Succession Shouldn't Work at All, But It's the Best Show on TV. Why? | Film Director Explains
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- Want to know exactly why Succession is so good, despite breaking all the 'rules' for how you should construct a TV drama? Perhaps it's exactly BECAUSE it does things differently...
In this video I lean on my 20 years in the film/TV industry as a director and producer to break down the filmmaking (here, fundamentally story and character) choices that make Succession one of the best dramas of recent times.
CONTENTS:
0:00 Introduction
0:32 The Problems
5:26 The Solutions
10.11 Larry David
15.03 The Election
16.18 The Finale
19:30 Summary
Want to know more about who I am and why I make these breakdowns? I talk about it in my Top Gun Maverick film, link here:
• 5 Reasons Why Top Gun ...
Interested in what else I've made? Here's my imdb page:
www.imdb.com/name/nm1504946/ - Фільми й анімація
Touching on Maslow's hierarchy of needs is spot on. The kids had the first 2 steps in abundance - over abundance, but at the 3rd, love & belonging step they had nothing and got stuck there. Now a kid that has less of the first 2 steps and also lacks the 3rd would have to work hard to survive (step 1 & 2) and possibly has more chance of getting to step 3 and beyond. The Roy kids are an experiment of what happens when they are "given a playground" and told it's the world. Very Lord of the Flies or maybe Flowers in the Attic.
Yep! Nice thoughts :)
I agree that it is a happy ending because they're finally free. Maybe not so much for Shiv since she stays married to the new CEO, so she remains tied to the company.
Yeah, agreed, but what the final cuts show is how the characters may struggle with their freedom - Roman has nothing to keep him on the tracks now, and Kendall has no purpose going forwards.
@@MichaelBoogerd That's true. Although Roman does seem the only one who's relieved.
Shes also closer to the throne being toms wife rather than if Kendall had won. Strategically it was a brilliant move on her part. She actually had more influence over Tom than she would her siblings
@@zeeski7454 for sure.
In my opinion it's absolutely not a happy ending. Its deeply tragic. If these characters weren't so dysfunctional and broken then it could be a new frontier for their lives, and maybe Roman has the will to press on. But Kendall is absolutely decimated by the end, his reputation is in tatters, his father is dead, his identity is shattered. Jeremy Strong even tried commiting a faux suicide as Kendall in the final shot which should tell you about his emotional state.
Nice to see the word Filmmaker in your biography again, I hope you keep it there.
Thank you :)
Seriously, this is the most thematically astute breakdown of why this drama worked. Thank you for teasing this out for us.
It wasn't just entertainment. It had heart, brains, and a moral centre too, but wasn't portentous. It used it's edge as carefully, and delicately as an eye surgeon wielding a micro scalpel to cut away and reveal the disease.
@@BigHenFor Precisely this!
loved this take! i so agree with your interpretation and a thought i had about tom taking over... yes, he is the new american CEO of waystar, thus replacing Logan Roy, but he is only a puppet to Matsson. he isn't really taking the "cursed throne" (love the way you phrased that btw) so that's why I believe Shiv preferred this to Kendall calling the shots. she knows that Tom isn't going to have any real power in his position. and thats something Tom can be happy with - I don't think he really cares for true power like Logan had, he is perfectly fine with the title and the money. I think Shiv is a special case because either way she voted, she wasn't getting what she truly wanted. and by voting against Kendall she gave herself and her siblings the freedom to find what they truly want.
I can’t take the credit for calling the throne haunted and cursed - that was Roman in series 4!
Tom is definitely all about the money so I agree with your assessment that he’ll be a happy little, very wealthy, pain sponge. But… Tom also had a heart at least in the beginning. I BELIEVED he really did love Shiv once upon a time and therefore…therefore, the birth of his child may rekindle love, true unconditional love, in his heart. Who knows? They may even have a special needs child and that could turn both of their world views in a positive direction toward caring about each other, humanity, and using their money to help others. I know, I am a WILDLY optimistic person. I am a retired teacher who has a son on the autism spectrum and this is where I will rest my love of Succession! Agree with me or “F#*k off.”😂
Great video! Exciting to see a new UA-cam channel pop up with wuch high quality content. Top gun video also smashed it. Look forward to watching more!
Thank you Brian!!
Nicely done. :) I'm glad to have stumbled across your channel, and look forward to your future posts.
Thanks Curious World!
The movie doctor is BACK!!
Back with a vengeance
Excellent video. Insightful analysis and well thought out, and put together. Bravo.
Thanks Duke!
Amazing video. Really liked your take on Successions ending being a happy one. I totally agree, although Kendall is the only ending I think is not so clear.
I feel like that Scene of Roman picking Kendall up from a junkies place was foreshadowing for the future, of him turning to drugs after losing the company.
And the fact that he just started a custody case, he could lose his kids all together. Thats just my thoughts on it
Yes, Kendall’s future definitely in the balance - it’s more of a ‘possibility’ of happiness - the fact that road is opening up for them. No guarantee any of them will take it!
Loved the ending!
Anyone who has worked in corporate knows those stereotypes exist in every business. Watching the manipulation and attempt to coerce those around was a great watch to see the different styles and methods how they go about trying to take power (of any nature) - in earlier seasons even Tom exerts his power over Greg, and by the end, Greg is even exerting his power over his subordinates.
Glad I found this channel. Great stuff.
Thanks Zaid! Hope you get some more good stuff up for you very soon 👍
Amazon should have used this team for Rings of Power. Btw - an absolutely brilliant assessment of this great drama. Thank you.
My pleasure!
Love the analysis so on point 👏
Thank you Adilla!
I, too, loved your take on the wickedly funny and wonderful scripts in Succession!❤❤❤. Kudos to you for making an enjoyable show even more enjoyable! Agree with you on happy ending possibilities. Especially for Tom and Shiv. Their upcoming partnership in parenting can totally change their lives for the better. Having had Logan and Caroline as “outstanding role models “ , Shiv, now free of corporate responsibilities may do a 180 degrees and fall in love with her child. Tom, as well, could be a “pain sponge “ for awhile and then chuck it all, ( to my delighted heart) and decide that fatherhood is really what matters, what he enjoys, and where his true legacy lies. I’m a wildly optimistic person. But having had a special needs son, I learned and am still learning 30 years later, who comes first.😊
I love your take!
Excellent analysis Sir
My pleasure Sebastian
Excellent discussion and explanation. Succession has cemented itself in my mind to a top ten t.v. show of all time. It actually may hold the #2 spot behind Breaking Bad.
It really is sensationally good. Agree on Breaking Bad 👍 Where does The Wire sit in there for you?
@@thescriptflip the wire is by far the best show ever made🤷♂️no show comes close for me. But succession and breaking bad are firmly in my top ten
Great content good sir! Subscribed
Nice one Arturo!
13:31 That is not about fear, it is about relief and a surprising sense of sudden freedom that is there mixed with grief when an overbearing parent dies. I had never seen that truth portrayed on TV. Lucy Prebble talked about that in the official podcast and it is also in the script.
Interesting insight! That particular beat didn’t play like that to me on screen - but I guess we all take different things from it! Agree that the relief/freedom etc does come across elsewhere in the aftermath.
Entirely unrelated to the video, but where did you get your poster in the background? I love stuff like that and would like to get one for myself
I think off ebay!
I need to finish the series before I come back to watch this :) 2.75 seasons to go!
Worth all the time it will take!!
"Succession" is the quintessential example of "rules are meant to be broken". The show works only because every so-called "good" writing technique is examined, questioned, and dismissed in favor of finding something truly new and authentic to say. In that sense, it's the show most akin to "The Sopranos", which itself made its name breaking a major rule: its main character is truly and utterly evil.
Brilliant video. Subbed.
Thanks Eddy!
Loved the ending because I couldn't predict it.
During my 5th rewatch of Succession, I found myself immune to the humour since I expect it and know exactly what the joke will be. As such, I really become irate and frustrated at the characters, finding them difficult to keep company and enjoy. I don't think I would have made the connection as to why had I not seen this video.
Your “fifth rewatch”🤔💀mate you’re crazy😂😂how did you sit and watch a show five times?
You obviously liked it enough the first four times to go one more…!
But yes - the humour is a palate cleanser that means we can stomach these people for an hour at a time :)
Never watched the show, but I appreciate the analysis on why the show worked. Keep up the good work, 😊
X-Men 2 (X2), apart from Hugh Jackman, Brian Cox was the 2nd most watchable actor apart from "Storm," and "Jean Grey" (ahem). The original Hannibal Lecter in 1986's Manhunter. A great actor.
Yes he’s always been fantastic 👍
Fab thank you! Love the ending f**k off xx
What else could you possibly use?! 🤣
@@thescriptflip 😂
Top work hombre
Liked and subbed :)
Thanks Syd!
Gosh ! Never watched the series but from your analysis it seems far to close for comfort.. Flip it to a matriarch who was monied and very manipulative of 4 daighters and 1 son, disseminating dysfunctional and unhealthy competative behaviour amoungst siblings, wielding or withholding recognition, praise and favour as they deemed fit etc. Your in -in depth anaysis, Gez, of the script is so good at ressurecting unpleasant memories , l wont be watching it ...the sudden death of the father and aftermath reaction / events could have be a fly on the wal !😂
It was a happy ending for me, I'm glad Tom was it. I became a fan of him when he showed some backbone and threw Shiv and her siblings under the bus.
LOVE this! Love this um, dramaturgy?…
Make more videos
The quality is impressive
Appreciate that Ash!
Content request, could you do a video on how the John wick movies manage to get better each time.
Good shout! Although I thought the first one was pretty great :)
alright fine, I'll rewatch succession i guess
An excellent way to spend your time!
I first tried to watch Succession when it first premiere, but half way into it I was turned off by these entitled privileged grown children. So I didn’t finish the the first episode. But by the end of the 2nd season there was so much hype around the show that I gave it another chance and glad I did.
Yes it’s a real challenge to persist with early doors!
I still can’t help but wish a little that it ended with Greg becoming CEO and then dividing the company down and selling all the parts - it would have made everything the siblings were trying to win pointless, because it’s all just business
I’m not sure Greg would have had the wit to do that? But yes, would have been entertaining 🤣
I love the academic rigour of your analysis and can't find much to disagree with but in the spirit of arguing in the comments I'll make a couple of pedantic points. (I feel there needs to be more cod-academic debate on the internet and less idiot level debate)
1.I realise this was a choice but you have excluded the all other departments apart from the glory boys of the writing department. As a technician yourself you could offer great perspective here and it's something I don't see that much in criticism because most critics are not practitioners and don't have a fucking clue about how to make things.
For example the show wouldn’t be what it is without an innovative approach to camera where the camera ops know the script and move intimately with the actors. Or the locations that always present a liminal transitory space or costume, acting etc etc.
Basically it’s a team game.
2.
While Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be made relevant to literally anything your initial thesis was that really rich people aren’t motivated by money. Apparently this isn’t true and they found this out when they researched the show. They are like toddlers and more money to have on top of the more money is apparently really important. That’s not to say the rest of this breakdown wasn’t on point.
4. I reckon you could go full frame very large point size with a cooler font on a black background for your text. They are good points why not make something of them and use some typography.
1. 100% totally agree. I did mention the specific camerawork briefly but should have gone into more depth on this, as well as how the other depts smashed it out of the park too.
2. You are correct about how the mega rich just want more and more money. eg Logan Roy. But I’m not sure this was the primary driver for any of his kids in the show? To my mind their money was taken for granted as they’d always grown up with it.
4. Good shout. Tbh I’ve just taken the path of least resistance so far!
Did I miss a point 3? 🤣
Contra point against the "problem" of ensemble drama is nearly all of Star Trek.
My next vid is on Strange New Worlds 👍
Unrelatable? I think you’re wrong. We all know a grandparent or two or a family member that say, “Fuck off!” 😅 and children fighting over who should have the best toys.
Yes - I think maybe the point here is that we have to go back into childhood to be able to remember most of this kind of behaviour!
What's the name of your main channel?
Just my name - Gez Medinger
@@thescriptfliplove your voice! I’m a raging Anglophile 😂
@@christinegonzales2372 haha, thank you Christine!
Do you have a favorite rascal character in the Ensemble, and if so, what draws you to that person?
I think it has to be Roman. He is at least fun to be with, in an awful kind of way. And closely behind him Logan, for being a spectacular b*stard of the highest degree.
Roman isn't old enough to be the rascaliest, when Roman becomes Logan's age will you make a reboot? I would love to see Roman at Logan's age. Brian Cox as Logan is the role of a lifetime, he makes being a villainous b* look hot. Gotta love a silver fox, the worse of a person he becomes the better looking he gets.
I disagree because I was rooting for Tom and Greg the whole time.
Well I was rooting for you
If you had to root for someone, I agree it was probably them.
They managed to make an incredible show despite there being no character growth, hardly any plot movement, and all of the characters being terrible human beings.
The empathy isn't there so much for their feeble and hypocritical attempts to be good (Kendall only whistleblows after Logan decides to ask him to take the fall for him, Shiv is ready to ally ith Mencken at the funeral), but because it is a story about the cycle of abuse and dysfunctional family. It is easy to empathize with characters that are so damaged by parental abuse.
They made me lean toward Kendall most of the time, maybe for compassion. But the guy actually wasn't a good person at all.
He *wanted* to be (at least most of the time), which I think is what helped us occasionally get behind him.
I haven't watched the show because I don't have that particular subscription service, but it seems that extremely dysfunctional families produce shit regardless of the income bracket, are likely to reproduce shit and only know how to search for meaning in money because they haven't been exposed to any other values. Runs rampant in all income brackets IMO, but these guys have all the power associated with money. Maybe that's the reason of the show's success - people can actually identify with the characters or knows someone like them.
Absolutely agree Erika :)
SPOILER
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10:19 "eeehhhhhh lose the dad. You don't need the dad. No good."
..ha ha...beg to differ. Up until Logan's death....sure...good show. afterward...ugh.....(and those four annoying chords...over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.....)
All debate is healthy!! I did bring up the fact that the 7 episodes sans Logan were more of a challenge (although 8,9,10 I thought were great).
@@thescriptflip hmm....without logan the show was rudderless....but, yet, we still got the same FOUR CHORDS over and over and over and over and over and over.....and over and over and over and over and over and over....(did I mention over and over and over??)
I found this compelling but frustrating viewing. Compelling because of the need to know who “wins”, frustrating because to keep the story going the writers had to make intelligent characters make stupid decisions, usually at the beginning of a new series. For me, this treated the viewers like fools.
Yes, I do know where you’re coming from.