Why HBO's Succession Remains A Timeless Masterpiece

It's been three years since Succession ended, and HBO's dark comedy drama is still worth binging in its entirety. Like a lot of great HBO TV shows, Succession feels like it dropped in from out of nowhere. Between 2018 and 2023, we suddenly had a hilarious, whip-smart, unsettling drama series on our hands.

Created by Jesse Armstrong, Succession follows the members of the unfathomably wealthy Roy family, who own a massive global media and entertainment conglomerate. The four Roy children tear down each other and themselves as they vie for their father's "throne" in one of the great comedy-dramas of the 21st century.

Succession Has Aged Well

Comedy can get old quickly, but Succession is as fresh now as it was when it was aired. The series blends the drama and the humor so effortlessly that the show is consistently balanced throughout its four seasons. The best quotes from Succession hit just as hard now as they did when they were first uttered.

There is harsh language in the series and depictions of interpersonal cruelty that could have curdled in the years since the show ended, but it's all honest. The characters in the show are who they are, warts and all, and Succession never backed away from showing us an ugly reality, and that truthfulness is imperative to a show aging well.

Why Succession Will Never Get Old

Like The Wire, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under, Succession feels like it's in that stratum of HBO shows that simply will never get old. Beyond the jokes and the sarcastic jabs is an eternal story about children trying to step out of the shadow of their father, and the ruin that brings upon them.

It's not unlike King Lear, or any other story that remains prescient long after it's told. The timely plot points of rising fascism in politics, the threat of oligarchic powers in industry, and the power of technology are universal. Succession uses the world of today to tell a story that will resonate as long as people want things.

There Will Never Be Another Succession

There likely won't ever be another show like Succession. For one, you're never going to get this exact same group of actors together again for another project, and you need this ensemble because they are their characters. It's hard to imagine someone else trying to play them.

More than that, Succession is a series that brings together a cynicism and anger about modern American society, and uses it to reveal something about people, something a little upsetting, but something honest. It would take a specific combination of talent and ideas to come together to even get close to the series.