HBO's Succession

No thread for this show yet? A Big, Screwed-Up Family drama of the Eat the Rich persuasion, starring No Celebrities Were Harmed versions of Rupert Murdoch and his progeny. Media tycoon and Bad Dad (tm) Logan Roy (Brian Cox) has to decide which of his inadequate offspring and sycophants should inherit the position of CEO of the 20th Century Fox group the Waystar Royco group, while his children jockey for power amongst themselves.

Our page for it is here.

Season 1 trailer:

And Season 3 premiered this week.

(I just finished watching the S3 premiere, and I feel like I was on the adrenaline rush the characters were on.)

Edited by Synchronicity on Oct 20th 2021 at 10:43:00 AM

I admit it's such a repulsive group of people that it's hard to want to watch it despite the acting talent involved.

The finale aired yesterday, and I'm still thinking about it. This show really does deserve all the awards praise they get.

I'm obsessed with how the siblings banding together, which is what they should have done from the very beginning of the show, was ultimately too little, too late, and how Tom finally gets his dog-bites-back moment.

I did indeed enjoy the Season 3 finale because of how in spite of how much they lose, the ramifications of the Roy kids (outside of Connor) finally working together is what needs to happen. And given the promos for Season 4, it looks like that's going to be a theme going forward if Logan is to be stopped. And seeing Roman actually suffer some kind of emotional breakdown after primarily keeping his clown mask really makes that sink in.

I do like how Greg is gradually becoming more evil as well, even if he isn't quite under from everyone's shadow.

And I'm really curious to see more of Roman vs. Matsson in Season 4.

Did anybody catch the latest episode? Logan is going off the rails fast.

I'll admit that I've been seeing everyone hyping the Season 4 premiere, but I haven't had time to catch it due to personal stuff. Hopefully I'll watch it this weekend and be able to give my thoughts.

Alright, just saw the premiere.

Yeah, Logan is definitely going off the deep end. For better or worse, the old man really misses his kids and their dry wit. I did kind of find it interesting that Logan realizes he hates his own news network just as much as the rest of the world at the end of the episode.

Greg's getting a lot more confident at times, which is kinda neat to see. The old Greg was very subservient to Tom, but here they're almost equals in pathetic mediocrity. How quaint.

Shiv and Tom's divorce was inevitably gonna happen, but I didn't expect it to be so depressing. I don't think their marriage has ever been a happy one, and yet it's clear they're so lonely without one another.

Kendall's entered his confident mode again, and it's clear he and Shiv are pulling the weight regarding their new business ventures. Roman's hiding everything behind his Sad Clown Deadpan Snarker persona again, but I also don't blame him for being scared of Logan.

And Connor is just being Connor. Ah, the doddering old fool.

Overall, great start.

For The Hundred maybe, but I don't get the sense that paying 10B for a dying legacy media company rather than 100M on a dumb nepo baby flop startup is a great deal, and Roman was the only one hesitant.

There are indeed scenarios where this comes out a win, but many more that it comes out sucking for everyone.

Well, they did manage to win Nana's favor in lieu of Logan, which he actually seems genuinely pissed about. So even if their current deal might not be the best, they at least have a bit of an edge so far.

I was not under the impression Nan favors/respects them as much as she saw them as a source of a couple extra billies.

Well...yeah, calling it "respect" was an error on my part. Nana hates all the Roys. Still, the kids got her cash.

Edited by MatthewWayne on Apr 1st 2023 at 6:34:31 AM

This episode… wtf 😳

I've seen everyone freaking out about it, and it's making me paranoid because I haven't been able to watch it yet because it's not available where I am for some reason.

(throws tiny temper tantrum of pettiness)

Definitely one of the best of the series. are the kids going to be, like, three-way CE Os now? Does Roman go back to CTO and Shiv gets shafted while Kendall runs everything?

Yeah, this is gonna be the "you had to be there" episode of this year's crop of TV shows, I feel. I am still thinking about it.

The mid season trailer implies that the kids + the inner circle will be throwing their hats in the ring for CEO. I like seeing the sibs working together but I wonder how long that would last since their Enemy Mine is gone.

Holy shit. They fucking did it. I never thought they would, after the bullshit surrounding it in Season 1 and trying to forget what happened with it.

The way it happens too is insane. He's shown looking completely normal, as the political animal he is. And then, he just...vanishes. Even as he's dying, we barely see him.

And everyone's reactions is just pure agony, confusion and delirium. This was a fucking Wham Episode if I ever saw it. Masterfully done.

Man. Just as as soon as the siblings were starting to get together, something Logan did causes their individual egos to spiral out of control again.

Also, man is it satisfying to see Tom grovel and be rejected by literally everyone. He and Greg are more alike then they ever were before.

Sweet Jesus, this new episode capsulated a bunch of old feelings from 2016 I never wanted to revisit...

Before last night's election I figured they would prematurely and wrongly call the election for Mencken, and, uh, I've a feeling that last part might still happen. Wisconsin somehow turns out Dem after all, Tom and/or Roman's heads roll?

Edited by Synchronicity on May 15th 2023 at 12:57:30 PM

Or alternatively, Mencken turns on Roman and tries to shut down Waystar in the process, arresting the Roy siblings when they try to stop it.

Regardless of what happens, this is gonna be a massive shitshow.

Kieran Culkin was the episode MVP today: his breaking down at the funeral where even a hater like me just held uncomfortable pity for the wannabe-fascist fucker. And his fascist ex-boyfriend Menken's now teasing him as the 'Grim Weeper'! And that schadenfreude-heavy clip's likely going viral! And he didn't even get his wannabe martyr complex fulfilled with those protestors!

Yeah, after all this time seeing Roman's Sad Clown persona put at the forefront of his personality, seeing him actually lose it was insane. Can't say he didn't deserve it after everything he's done, but it comes from a very human place, so it makes sense.

I'm not one to participate in the forums outside of trope related things, but just coming in to say what an absolutely fantastic finale and an incredible television series. Something about writers with a vision and a very distinct story to tell setting out and doing just that, not prolonging it needlessly. Every major character with a complete and thematically resonant arc while also telling a compelling story about family dysfunction, parental failings and abuse, the excess and corrupting force of wealth and capitalism, and the tragedy of allowing petty jealousies and rivalries kill any shot of meaningful human connection. Can't wait to do a rewatch, tbh

To put it this way: the writing is almost Shakespearean, it's the most high-stakes soap opera ever, and it has had its female fans yelling at the TV like guys watching the game on a Sunday night.

I actually watched a vid not too long ago that analyzed the series using King Lear and Titus Adronicus that was really well done [1]. I knew about the KL parallels but I never read TA. I found it a good watch