I may be a bit late to writing about this series as it ended in May of 2023, but I truly believe this is one of the best shows I’ve watched in recent years and I desperately need to share my thoughts on it. 

Of course, it’s well known that Succession is a great series, having been nominated for over a hundred major television awards across all four of its seasons. The show does a fantastic job of developing characters in a way that makes sense in context, and the amount of effort the actors put into the show is evident in almost every single scene.

This HBO drama follows the billionaire Roy family. The father, Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox), is the owner and CEO of the company Waystar Royco. Logan’s four adult children, Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Sioban (Sarah Snook) believe it is time for him to retire and hand over leadership of the company to one of them. The problem is Logan isn’t ready to give up his leadership of the company, and he doesn’t believe any of his children are qualified enough to take his place. The show follows the Roy children across various penthouses, private jets, and vacation villas as they deal with false promises, first world problems, and family drama, all while fighting for their father’s approval.

Also tagging along throughout the show is Sioban’s husband Tom (Matthew Macfayden) and Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), who act not only as comic relief, but just like regular guys who don’t come from an extremely wealthy family, which kind of gives you perspective to just how privileged these characters are.

Now, this may be the musician in me speaking here, but my personal favorite part of the show is its soundtrack. It’s not often you notice the soundtrack of a television show, which may be why Succession’s soundtrack is so memorable to me. The creators of the show use variations of the show’s opening song in scenes that relate to the overall theme of the show: who takes over the company. What’s really impressive about this use of the theme is how each of the different arrangements of music are able to enhance the emotion of a particular scene and even give a little more insight into the feelings of the characters in that moment. 

One of my favorite musical moments in the show is at the very end when the problem the entire show has been leading up to, the succession of the company, is resolved. The music used in the final scenes of the final episode is the same rhythm, but a slightly different melody, emphasizing the idea that the company is entering a new era.

Overall, I give the show five out of five stars. I will say you do have to focus on it, you can’t just have the show on in the background while you’re doing something else or you’ll refocus and have no idea what’s going on. I really enjoy the use of music to enhance emotion and highly recommend this show to anyone who enjoys an intellectual TV drama.

★★★★★