Succession

“Sumner’s constant demands on Brandon, not to mention his pursuit of some of the same women, contributed to a sometimes awkward relationship between grandfather and grandson.” (Unscripted, page 46)

Some 20 years ago, at an RTS dinner, I found myself sitting next to a billionaire entertainment mogul, a man few people would have recognised if they had passed him in the street, but whose influence over what we watched on television and in the cinema was huge.

Jesse Armstrong’s scathing satire of the super-rich follows Logan Roy, the tyrannical patriarch of a media dynasty, and his family’s endless infighting for his throne. All of the characters, especially the siblings Kendall, Shiv, Roman and Connor, are dripping with dysfunction – “daddy issues” doesn’t even begin to cover it. But so rich and layered is the writing that the roots of the dysfunction lie deep in the subtext.

Succession

Monday

Sky Atlantic, 9pm

The series three finale saw the squabbling siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) finally settle their differences to unite against their tyrannical patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Although, they were unable to stop the sale of the family's media conglomerate to tech magnate Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård).

The trailer sees it edge ever closer, provoking existential angst and more familial division among the Roys as they try to anticipate what their lives will look like if and when the deal is completed.

Captioned "The rebel alliance," the teaser sees Logan Roy, the patriarch of the toxic media mogul family, face up to what could be the biggest threat to his reign yet. 

After some major betrayals in series three, the siblings - or the "new gen Roys" - look to be uniting against their tyrannical father in a bid to take over Waystar Royco. Among them are Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Alan Ruck, and Sarah Snook as Roman, Kendall, Connor and Shiv.

In August 2020, as the pandemic raged in the US, a tweet by LA-based writer Julia Claire went viral: “Do people understand that if they don’t wear their masks and physically distance, we’re never going to get a third season of Succession???”

Now, after a two-year delay, HBO’s hit show has finally returned with all the familial backstabbing, billion-­dollar machinations and poetic profanity we have come to love from the media magnate Logan Roy and his squabbling, super-rich children.

Created by Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show), the series follows ageing media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his children Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Connor (Alan Ruck) as they jockey for position in the race to be named successor of the family media empire Waystar Royco.

Succession’s third series is currently airing on Sky and NOW in the UK, with the Roy family entering a full-blown civil war after son Kendall’s whistle-blowing about the conglomerate’s historical sex offences sending the company into a tailspin.

Succession

Monday

Sky Atlantic, 2.00am/9.00pm

After months of hype, Succession finally picks up from series two’s jaw dropping finale.

Following Kendall’s (Jeremy Strong) public betrayal of his father, Logan (Brian Cox), in series two’s explosive finale, the trailer sees the Roy family forced to take sides.

The number one criterion for the Roys has always been personal gain, and true to form, Shiv (Sarah Snook) is seen to be negotiating for the better deal.

Series favourites Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) also feature, and it seems the latter’s part in Kendall’s stunt has soured their already toxic friendship.

Loosely inspired, it is said, by the Murdochs, the Roy family of Succession boasts some of the most complex characters on the small screen. Series 2 saw the Roy siblings vying to ascend the Waystar Royco throne once the aging, raging patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) finally steps down.

Sports journalist Roger Bennett hosts with infectious enthusiasm. His emphatic introductions to each actor have become something of a trademark. He breezily steers the conversation from their origins to the peaks and valleys of their Succession characters’ story arcs.