THE lives of the super-rich have been the focus of many a film and TV show of late. Triangle Of Sadness, Parasite, The Menu, and Glass Onion to name a few. Few though, if any, can claim to do the topic justice in the way Succession does as it enters its fourth and final season.
When we last checked in with the Roy family, its three children – Kendall, Shiv and Roman – had all been left out in the cold by their father Logan (Brian Cox) as he prepared to sell his media empire. We find the family in the aftermath of that event as everyone is forced to pick a side one last time.
Succession has always prided itself on having plenty at stake but this feels different. It’s helped that we only knew this was the final season upon the release of the last trailer.
Final seasons always carry a greater risk of falling flat but if Succession's opener is anything to go by, fans have nothing to fear.
The writing in the season’s opener is wickedly sharp with the characters loathsome as ever, all just as liable to stab one another in the back just after they kiss and make up. In one scene, people literally try to "out-nasty" one another.
It’s hardly any harm either that every member of the cast delivers their lines perfectly – whether it’s the bumbling cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), the desperate-to-impress Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) or the out-of-touch forgotten son and vying presidential candidate Connor Roy (Alan Ruck).
And Cox is back and better than he’s ever been. If he keeps going the way he is, he’ll find Logan Roy alongside the likes of Walter White and Don Draper on lists of the small screen's most iconic characters.
“Jesus f****ng c***st” are the first immortal words we hear him utter this season. Perhaps it’s good that things are coming to an end for Logan because he seems more fed up with everybody around him than ever before. “Why is everybody so f****ng happy”, he asks at one point.
Sarah Snook is a standout as Shiv as she tries to look out for herself all while spearheading a deal that suits her and her brothers and coping with a failing marriage. Thus far, the show’s picked up a host of Emmys and Golden Globes and it would be no surprise to see more when the awards roll around again this September.
While some might find it hard to give their full attention to people with next to no redeeming features, the power dynamics at play are so compelling that it almost doesn’t matter if you like them. You just can’t help but want to know what happens to them. It’s rare to find a TV that makes you care every step of the way in that sense.
The episode’s biggest strength is that everyone gets their moment in the spotlight. It’s the perfect curtain-raiser, maintaining a strong enough storyline to hold it on its own while also establishing what everyone has to lose over the course of its final episodes. Oh and those sensational opening titles are back as well.
Succession will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic on March 27.
