Plot: Season three finds Logan in a perilous position, scrambling to secure familial, political, and financial alliances after he was ambushed by his rebellious son Kendall. After Kendall’s impulsive decision to expose the company’s sprawling scandal, the family is left to each contemplate their future. Tensions rise as a bitter corporate battle threatens to turn into a family civil war, with the Roy family navigating the looming question of who will take over in a post-Logan world.
Review: In 2018, Succession premiered mere weeks before Kevin Costner’s drama Yellowstone. Both series followed family dynasties as they struggled with the transition from one generation to the next. Yellowstone has become a pop culture hit while Succession has garnered critical acclaim and honors from the Golden Globes and Emmys as Drama Series of the Year. As the show returns for its third season, Succession continues to be a pitch-black blend of drama and humor through a satirical look at the upper one percent. Refocused on the turmoil between the members of the Roy family, Succession is better than it has ever been with a much more laser-focused narrative that allows this dysfunctional family saga to consistently earn the rank as one of the best shows currently on television.
Odds are that if you are reading this review, you are familiar with the first two seasons of Succession. The first found the Roy family dealing with the sudden coma of their father, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and who would take over running their multinational media conglomerate, Waystar Royco. Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong), a recovering addict and heir apparent, loses his role as CEO just before Logan’s coma which throws everyone into a fury of backstabbing and dealing for the successorship. When Logan recovers, the family hangs in there. Kendall’s demons get the better of him which led to season two treating him like an injured puppy. But, in the season finale, Kendall turns on his father and takes the first shot in the Roy family civil war.
Picking up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of season 2, the third season of Succession still features some of the most creative and profane insults on any series but also resets itself to be about the Roy clan imploding on a massive public stage. With Kendall breaking from the rest of the family and going toe to toe with his father, his siblings must choose sides. Siobhan (Sarah Snook), who was close to replacing her father in season 2, contends with her allegiances as well as the involvement from her friend, attorney Lisa Arthur (Sanaa Lathan). Roman (Kieran Culkin) is stuck between his close relationship with Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron) and where he falls in his family hierarchy while eldest son Connor (Alan Ruck) gets a bit more involved than he has in the past. The squabbling between these siblings and their father is much more intense than it has been in the first two seasons, primarily because the stakes are more immediate than before.
There is also a lot more for Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfayden) and cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun). Both Tom and Greg are deeper into the mix this season but remain the comic relief this series has relished for two seasons so far. There are also a number of new characters including Sandi Furness (Hope Davis), the daughter of Sandy Furness (Larry Pine) as well as Adrien Brody as Josh Aaronson, a billionaire, and Alexander Skarsgard as Lukas Matsson, a CEO. Both Brody and Skarsgard get to jump into the fray with this ensemble cast and spit venom with the best of them. None of these guest actors feel like stunt casting and are worked organically into this story that feels much faster than the prior season. In many ways, this season feels like a direct follow-up to season one’s storylines and treats the sophomore run as almost a tangent to the overall story.
Having seen seven episodes of this season (the final two episodes were not made available for review), it is very apparent that this season takes place in a world where COVID-19 did not happen. Written before the pandemic but filmed in the midst of the global shutdown, Succession doesn’t treat the virus as something the rich are immune to, it excises it entirely from the plot. I scoured the background looking for masks or hints about the virus, but writer Jesse Armstrong and his staff did not work it in. Needless to say, the excesses of the Roy family and their inner circle look unaffected by COVID-19 which is a testament to the crew who managed to make this look like it was filmed right alongside season two. Everything here is consistent from the snappy comebacks, the brilliant score by Nicholas Britell, and the top-notch acting from one of the best casts working today.
I am happy to say that Succession has finally found its stride in the third season by taking all of the best elements from the first two runs of the series and doubling down on the intensity. Yes, it is still painfully funny but that humorous and dark tone has been upgraded into a deadly mix of satire that would be hilarious if it wasn’t so eerily close to home. Succession debuted as an indictment of the Trump era in the United States and the pleasure we can derive from watching the filthy rich rip each other to shreds is still one of the most enjoyable parts of this show. Succession started out telling a story about the Roy family fracturing before showing those bonds start to mend. This season, the bonds that tie these characters together are ripped to shreds and we get a front row seat to the show.
Succession‘s third season premieres on October 14th on HBO.
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