Here’s why you should watch Succession

The HBO show introduces us to its main set of characters in its initial few episodes where we learn that the patriarch has his favourites and his non favourites and if anyone is scheming here, it’s Logan Roy. One of the first few characters that jumps out and stays significant throughout is Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong). Kendall has assumed that he will be the new CEO, not without reason. He’s ready to take on the mantle and has prepped the investors for it until things take a turn and he’s left in the lurch.

Kendall starts off as someone who thinks he is conniving but to the viewer, it’s very clear from the start that the boy is clueless and jumpy. Every few episodes you feel like you know him, but that is only until Kendall turns over a new leaf and convinces you that this is the new him. His story arc undergoes a dramatic change in the first season finale, which I personally believe is one of the best sequences of the series yet.

Jeremy Strong’s (left) Kendall Roy with Brian Cox’s (right) Logan Roy on Succession.

There’s also Logan’s daughter Shioban (Sarah Snook) who, to the audience, is the obvious successor but it’s soon very clear that gender dynamics have a significant place in the world of the rich. The other son Roman (Kieran Culkin) is the boy with a silver spoon and same is the case with Logan’s first born Connor (Alan Ruck). Here, no one’s good or bad, hero or villain but they are all aware of their actions and its ramifications.

Sioban Roy starts off as the strongest and smartest character on the show but with time, she gets caught in her own mess.

Succession is the story of rich people but the makers are acutely aware that this show is being watched by regular people so to get a sense of this world we are introduced to Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun). Greg has grown up in a regular household but because he happens to be related to the Roys, he ends up in their inner circle, enjoying the high life. And while he’s amazed by the riches, he knows that he is a disposable outsider.

He is mentored by Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), Sioban’s boyfriend-turned-husband who also comes from a regular household. The two form a sort-of-team where they need to look out for each other amongst the uber rich people as they realise they will never be a part of the same bracket.

Tomy and Greg are our eyes into the world of billionaires.

Succession relies on drama and dark humour to convey its messages. The show’s opening theme and the background music lends it a high-brow feel that takes you to a five-star hotel’s lobby every time you hear it thereby reminding you that you are in a lavish world.

In many ways, Succession is a family drama which acknowledges that morality has to have a center place in one’s world despite their class. But Succession does not forget that the show and Roys, both mean business and morals can’t always have a center place in that world.

Succession streams on Hotstar in India.