Jan hon, about time you got on the SUCCESSION bandwagon. Won’t say “I told you so,” but c’est vrai. Succession is the greatest TV show of our times. Sucks that it has Adam McKay and Will Ferrell’s and HBO’s name on it, but there’s also creator/super-genius Jesse Armstrong and he’s all that matters. You need to approach the dialogue like you would the language of The Bard because yes, this show is pure Shakespeare for the digital age and its language performs the same deliberate function. It is bawdy, grandiose, funny, metaphorical and scatalogical in equal measures. Characters USE it to distance, deflect and disarm each other. Much of the drama comes from what is unsaid or spoken around, exactly how real communication happens in real families. And yes, this is the Uber Family Drama on Steroids. Armstrong’s genius is in looking at Rupert Murdoch and all his Hellspawn and wondering, how does their supremely dysfunctional family dynamic play out such that it rattles the rest of the world, given how much of it they control. And how do we— all members of families— recognize ourselves in this? Season 1 is a warmup. Season 2 is so good it’s like snorting coke with Kendall Roy until you think your head will explode. Season 3 is arguably— and I mean episode by episode— the best season of written/acted/directed TV of our generation. Any episode of SUCCESSION makes a Janice understand the impossible process of filmed storytelling. The idea that one person (Mr. Armstrong) must keep an eye so tightly on this wildly flying ball that every tiny word, image and bit of physical inventory are relentlessly tracked such that the world he creates is seamless. A world that is imaginatively and fully alive.
I recently read he thinks the show should not continue much longer but exit the stage at a climax he can see coming quite soon. This Janice will be very sad, but understanding. Would Shakespeare sully his hands with Hamlet Part II? (No, that would be Pam Brady and Andy Fleming and see how that turned out)
Glad you came to your senses, hon. Jealous you have seasons 2 and 3 ahead of you. Meanwhile, i just finished season 3 and have started re-watching the whole show all over again at 1, something I will keep doing on repeat till 4 premieres.
Jan hon, about time you got on the SUCCESSION bandwagon. Won’t say “I told you so,” but c’est vrai. Succession is the greatest TV show of our times. Sucks that it has Adam McKay and Will Ferrell’s and HBO’s name on it, but there’s also creator/super-genius Jesse Armstrong and he’s all that matters. You need to approach the dialogue like you would the language of The Bard because yes, this show is pure Shakespeare for the digital age and its language performs the same deliberate function. It is bawdy, grandiose, funny, metaphorical and scatalogical in equal measures. Characters USE it to distance, deflect and disarm each other. Much of the drama comes from what is unsaid or spoken around, exactly how real communication happens in real families. And yes, this is the Uber Family Drama on Steroids. Armstrong’s genius is in looking at Rupert Murdoch and all his Hellspawn and wondering, how does their supremely dysfunctional family dynamic play out such that it rattles the rest of the world, given how much of it they control. And how do we— all members of families— recognize ourselves in this? Season 1 is a warmup. Season 2 is so good it’s like snorting coke with Kendall Roy until you think your head will explode. Season 3 is arguably— and I mean episode by episode— the best season of written/acted/directed TV of our generation. Any episode of SUCCESSION makes a Janice understand the impossible process of filmed storytelling. The idea that one person (Mr. Armstrong) must keep an eye so tightly on this wildly flying ball that every tiny word, image and bit of physical inventory are relentlessly tracked such that the world he creates is seamless. A world that is imaginatively and fully alive.
I recently read he thinks the show should not continue much longer but exit the stage at a climax he can see coming quite soon. This Janice will be very sad, but understanding. Would Shakespeare sully his hands with Hamlet Part II? (No, that would be Pam Brady and Andy Fleming and see how that turned out)
Glad you came to your senses, hon. Jealous you have seasons 2 and 3 ahead of you. Meanwhile, i just finished season 3 and have started re-watching the whole show all over again at 1, something I will keep doing on repeat till 4 premieres.