Cancelling “Boss” was a disappointment. Got too close to the ugly reality of Chicago/Combiner politics. It had low ratings.
“Magic City” was OK, great period sets and costumes, but it seemed to lack a compelling storyline. The lead actor (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was no James Gandolfini, whom I found boring, but the real star was Danny Huston. I’d rather he have been the central character, a full on psychopath. It was like he was channeling his dad, John, from “Chinatown.”
I’m waiting to see if “Penny Dreadful” is any good (it also has Eva Green), but it sounds like they put all the late 19th century horror stories into a big blender (though they admitted as such).
I have yet to watch GOT, but when I saw it had over 250 characters, that was just too much to take. You need a soap opera-style program (with 5 hour eps a week) over a period of years to begin to absorb all of that. I watch the remaining 4 soaps on the networks (General Hospital being one, where you have over 50 or so active characters, and having watched for about 12 years, I at least am familiar with the motivations, histories, etc.).
Yes, it felt true to life with some fun embellishment and extra sleaze of course.
The murder of the closeted lesbian GOP candidate for Governor's (who was running for the office for a 4th time!) girlfriend, ruining her campaign, was a prescient embellishment of the Rutherford gubernatorial campaign.
The rat State Treasurer character who ran for Governor had shades of real life rat Comptroller Dan Hynes. His wife was the typical social climbing wife of a serial adulterer, countless real life examples.
The pious Catholic RAT State's attorney who couldn't bring himself to actually cheat on his wife so he just forced his hot assistant to diddle herself in front of him instead. First Lady of Chi Connie Nielson selling herself to some old pervert friend of her father who knew her since childhood. Mayor's Grammer's illegitimate son knowingly hooking up with his half-sister (who didn't know). LOL.
There are family trees and maps at hbo online and in the books.
Fyi