BE: Excluding “Boss” for the moment, since it’s current, do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on over the years that didn’t get the love you thought it deserved?

KR: Hmmm. [Long pause.] I’ve done a lot of indie movies that I felt…like, I did a movie I was very proud of with Mark Ruffalo called “XX/XY” which I thought was…it was work I was really proud of, and 50 people saw it, I think. So a lot of little movies like that. A lot of Sundance movies. I’m trying to think of others. But independent movies in general…I think that’s why everyone’s doing television now. The independent film world has changed so much since its heyday in the ‘90s. That’s all I did after I left “90210.” That’s all I wanted to do when I was able to do it. Nowadays…I don’t know if it’s possible to just have a career and make a living doing indie films. It’s just changed so much. I mean, a million-dollar movie back then happened all the time. Now, it’s, like, a million-dollar movie would be made for $200 thousand, and the actors would be making a hundred dollars a day, and it would maybe get into a couple of festivals. It’s changed a lot. Now you’ve got independent movies starring Jennifer Aniston, with people like that showing up at Sundance promoting these two million dollar movies. It’s just…I mean, everybody says this now, but that’s why Gus Van Sant is one of the producers of our show, that’s why Todd Haynes is doing television: because it’s really the way to continue that spirit of what independent film is without having to compromise creatively.

BE: To bring it full circle and close on “Boss,” can you tease anything at all about what happens with Kitty and her storyline in the season finale? Or is it giving too much away to say anything at all?

KR: I can just reiterate that they spent all year telling me, “Wait for 10.” And when they sent me 10 and I read it and came to the set, our show runner looked at me and was, like, “Yeah…?” And I gave her the thumbs-up and said, “Yeah.”

BE: Worth the wait?

KR: Totally worth the wait. Getting that script and reading it, I was, like, “This is one of the best pieces of material I’ve ever been handed to do.” So I was thrilled with where Kitty ended up in Episode 10. I was very happy…in a sick, twisted way. [Laughs.] And then Francis Guinan, who plays Gov. Cullen, he came into the trailer and looked at me and was basically, like, “Oh, you poor thing. You and Kane are just a match made in heaven, aren’t you?” Which made me happy…and shows exactly how warped I am. But that’s what I love about her!

1. It looks great.

2. The second episode rehashed too much of the pilot, but the third episode was much better.

3. As far as the cast goes, Danny Huston makes a great bad-ass, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in fine form as well, and although Alex Rocco’s storyline was a bit schmaltzy for my tastes, he’s still Alex Rocco, which means his scenes are worth seeing simply because he’s in them.

All things considered, it’s probably best that I hadn’t yet seen the fourth episode when I wrote about the series, since not only did it prove to be the most disappointing installment of the entire season, but it left such a bad taste in my mouth—I believe the precise phrase I used to describe the series at the time was “infuriatingly inconsistent”—that, if I’m to be honest, I could’ve flipped a coin to decide my thoughts on whether it was going to get better or worse in the coming weeks. Pretty much all of the good will it had built up in the preceding three weeks had been shot all to hell in the span of a single hour.

Thank God it got better. In fact, it got so much better that, now that Magic City: The Complete First Season has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, I have absolutely no hesitation about recommending it as a must-buy. I really can’t speak to what happened behind the scenes to turn the series around in such a dramatic fashion, but it was one of the most impressive TV turnarounds I’ve ever seen.

“Magic City,” if you’ve never seen it, is set in Miami in 1959, not long after the Cuban Revolution, with Morgan playing Ike Evans, owner of the Miramar Playa, the snazziest hotel in the city. It’s the fulfillment of a dream for Ike, but it’s one that he’s achieved at a cost, having gotten financial assistance from mob boss Ben Diamond (Huston), a guy with such a nasty reputation that Huston himself has said, “You would not want Ben Diamond to do you a favor. I think even if he offered to open the door for you, you’d be, like, ‘No, no, that’s okay!’” It leads to a very interesting dynamic between the two men, with Ben knowing that he’s got a position of power in the relationship even as Ike is trying to convince himself that Ben’s really just a silent partner. The self-delusion is slowing disintegrating, however, first when Ike asks Ben to “take care of” a labor dispute, then when the hotel’s overhead hits a point where Ike has no choice but to ask Ben for more money, and the situation gets even worse when Ike attempts to gamble his way into salvation, only to end up even further in debt. It’s at this point that Ike decides to pitch Meg Bannock (Kelly Lynch), his late wife’s very well-off sister, on the idea of teaming up with him on the hotel in hopes of relying less on Ben…but that opens a whole other realm of problems, since there’s a ridiculous amount of sexual tension between Meg and Ike, a situation that Ike’s current wife, Vera (Olga Kurylenko), is in no way unaware of.

Beyond the Ike vs. Ben battle and the Ike/Vera/Meg triangle, Ike’s also having to deal with the district attorney, who’s sure that Ike had something to do with the labor union rep suddenly going MIA. Then there are Ike’s sons, Stevie (Steven Strait), who’s very much his father’s son in all the worst possible ways he can be, and Danny (Christian Cooke), a squeaky-clean lad who’s trying to pursue a career in law as well as a relationship with Mercedes (Dominik Garcia-Lorido), who works in the hotel with her father, Victor (Yul Vazquez), the general manager of the Miramar Playa. Meanwhile, Stevie’s playing with fire by having an affair with Ben’s wife, Lily (Jessica Marais), a situation which – as anyone might guess – is almost certainly destined to end poorly.

As you can see, “Magic City” is a good old fashioned soap opera, albeit one that plays more than a little bit like “Mad Men” meets “The Sopranos,” not that there’s anything inherently wrong with such a combination. Although it starts slowly, with so many different storylines whirling around that many of them are necessarily set aside for several episodes at a time, the fifth episode proves to be a turning point. At first, there’s that suspicion that the fourth episode was so bad that you might be overrating the proceedings, but, no, the show definitely gets into a groove that continues all the way to the season finale, leaving you dying to see what’s going to happen next. Now that the entire first season is available on DVD and Blu-ray, you really need to pick it up, put it in the player, and have yourself a good old fashioned marathon. Season 2 won’t be kicking off ’til next year, but there’s no time like the present to start getting psyched.

Well, not really, anyway. I mean, normally, I’ve got an interview or a preview of a new series or a commentary on an existing TV series, and it’s enough to fill up an entire column, but not this time. Between all the writing, transcribing, and family matters going on over the past few weeks, I’ve had precious little time to watch TV these past few weeks, and what I have watched has tended to be in short spurts, which means that I’m way behind on just about all of my favorite shows. Mind you, that’s not to say that I don’t have anything to say. I’m just going to kind of run through some of the things I’ve been watching lately – some new, some old – and offer up my thoughts about them.

First up: the same show just about everyone else was talking about this morning:

Seems like only yesterday that I walked up to Jimmy Fallon at the TCA Press Tour and asked him outright if he was scared shitless about starting his talk show. (His response: “Why, yes. Yes, I am.”) Now look at the guy: slow-jamming the news with the President of the United States. You know, I’d say “I don’t care what your politics are, that’s just awesome,” but I know Republicans better than that. I will, however, note that President Obama earned a little extra respect from me for taking the time to give a shout-out to Key & Peele. It wouldn’t surprise me if you forgot that I talked to them back in January, since the piece didn’t get so much as a single comment, but they’re a hilarious couple of guys, and they deserve all the success they’ve been getting with their Comedy Central Series. But I digress. Here’s that slow jam I mentioned, just in case you haven’t caught it yet:

If you’re a parent, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the addition of children to your life inevitably results in a number of changes to your lifestyle, but one of the most crucial is how it affects your TV viewing habits. It seems like it’d be easy to tell a little kid what they’re going to watch, but you’d be surprised. Battles are often fought in our living room over what I want to watch versus what my daughter calls “my shows,” a short list which includes a variety of programming that I have no interested in sitting through. As such, my wife and I regularly try to find shows that are at least somewhat of a middle ground for us all, thereby avoiding these arguments with a little lass who’s 1/4 my size, and in an effort to avoid watching “Dance Moms” at all cost, I finally asked a question I never thought would come out of my mouth: “Do you want to try ‘Dancing with the Stars’?”

Mind you, it still wouldn’t have come out of my mouth if we didn’t have Hulu Plus, because its regular timeslot(s) finds it up against several programs that I’d much rather watch instead, but since we can stream it whenever we want, we’ve taken advantage of that opportunity…and damned if it hasn’t been amazingly entertaining. I mean, I’m annoyed by the same things on “Dancing with the Stars” that I am on most reality shows, most notably the fact that it’s stretched out to an unnecessary length (particularly the results show, which could be done in 30 minutes without any problem), but it’s been hard to take my eyes off the screen during the actual dance routines. I’m led to understand that this is arguably the strongest group of celebrity contestants they’ve had on the show in quite some time, possibly ever, so I guess I picked the right season to take a chance. By the way, if Katherine Jenkins doesn’t take it all, I’ll be very, very surprised. What a cutie…

Speaking of “Dancing with the Stars,” not only is Jaleel White pulling some serious street-cred from his fancy footwork on this season of the show, but he’s also got a new full-time gig to keep him occupied: hosting SyFy’s new game show, “Total Blackout.” As with about half of the programming on SyFy, it has absolutely nothing to do with SyFy (indeed, it would really fit in better on Chiller), but it’s still a highly entertaining concept, not to mention a simple one: put people in a dark room and have them compete against each other to perform various tasks that would be simple if only they could see. The first few episodes have the contestants reaching into aquarium tasks and being forced to identify objects that range from cockroaches to a pineapple just by touching them, figuring out what they’re eating or smelling, and other strange stuff. You’ll cringe on occasion, but mostly you’ll laugh and say, “I’m glad that’s not me!”

Say what? Yep, Shout Factory has finally secured the rights to continue releasing the full-season sets of this ’70s classic, and when Season 2 arrived at my house, I dug right in. Screw all that new programming: I’d much rather delve through this treasure trove of stars on their way up and down the ladder of success and more character actors than you can shake a stick at. Don’t believe me? Take a look…

Fantasy? Magic? Get it…? Okay, so it’s a slightly imperfect segue. So sue me.

When I first saw the trailer for Starz’s “Magic City,” I was instantly captivated by the look of the series. Having not actually been in Miami Beach in 1961, I haven’t a clue how accurate the portrayal of the area and the era are, but the results sure are easy to watch. Three episodes into the proceedings, however, it’s hard to really know yet what to expect from the series, especially since the second episode fell into the unfortunate but often-repeated mistake of rehashing too much from the pilot. I will say, however, that the third episode was very strong and left me particularly excited about seeing where things will be going this week, so I’m certainly hopeful.

Danny Huston’s an effective bad-ass, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s better here than I’ve seen him in just about anything else, but I do wish they’d give Alex Rocco a storyline that doesn’t feel so damned schmaltzy. He’s made an impression every time he’s been on screen, but I’m invariably left thinking that, although Rocco was great, the storyline wasn’t. But, hey, we’re only three episodes in. There’s still plenty of time left to turn things around.

Time for another flashback, this one courtesy of Warner Home Video, who finally realized that there’s enough of an audience for this short-lived series adaptation of a ’70s classic to warrant releasing it on DVD. (It had previously only been available via download.) Although I have to admit that my first reaction upon watching Gregory Harrison’s performance as Logan was to think, “Gee, I really wish they’d release ‘Trapper John, M.D.’ on DVD,” it turns out that although “Logan’s Run” looks precisely as dated as you’d expect a sci-fi series of the ’70s to look, the stories themselves hold up surprisingly well. Mind you, it doesn’t exactly hurt that Heather Menzies is totally swoon-worthy. Also worth noting is Donald Moffat’s performance as the android Rem, which never fails to be thoughtful, amusing, and just generally entertaining.

Look, I don’t know what the chances are that Fox is going to bring back this “Bones” spin-off for a second season, but let me just go on record as saying that it’s a lot of fun and absolutely worthy of renewal. I have this feeling that a lot of “Bones” fans took a pass of trying it out because the back-door pilot for “The Finder” – that would be the episode of “Bones” that they used to introduce the characters – but I’m here to tell you that the actual series is so much better. With each passing episode, Geoff Stults seems perpetually more at home in the role of Walter, the eccentric gentleman who’s obsessed with finding stuff, and the chemistry between Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan is fantastic. As I say, I have no clue if they’ll deign to bring it back for Season 2, but I sure hope they do.