Is Succession Any Good? A Full Review

In simple terms, Succession is a show about a rich family looking for a perfect scion for their large business empire. However, Succession is anything but a simple show. Rumored to be based on the Murdoch family, Succession has politics, emotions and paints an astonishingly vivid picture of a dysfunctional family.

1.Quick Review

Succession is one of those shows that gets better every season. It has a unique charm that will appeal to lovers of dark humor and complex characters.

2.Series and Info Links

Succession: Season 1 | Official Trailer | HBO

3.Is It Worth Watching?

The show is filled with witty writing and winning performances.

I.Plot

Logan Roy is the head of the media conglomerate Waystar Royco. As he approaches his 80^th birthday, his family is expecting him to step down from his position in the business and pass on the mantle to his heir.

However, on his 80^th birthday, Logan announces that he will not be giving up his position as CEO of the company anytime soon. His children are dissatisfied with the announcement and in the middle of one of their arguments, Logan suffers from a hemorrhagic stroke.

He is taken to the hospital and his family, including his children Kendall, Siobhan (Shiv), Connor and Roman, decide to make some arrangements in case of their father’s death. Kendall is chosen as the acting CEO of Waystar while Roman becomes the COO.

Kendall saves the company from a crushing financial setback but the company stock slips down.

But Logan recovers from the stroke and announces that he will be coming back as CEO of the company, relieving Kendall from the position.

As the tussle of finding a successor continues, each sibling shows a new side to their selves. The family gets drawn into an extremely tense situation where anyone can stab the other in the back to get what they want.

But is it the elderly patriarch who is being played by his family? Or is it the other way round? Will Waystar Royco ever find a worthy CEO who will be able to lead the company out of its economic crisis?

II.Detailed Analysis

Succession could easily have been a cliched story about four siblings trying to one-up each other to claim the throne of the family business. But the show proves that it is in a different league by not falling victim to this lazy writing.

The storyline is nuanced and the dialogues are crisp. It does not show the uber-rich as people whom you would identify with. Their opulence has made monsters out of them and they are ready to go to monstrous lengths to keep the opulence to themselves.

That the rich are complicated people is very evident in the show and the characters embody that message. None of the characters are people whom you can root for. In fact, most of the characters are downright hateable.

What also makes Succession a success is that the elderly patriarch of the Roy family is not a saint. Logan is actively involved in the scheming. The series progresses because of his inability to let go of his company. He is willing to sacrifice his relationships and his family to keep Waystar Royco to himself.

But no emotion that you feel for the characters is constant. It changes over a few episodes, sometimes even within one episode.

III.Characters

Even though the characters are pretty horrible, they are the biggest draw of the show. Their vileness allows no limit to what they can do and that makes the show exciting. There are quite a few amazing characters to look out for in the show.

Of course, Logan, played by Brian Cox, is a great character. His cold attitude towards his family makes him greatly dislikeable.

Then there is Matthew Macfayden as Tom Wambsgans. He is not related to the Roy family by blood. But if his efforts at sycophancy could change that, he would be Logan’s own son. He marries Siobhan, the only daughter of the Roy family in an attempt to get into the family.

However, the character that steals the show is Kendall Roy. Jeremy Strong plays Kendall, the one who is supposed to inherit the family business but is always cheated out of it. Jeremy Strong won an Emmy for his portrayal as Kendall.

 He struggles with substance abuse and a broken relationship with his wife but if there is any character that deserves any sympathy, it is him. Jeremy Strong throws himself into the character and the result is excellent.

4.Grade

5.Final Thoughts

Succession was a great but slightly unsure show in its first season but as it progressed to its second, it realizes its full potential. If you are a fan of dark comedy and inexplicably complex characters, Succession will probably become one of your favorite shows.

The show has been renewed for a third season since no one could ascend the Waystar Royco throne. One can only expect the third season to be bigger and better than the first two.