Award winner “Succession”
That’s why there’s no getting around the series
Brian Cox as media patriarch Logan Roy in “Succession.”
© HBO/Colin Hutton
“Succession” is once again rushing from award to award. If you still haven’t started, you should consider it for these reasons.
Like about a week ago at the Golden Globes, “Succession” also dominated the Emmy Awards on Monday evening. The final fourth season of the HBO series won one award after the other, just like the seasons before. Showrunner Jesse Armstrong (53) also won with his mixture of fictional family drama and real role models already won the double at the Globes and the Emmys for “Best Drama Series” in 2020 and 2022. In total, “Succession” won over 80 awards.
For everyone who has so far avoided the successful series (seen via Sky and Wow), but has become even more curious due to the new award hype: This is what “Succession” newcomers can look forward to – and this is what they have to be prepared for make.
The search for a successor – that’s what it’s all about
At the center of the four seasons and each of the 39 episodes is a bitter power struggle. Family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox, 77) is an influential media mogul among the most powerful and richest people in the world. But increasing age, his deteriorating health and the annoying shareholders mean that he reluctantly has to look for a successor.
He has no shortage of potential candidates – Logan Roy has three sons Connor (Alan Ruck, 67), Kendall (Jeremy Strong, 45) and Roman (Kieran Culkin, 41) as well as daughter Shiv (Sarah Snook, 36). But he sees good reasons for each of his children as to why they are not suitable to take over his gigantic empire. While Roy is not prepared to give up his power prematurely, the younger generation is busy sawing away at his throne – sometimes together, but mostly each individually on a different leg of the chair.
Shakespeare meets soap opera
“Succession” offers a mix that has rarely been seen before. So creator Armstrong strives to create a basic story that aims to compete with Shakespeare. The Roys’ internal family power struggle borrows numerous aspects from the play “King Lear” without much effort to disguise it.
The real role model for the unscrupulous power man Logan Roy is just as clear: Like Rupert Murdoch (92), the main character of “Succession” also runs a sensational media company that is so deeply rooted that its influence on politics and society can no longer be overlooked can. And like Murdoch, Roy can’t and doesn’t want to give up any of his power. The former only resigned in September of last year and at the age of 92. With its series counterpart, however, a more drastic incident is necessary for the change at the top…
At the same time, “Succession” is not above garnishing its intrigue with twists and revelations that practically scream “soap opera”: betrayal and affairs, exaggerated last-second escalations and surprising deaths – all of this is also present in “Succession”. see. With oil instead of (fake) news and the family name Ewing instead of Roy – but basically with a very similar family dispute – the series “Dallas” matured into a phenomenon over four decades ago.
Repulsive and attractive at the same time
Like numerous other films and series, “Succession” also aims at the slogan “Eat the Rich”. In pop culture, this refers to works that criticize the decadence through their display of almost obscene decadence. “Saltburn” is currently causing a stir in films with this premise, previously the films “Parasite” and “Triangle of Sadness”. The series “The White Lotus” also uses this route.
What “Succession” masters masterfully in every single episode is an ambivalent form of entertainment. On the one hand, you loathe every fiber of this unworldly, mutually tearing family of pukes and are delighted when they choke on caviar. On the other hand, the viewer finds himself peering voyeuristically into the everyday lives of the top percent of the top percent and falling into the thought of how he himself would deal with such wealth.
There are absurd moments to be seen: a son who begs his father for “a few 100 million” in the same way that ordinary mortals bum a cigarette. A big shot in Roy’s company who already has one foot in prison and is worried about the poor selection of wine behind bars. Distrust within the family that goes so far that one’s own grandson has to act as a taster. Some scenes are staged so bitterly that they become humorous, others are deeply tragic.
The cast – the silverware
In order for this balancing act to succeed, the cast of “Succession” is required. Most film and series fans will already have known that Brian Cox is an outstanding character impersonator. But the fact that Macaulay Culkin’s (43) little brother Kieran (41) can keep up with Cox and even steal the show in some scenes is surprising. Just like the two main actors Sarah Snook and Jeremy Strong, who operated largely under the radar before “Succession” and are now on everyone’s lips.
What is perhaps the greatest achievement of the ensemble: Although the characters spend virtually every second of their lives beating each other up, you can still believe that they feel a twisted form of love for each other outside of all the intrigue. But since empathy is the only thing the Roys don’t have in abundance, they’ve learned to get by with what little they have.