As the Roy family’s fleet of helicopters land for their final outing, there’s no point in resisting this sumptuous programme. There really is nothing else like this on TV
I’m about to articulate one of the most controversial opinions of 2023, so do whatever you need to brace yourself: I’ve never really got Succession. Before you start, yes, I can see that it’s good. Yes, I can see that it is sumptuous, dense and brilliant, and that at its best it has some of the finest dialogue not just on TV now but on TV ever. I know it’s a thinly veiled portrait of the Murdochs and it’s whip-smart and Machiavellian.
But, sometimes, watching it I feel as if I’m being cornered at a party by someone telling me about a non-fiction book I “have to read” while I watch other people laughing and having fun. It feels clever in the same way that putting your hand up and saying the right answer in a classroom is clever: in a smug and self-satisfied way. Truly, over three seasons, I’m not sure Succession has ever matched the dagger-like family dynamics of the Christmas episode of Peep Show that preceded it. I know you like it when Logan Roy growls “Fuck off”, but it’s no “Cauliflower is traditional!” and it never will be.
