HBO Succession

[tommie]

Good season premiere, but I'll have to admit I had to read up on a lot of a stuff to remind me what the whole cruise scandal was about. All I can say is that they definitively "me-too'd" it up - the cruise scandal wasn't just about sexual harassment was it? It was about them covering up all sorts of shady shit (including potentially murders, drug dealings etc) that had been going on, but in the season premiere it all seemed very singularly focused on that one aspect. Maybe it's a commentary about how media can't handle more complex affairs and will focus on one thing, or maybe it'll all come back later.

I genuinely just want to punch Greg in the face at this point. And push him off a building. I get what they are going for with him, but at this point all his scenes seem like an unpleasant distraction in the midst of all the tension that's going on.

 

[Emelee]

I am loving that the show is back! Can Logan possibly be a worse father? Well, you get the kids you raise. He seems to have most respect for Kendall, yet he hates him the most. Or does he? He wanted a killer for his successor and Kendall stepped up.

Roman completely ruined his chances of CEO with that phone call. He was anything but firm and cool. Then Shiv couldn't score her friend to their side, so she was out. And Connor... completely forgotten about, again. How long will he let it slide? He seemed annoyed this time.

It was really good to see Kendall's ex-wife Rava again. I hope she will be supportive. But will she be okay with that horrible Naomi much longer?

I can't imagine a happy outcome for anyone of these characters. Tom & Greg aren't really family, so they are likely to be thrown under the bus first if things turn nasty. Logan is old and his golden days are behind him. His last few years will be filled with conflict and his company weakened. Kendall will probably fight till the bitter end and self-destruct. Roman isn't strong or smart enough to be the lone winner on top. Shiv is bound to make some errors in judgement. Connor is probably the one in the family who will either be sacrificed first or be the last one standing.

But I am Team Kendall.

 

[tommie]

I felt bad for poor Shiv at the end of the episode. She looked so defeated in that car.

 

[tommie]

I didn't feel bad for Kendall at all - he wanted to play dirty and Shiv played dirty back. He tried to make himself "The Respectable Roy" and she shot him down, boom.

 

[Grant Jennings]

I noticed that Logan lives across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art which places his apartment on 5th Avenue. The street number is 991, the current owner is the American Irish Historical Society which put the building on the market this past January at a listing price of $52 million. Location filming is done outside and in the lobby but the interiors are filmed on a soundstage in Long Island City (in Queens). The actual building is only 25' wide with windows at front and back (plus a small light-shaft and several skylights).

Here's an historical photo of the building (it's the one with the awnings), the other buildings have since been demolished and replaced.


A recent photo showing the building being dwarfed by its neighbors.

 

[Grant Jennings]

This is the drawing room of 991 5th Avenue:


Here is the reception room of Logan's apartment, it appears to be reduced in scale from the actual room:


Logan's sitting room, which opens via French doors from the reception room, does not exist in the actual house as it would be part of the neighboring building and would not have side windows:

 

[Angela Channing]

I'm late to the Succession party but I've started watching season 1. There has been so much chat about its return recently that I thought I would take a look at what so many people have been raving about. I'm 4 episodes in and it's taken me that long to warm to the characters and the storyline and I'm beginning to like it.

Larry Hagman used to say what attracted him to Dallas was when he read the script there wasn't a nice character in it, you could say the same thing about Succession, although I'm not suggesting it's as good as Dallas.

 

[Richard Channing]

. I'm 4 episodes in and it's taken me that long to warm to the characters and the storyline and I'm beginning to like it.

I think it took me that long to get into it too. I also wasn't a fan or the camera work but I got used to it. So glad I stuck with it though because it really is one of the best shows on TV right now, and it just gets better with every season. And it somehow manages to make you like and root for the most unlikable bunch of characters imaginable. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts as you get further into it.

 

[tommie]

Larry Hagman used to say what attracted him to Dallas was when he read the script there wasn't a nice character in it, you could say the same thing about Succession, although I'm not suggesting it's as good as Dallas.

Yeah, I think that's what puts people off at first in a world where we usually have rootable characters to identify with - no one is really that nice and the most I usually feel for any of them isn't sympathy, it's pity.

 

[Angela Channing]

I've finished season 1 and really enjoyed it. I think Succession is the nearest we currently have to a contemporary version of the 1980s prime time soap operas in that it's a story of a dysfunctional family running a powerful family business headed by a ruthless and intimidating business person. Just replace vineyards of Falcon Crest or the oil wells of Dallas with media empire and it's the same set up.

 

[Emelee]

Watched episodes 3-5 of season 3 tonight. I honestly think this series is top 5 series of all time, up there with Seinfeld and Twin Peaks.

I am 100% (10000%) rooting for Kendall even though I know he will always self-destruct. Jeremy Strong is such a good actor that I can physically feel Kendall's pain and conflicted feelings.

I was laughing out loud watching Shiv, Roman, Con, Gerri, Tom, Greg, Frank etc etc running around like headless chickens not knowing what to do. All I kept thinking was that Logan will hit the roof when he came to. I bet Logan wishes that any of his other kids backstabbed him instead of Kendall.

I also love the loaded scenes with Logan & Kendall. No words are needed, they tell a whole story by just sitting quietly in a scene together. But it was very nice to see Kendall almost carry Logan. He obviously doesn't hate his father, he just hates what he does.

The highly complex family relationships will always bond them. All others can easily be collateral damage. I think Shiv will be okay with Tom going to jail if it will save the company. I can feel Tom's hurt. He gets nothing even though he offered to go to jail. Absolutely nothing. Shiv is brutal.

Connor desperately trying to get anything is both hysterically funny and painful. None of his family members can even bother to talk to him even though he's the oldest child. He really does not matter. He is like air. But now that he wants something (be President one day), so he can no longer stay away.

And Greg... good luck with Greenpeace!

 

[Angela Channing]

Watched episodes 3-5 of season 3 tonight. I honestly think this series is top 5 series of all time, up there with Seinfeld and Twin Peaks.

I've not yet watched episode 5 but so far I think season 3 is the best yet.

 

[Emelee]

Excitied to see the Roy children's mother Caroline (Harriet Walter) again and also Alexander Skarsgård in some role. Both will be on this season. I love Caroline and how the magnificent Harriet Walter portrays her. I wonder if she will show any real interest in her children this time around or continue to be refreshingly unbothered.

 

[Jabari Lamar]

Matthew Macfadyen on sex scenes, Succession and his A-list marriage​

 

[Rove]

although I'm not suggesting it's as good as Dallas.

Just as well. I haven't seen Succession but I've heard good things about it. The problem with many of these watchable series is they end up on another streaming service witch I'm reluctant to pay for. At the moment I subscribe to Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney+. I'll be dropping Amazon Prime when the final season of The Expanse concludes. Another series which I'd like to watch is Yellowstone but again it's on another streaming service. The beauty of Dallas in its prime was it screened on commercial television so it had a broader reach. The problem I'm seeing now with many of these streaming services is their survival hinges on one successful series. While I'd like to watch Succession it's currently tucked away in the corner somewhere.

 

[Emelee]

Just as well. I haven't seen Succession but I've heard good things about it. The problem with many of these watchable series is they end up on another streaming service witch I'm reluctant to pay for. At the moment I subscribe to Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney+. I'll be dropping Amazon Prime when the final season of The Expanse concludes. Another series which I'd like to watch is Yellowstone but again it's on another streaming service. The beauty of Dallas in its prime was it screened on commercial television so it had a broader reach. The problem I'm seeing now with many of these streaming services is their survival hinges on one successful series. While I'd like to watch Succession it's currently tucked away in the corner somewhere.

HBO Max is my favourite streaming services. Lots of great stuff, old & new. Why not get it for 3 months, watch everything you want to see, and then end the prescription?

 

[tommie]

I don't think you can really compare it to Dallas - a show that was built to have 22+ episodes per season and run indefinitively, while Succession only has about 10 episodes and isn't planned to run longer than five seasons. They come from entirely different point of views.

 

[Rove]

I don't think you can really compare it to Dallas - a show that was built to have 22+ episodes per season

I do miss that era. The beauty of watching Dallas was allowing us to sink ourselves into the Ewing Universe whereas many series like Succession have to be rapid fire storytelling because...well...viewers today apparently don't have the patience.

 

[tommie]

I do miss that era. The beauty of watching Dallas was allowing us to sink ourselves into the Ewing Universe whereas many series like Succession have to be rapid fire storytelling because...well...viewers today apparently don't have the patience.

I wouldn't say Succession has rapid-fire storytelling honestly. Last episode took place in one night - with that said, it's a very consciously written show that's not meant to last forever.

 

[Willie Oleson]

while Succession only has about 10 episodes and isn't planned to run longer than five seasons.

Although it's more fun when you don't know that it's going to be 5 seasons.