Contemptible characters a joy to watch in ‘Succession’
“Succession” feels like it was conjured by “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin’s evil twin brother.
Instead of using the power of language to cast flawed but inherently decent protagonists in a saintly glow, the creators have gathered a despicable cast of characters — and keep piling on the backstabbing, setbacks and humiliations. At a time in our country when the income gap keeps widening and faith in leadership wanes, the show’s joy comes from a reassurance that, yes, it’s way better right now to be in the middle class.
The new HBO drama had
the potential to collapse under the weight of its negativity, and that could still happen in subsequent seasons. But the first seven-episode round is solid, and occasionally soars, behind the strong direction and writing. Even when it borders on ridiculous (Episode 3 has a high-rise, self-gratification scene by Kieran Culkin that deserves its own review), you’ll want to dive into the next episode.
“Succession” was created by Jesse Armstong, a British comedy writer who seems very comfortable in the American swamp. He has the perfect consiglieri in executive producer and pilot episode director Adam McKay, who infuses the DNA of the show with “The Big Short”-style schadenfreude and woe.
Brian Cox is the marquee name as Logan Roy, an aging Master of the Universe who renegs on a deal to pass his entertainment conglomerate to his children. But the drama hinges on an outstanding performance by Jeremy Strong as Kendall, the aggressive son
who is obviously in way over his head, but is too driven by ambition to stop himself from hurtling forward into destruction.
The cast is rounded out with Culkin as spoiled, joy-seeking youngest son Roman, and Sarah Snook who excels as Shiv, arguably the smartest of the group. She is held back by her gender and longterm boyfriend Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), who may be the biggest screwup in the family.
“Succession” is a world without subtlety, a fact that is telegraphed from the opening moments, when a disoriented Logan urinates on his own carpet (dementia appears to be setting in), while Kendall fires himself up for his big promotion by horribly singing Beastie Boys and being a stereotypical rich jerk to his driver.
The negative traits are amplified even more in their personal lives.
“I’m not sure if I love you,” Kendall is told by his estranged wife. “Yeah you do,” he says, oblivious to how pathetic he sounds. You get the feeling that every rumor to ever surface about Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch has been shoehorned into the plot.
But while the individual scenes can be blunt to the point of distraction, the narrative is as symphonic as the classical music score. (Composer Nicholas Britell, nominated for an Academy Award for his “Moonlight” score, favors building strings, and is a behind-the-scenes MVP.)
Armstrong and his team understand the binge-watching potential for the material down the road, and craft the story accordingly, with a flair for quick pacing followed by an end-of-episode twist or shock.
Nicholas Braun brings some much-needed, pure comic relief, as a bumbling nephew whom we meet wearing a theme park costume and getting pummeled by children before vomiting out the costume’s mesh eye holes. The fact that his character gets more fun than that is a tribute to the outside-the-box thinking of the writers, who are good for one moment memorable enough to instantly resonate on social media, in each episode.
Some scenes — some entire characters — don’t ring true. (The comparisons to “Billions” on Showtime begin there.) Culkin’s Roman is entertaining, but particularly unbelievable in the boardroom scenes, and his plot turns are particularly hard to digest. In a world where there’s more than one company to work for, it seems impossible anyone would continue to sit in a board room where he’s present.
But “Succession” is the opposite of documentary. Anyone working in an entertainment corporation should find something else to do on Sunday nights — or commission Sorkin to write a counterpoint. Armstrong, and producers McKay and Will Ferrell, seem to be trying to entertain, and also work out some aggression.
This new series is a release, crafted by experienced creators who have a pretty good grasp on the elitist behavior that angers the masses. It’s smart yet relatively mindless entertainment, made for a time when that kind of escape is most welcome.