Primetime Dramageddon
Town & Country US|December 2022 - January 2023
How money, personality, and ego almost cost HBO its most acclaimed drama since Game of Thrones. An exclusive excerpt from the media read of the year.
By Felix Gillette and John Koblin
Primetime Dramageddon

On Sunday nights in June 2018, HBO began airing Succession-a show about an aging billionaire and his retinue of suck-ups, yes-men, and bumbling courtiers that seemed perfectly tailored to the preoccupations of liberal viewers spellbound by the daily indignities and nepotistic excesses of the Trump presidency.

At the outset Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the founder and chief executive officer of Waystar Royco-a global entertainment conglomerate with cruise ships, a movie studio, and a right-leaning cable TV news network, reminiscent of Rupert Murdoch's media empire-is turning 80 and seemingly on the brink of retirement.

His pending abdication has set up a dynastic power struggle among his jaded, emotionally stunted adult children. There is Kendall (Jeremy Strong), a spineless, coke-snorting, jargon-spewing wannabe business titan; Roman (Kieran Culkin), a foul-mouthed smart aleck; Connor (Alan Ruck), a libertarian flancur; and Siobhan "Shiv" (Sarah Snook), a shrewd political operative.

Logan, the gruff, all-powerful patriarch, disdains them all.

Jesse Armstrong, the show's creator, is a British screenwriter who got his start in TV making sketch comedy programs and children's sitcoms. In 2003 he co-created the long-running, darkly humorous British sitcom Peep Show for Channel 4. Later he worked with Armando Iannucci-the creator of HBO's Veep-as a writer on the British government satire The Thick of It and its 2009 spin-off movie, In the Loop.

This story is from the December 2022 - January 2023 edition of Town & Country US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 2022 - January 2023 edition of Town & Country US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TOWN & COUNTRY USView All
As If We Never Said GOOD BYE
Town & Country US

As If We Never Said GOOD BYE

A designer restores a historic home by an the glory it enjoyed during its classic Hollywood heyday.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
SIR Mix-a-Lot
Town & Country US

SIR Mix-a-Lot

Look, Muffy, our old clothes are back! A generation consumed with nostalgia rediscovers and reshuffles trad style their way. The new official preppy dress code is here, and one pony is riding high.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2024
Les Robes Dangereuses
Town & Country US

Les Robes Dangereuses

In Revolution-era Paris, three radically chic media stars swept away centuries of strictures about what women should wear and how they should live. A new book unveils the other French Revolution.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
A Nose DIVIDED
Town & Country US

A Nose DIVIDED

Legends are never made by playing it safe.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Friends of JUDY
Town & Country US

Friends of JUDY

For her fans of 30 years, Judy Geib is a jeweler's jeweler. For young designers, she's something rarer: a role model.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Anatomy of a Classic
Town & Country US

Anatomy of a Classic

A 63-year-old icon just got a face-lift. Can you tell?

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
This Old Thing? T&C Reviews: Barn Jackets
Town & Country US

This Old Thing? T&C Reviews: Barn Jackets

The rags-to-riches tale of how a humble workingman's staple got its high fashion glow-up.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Nellie Oleson, MODERN MUSE
Town & Country US

Nellie Oleson, MODERN MUSE

The kids are in couture and the grown-ups are in oversize bows. When did things get so Freaky Friday?

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Loromania!
Town & Country US

Loromania!

A standard-bearer of quiet luxury finds itself unexpectedly tap dancing in the spotlight, embraced by American hypebeasts, Gstaad Guy, and Kendall Roy. Back in Milan, it's business as usual. There are 100 years to toast.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2024
Steal the Show
Town & Country US

Steal the Show

How Broadway fell in love with celebrity producers.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024