4 reasons to binge dark, brilliant Succession

The bitingly funny HBO drama follows the dysfunctional Roy family, who control one of the biggest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world. With patriarch Logan Roy ageing and ailing, his four adult children jockeyed for position throughout Season 1 but as Season 2 picks up, the Roys are struggling to retain control of their empire in a rapidly changing media landscape.

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Where to stream Succession

Update: Succession S3 is streaming first on Showmax express from the US now, with new episodes weekly until 13 December. Binge S1-2 in the meantime.

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Here are four reasons to add it to your watchlist immediately:

1. Nicholas Britell’s theme song won an Emmy – and just got remixed by Pusha T

Sometimes a show just screams quality from the first frame. In Succession’s case, it’s from the first note of Nicholas Britell’s main title theme music, which won the Emmy this year and has just been remixed by Pusha T. Britell, a former hedge fund manager, was nominated for Oscars for his work with Barry Jenkins on Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, but Succession might just be his best work yet.

2. Jesse Armstrong’s script won the Emmy

If you’re looking for new ways to insult your nemesis, Jesse Armstrong’s script for Succession is priceless ammunition, a worthy successor to the recently departed Veep. But while Armstrong’s barbed wit is peerless, Succession won the Drama Writing Emmy because it delivers so much more than laughs: it’s as much a corporate thriller and Shakespearean family tragedy as it is a black comedy.

Remarkably, Armstrong manages to not just make you care what happens to awful people who are awfully rich, he manages to leave you feeling better about your own family and bank balance. As Rachel Cooke put it in The New Statesman, “Afterwards, I always feel quite indescribably good about myself.” 

3. Holly Hunter just joined the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominated cast

Oscar winner Holly Hunter (The Piano) joins the Succession cast in Season 2 as Rhea Jarrell, the CEO of a rival media giant. Other new faces this season include 2019 Emmy winner Cherry Jones (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Golden Globe nominee Danny Huston (Wolverine). Not that the Succession cast needed any bulking up: Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and yes, Home Alone) was nominated for a 2019 Golden Globe as Logan’s youngest son Roman Roy; Matthew Macfadyen (Mr Darcy in the 2005 film of Pride & Prejudice) was up for a Critics’ Choice Award as his brother-in-law-to-be Tom, and the impressive cast already included Golden Globe nominee Brian Cox (Adaptation, X-Men 2, Deadwood) as Logan, Screen Actors Guild nominee Jeremy Strong (The Big Short) as Kendall, and multi-award winners like Hiam Abbas (Ramy, Blade Runner 2049) and Sarah Snook (The Dressmaker), not to mention Alan Ruck (Speed, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) as Connor and Nicholas Braun (10 Things I Hate About You, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) as the scene-stealing Cousin Greg. 

4. Critics love it and awards follow it

Earlier this year, Season 1 won Best International Series at the BAFTAs and TV Program of the Year at AFI, and earned five Emmy nominations, including Best Drama, winning two. Season 2 currently has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus is, “Succession returns in darkly funny form, with sharp writing, exceptional performances, and a surprising new level of sympathy for some of television’s least likeable characters.”

There’s been no shortage of superlatives used to describe the show: The New Statesman called it, “Just about the best thing I’ve ever seen on television;” The Globe and Mail “the kind of masterpiece no movie can match;” the UK’s Sunday Times “Exceptional. Nothing succeeds like this drama;” and The Guardian “As ruthless and flawless as ever.” The Hollywood Reporter even went as far as to complain that it deserved more Emmys, writing: “The Emmys did recognize Succession but not nearly enough… This series is doing something special and the rich rewards will be coming.”