Succession

Despite the strength of its ensemble cast, Succession is a feat of writing above all. ... Succession aims to show us that the world of these capitalist monarchs is cruel, funny, and desperately sad, and on the strength of this first episode succeeds entirely.

The writing is so creatively foul that it fills the gap left by its sibling in crudeness, Veep. ... Succession is skilled at steadily and surely raising its characters up to multidimensional horrors. ... Its boldest move is to refuse to give these monsters any sort of comeuppance, but that unrelenting bleakness works in its favour and makes it all the more convincing.

[Season 2] takes the show to a level of insight and theatricality that rivals anything else on television this year. ... In case it’s unclear: Season 2 is extraordinary. Jesse Armstrong, the show’s creator, finds new levels of horror to mine in Succession’s autopsy of the ultrarich, but he also finds pathos, which elevates the show even further.

Succession keeps moving forward in ways both surprising and hilarious, and Season 2 solidifies the series as one of the best shows in HBO history.

The thing to embrace and appreciate with Succession in this second season is just how superbly and seemingly effortlessly structured it is with its grandiose plotting; other than making us care about the Roys, that's the next-level miracle. The Emmys did recognize Succession but not nearly enough, by the way. This series is doing something special and the rich rewards will be coming.

Its eagerness to condemn the country’s terrifying trajectory, along with its efficiency and artistry, is what makes the drama great — the fun it has doing so is what makes it one-of-kind.

Succession is not made to be binge watched. It’s engrossing, as a world that’s easy to immerse oneself in, but there is a kind of shadowy, icky feeling that follows you when you’ve consumed too much. That’s not the show’s fault.

While it's fair to wonder if this is a crown worth inheriting, frequent Shakespearean allusions remind us how timeless is the appeal of these sagas of wealth, raw ambition, power and influence. [19 Aug - 1 Sep 2019, p.12]

One of TV’s best shows. In Season 2, “Succession” continues to demonstrate that unlikable characters can make for riveting TV. ... “Succession” is good, nasty fun.

As with Strong, the storylines ask more of all three cast members, all of whom rise to the challenge, revealing vulnerabilities and capabilities only glimpsed in the first season.

Succession somehow makes the high-stakes machinations of self-centered, awful, filthy rich people a whole lot of fun.

This is a show of substance, an excellent story for a troubling moment in history, but it’s also just a very good time. The Roys are terrible people, but they make for excellent guests—on the screen in one’s living room, if nowhere else.

You feel for a Kendall or a Shiv in the way that you might feel for an apex predator in a wildlife documentary that fell off a cliff while chasing prey. You watch the Roys with something akin to scientific fascination. We’re learning about how the monsters live and reproduce and dominate us, generation after generation. They’re up in the hunting towers, and we’re the boars.

Some fans of the first season took a while to warm to it—a measure, perhaps, of the characters’ loathsomeness. This season digs into their self-loathing. The conversations are hazing rituals.

The new season is less funny than the first but more urgent.

Despite its gloom, “Succession,” which is up for best drama series at this year’s Emmy Awards, is extremely watchable and about as easy to ignore as a hangnail. In addition to its Didion-esque ability to illuminate the subtle evils along its margins, the show simmers with vile dialogue.

The world of the Roy family has opened up, yielding a meaningful understanding not merely of the lust for power but of what that power can do, and what privileges it strips away.