Breaking Bad has its advocates, The Sopranos, The Wire, Friends, The Simpsons and West Wing.
All are contenders and, like Succession, all are American.
Of course we have Emmerdale and The Dick Emery Show to fight our corner but it’s clear that America rules the waves when it comes to TV greatness.
Having come to a satisfactory and clean cut ending on Monday (they “stuck the landing”) Jesse Armstrong’s outrageous creation can now take its place in this Pantheon of greatness.
Everything about Succession, all 40 hours of it, is close to perfection. At its heart it’s a sitcom Shakespearean tragedy with so many subplots to keep the drama purring along that there’s never any down time.
Let’s consider the cast:
It’s led by the childhood-abused rugged self made Scotsman from Dundee, Logan Roy, who nearly died on the Atlantic crossing. He’s played by Brian Cox in a career defining role. He’s evil incarnate and yet there’s something about him that magnetises viewers. Allegedly NOT Rupert Murdoch, instead he’s an amalgam of Murdoch and Maxwell with maybe a few despots thrown in for good measure. Used sparingly throughout, every moment of on screen time with Cox is gold.
Kendall Roy, the eldest son of Logan’s second marriage to a highfalutin’ English damsel called Caroline (a grotesque caricature of English privilege and monstrous parenting skills), and killer of a waiter in the early episodes – he carries this guilt with him. He may be the natural successor, but Logan mercilessly plays with his lack of confidence and makes him a nervous wreck. Mark Strong allegedly played this character as method and never misses a beat.
Roman Roy, The crown prince jester, also sexually abused as a child hence the reason he has this outrageous older woman fetish and desire for C Suite big noise Gerri Kelman who he fires/unfires on a whim. It’s a mess but Roman , like the devil, has all the best lines. A recent favourite being when his sister declares herself pregnant he blurts “Am I the father?”. Keiran Culkin is a God, to be able to play that part with such aplomb, in my view.
Shiv Roy played by the latterly pregnant (in real life AND on screen) Australian actress Sarah Snook has an outwardly pleasant demeanour but is, in fact, a total horror and arguably even more ambitious than her two horrendous brother. She will stop at no point to overcome their male entitlement and her rocky marriage to Tom Wambsgams is both a potential ticket to glory and a millstone around her neck. Her micro acting skills are off the scale.
Tom Wambsgans is married to Shiv. He’s a nervous wreck, a creep, a bully and implicated in a scandal that killed a bunch of people on a cruise liner owned by The Roys. He is the eager beaver that has only one outlet for his frustration, the weasel like wannabe Cousin Greg. Together they are “the disgusting brothers’ and play a beautiful pantomime sideshow act that never fails to entertain.
Cousin Greg is a loser and an idiot (although apparently the show’s break out sex symbol). He’s like a corporate Bambi, but underneath that gormless facade he’s actually quite smart and scheming. As the show comes to an end Cousin Greg is given his season in the sun.
Conor Roy, the eldest son and wannabe US President (FFS) is from an earlier marriage and is not connected to the business at all. He’s the butt of many jokes and is the least hateful family member. Nevertheless he is a dufus and deserves no place in civilised company. He has a majestically hideous young trophy bride, Willa, played coldly by Justine Lupe.
The Greek chorus, but all key players in their own right, and all complicit in Logan’s disgusting greed and ambition, is the “C-Suite” of Frank (the Chair), Gerri (the CEO), Karolina (PR/Comms) Hugo (also comms), and Karl (FD) – they’re great alone or together.
Then there’s takeover targets like Stewie and Mattson (one of the stand out characters of series 3/4 played by Alexander Skarsgaad – a genuine movie star).
Put all these A listers together, with the great show runner in Jesse Armstrong, and a writer’s room (many British writers as it happens) to die for, and you end up with a TV programme that is funnier than anything else on TV and more dramatic than any other show on TV. It’s a unique combination and, for me at least, the greatest TV show of all time.
Thanks Jesse, it was delicious.
gibberish 