After watching just one episode, I immediately understood the cult-craze of HBO’s sleeper hit, Succession. Self-isolation had afforded me time to find a new show to obsess over, and this was it.
I figured a show about power-hungry, rich New Yorkers might distract me from my new life holed up at home. I was right. I zipped through the first season in a few days.
The series debuted on HBO in 2018, and was set to air its third season this summer, but production has been postponed due to COVID-19. Like most shows with premieres planned for summer 2020, Succession likely won’t see its return until 2021.
Succession centers around the illustrious and controversial Roy family. Logan (Brian Cox), is the patriarch and the owner of a multibillion-dollar media giant, Waystar Royco. Many critics have likened the Roys to the Murdochs, the real-life family behind the Fox Corporation. The show allows for a dark and comedic take on the country’s untouchables.
In the first season, Logan refuses to relinquish his company to one of his bloodthirsty children, disregarding health issues that are likely to push him from his throne anyway. But after suffering a brain aneurysm, his family is thrown into turmoil.
It begins slow, with too many episodes taking place in a hospital while Logan was in a coma. In these episodes, the family fumbles to fill his shoes. But once he wakes up and resumes his position as CEO, the show’s real energy comes to life, with Cox’s tour de force performance proving to be central to Succession’s charm.
Succession offers a deep look inside the media conglomerates I’d studied in school. While it’s entirely impossible to see myself in the luxurious lives that the show portrays, I still find it eminently, and oddly, relatable.
Kendall (Jeremy Strong), the second oldest of the Roy children, is essentially the show’s main character. Caught in a constant state of wanting to please his father while also wanting to tear him down, Kendall is a sympathetic character throughout the season. He’s insecure, struggles with substance abuse, and is desperate for power. Kendall is the character that always seems transparent, like you know what’s going on in his head, but he still has his surprises.
The other characters are a buffet of odds and ends. Eldest son, Connor (Alan Ruck), wants to keep out of the family business, but still relies on Logan for million-dollar handouts. Roman (Kieran Culkin), the youngest Roy son, is foulmouthed and ineffective, likely to never have a chance as Waystar Royco’s CEO. And sole daughter, Siobhan (Sarah Snook), is a political strategist who is assumed to have gotten where she is by flashing her last name. Collectively they offer a comical look at New York’s elite, the one-percenters, serving as a reminder that, oh yea, I do hate these people.
While the show is mainly about the missteps of a crumbling conservative media company, Succession leaves nothing is off the table, including liberal America. Fictional Senator Gil Eavis, a Bernie Sanders-like character, reminds us that the elites are not the only people deserving parody.
Scenes in Succession cut like those in The Office. Zooming close-ups and pans from one person to another, catching reactions of characters in moments of off-the-cuff comedy and drama. One of the more comedic parts of the show being the double-act of Siobhan’s desperate-to-please husband, Tom, and the rags-to-riches “Cousin Greg.” Tom takes Greg under his wing to teach him the ropes of the dysfunctional Roy empire. The two are often found in situations outside of their job descriptions, lots of paper shredders and classified files involved, along with a few nervous breakdowns. But, they’re family, and that’s what it takes to fit in with the Roys.
Every exchange is punctuated with exaggerated insults, causing Succession to sometimes border on cringeworthy. But it’s saved by its satirical tone. None of these characters is supposed to be taken seriously, they’re all jokes within themselves.
Succession is dark, crass, and sometimes borders on heinous. That’s precisely what makes it feel so real and so personal. And to spare any major spoilers, push past those first slow episodes to make it to the explosive season one finale. Trust me, it’s worth it.
