I might not be as high on this first season as others, but this is still really good TV. It has some great writing and dialogue with a stellar cast delivering very solid performances all around. It also balances its tones pretty well between a tense drama and a dark comedy. I found the comedy to work the majority of the time, but not necessarily every time. I felt that some episodes delivered the comedy far better than others, but when it hit it was very funny. The tension in the drama was also very good in certain episodes, such as episode 6. I was on the edge of my seat during that vote. However, some episodes did feel somewhat slow and less interesting than others. And while most of the relationships between characters in here were incredibly nuanced and interesting, I didn't love some of them as much. I think it also hurts the show just a little that pretty much everyone is a bad person, it gives little to latch onto as far as who to root for. Greg could serve as this character, but I feel like he was still coming into his own here and his awkwardness was tough to watch at times. Still, in some ways not knowing who to root for makes the show very compelling. There have been plenty of shows that take this approach and it work really well, and I think as I get more time with the characters in future seasons Succession will be able to pull it off. The direction style also took some getting used to, as it's shot very much with that documentary-style comedic feel akin to shows like The Office with frequent zoom-ins and quick camera movement. However, I grew to really enjoy that style as the show went on. Overall, a very solid opening season that doesn't work all the time for me but mostly delivers its writing, tones, and characters very well.
7.4 // Good
Review by chrundle1BlockedParentSpoilers2022-06-08T19:07:46Z
Season 1 of Succession surprised me. It's a pretty unique show and quite different than I was expecting - less event-TV drama, more dark satirical dramedy. Everything clicked when I found out Will Ferrell is an executive producer. So much of his character DNA is present here. from Cousin Greg's stammering stoner ramblings, to Tom's blatant two-faced treatment of others, to Kendall's douche-y bravado and barely-masked insecurity. You can see the echoes of Ferrell and his collaborators' characters from Stepbrothers to Anchorman on full display. The tone and pacing feels very similar too - the way that semi-serious scenes end up devolving into barely-contained improv, ending with an unexpected barb or blink-and-you'll-miss-it visual sight gag before quick-cutting away.
That said, it's not perfect. The mid-season dragged a bit. At times I felt like the show wasn't quite deep or thrilling enough to keep me hooked as a drama, but wasn't consistently funny enough to hook me as a comedy either. The amount of quick-cuts can make some scenes feel a bit disjointed and tough to follow. The writing also feels a bit transparent at times, where it feels like characters are doing / saying things in order to move the plot in the desired direction, instead of doing/saying what would feel natural for the character in that situation. And at times the whole thing just feels kind of... douche-y? The same sort of feeling that Entourage used to give me (altho I've only seen a few episodes). Like all the characters are obnoxious assholes, I have no one likable to root for, and even the writing and plot points feel like the product of douchebags w/ daddy issues who are kind of missing any deeper point.
That said, the finale episode of Season 1 bumped this up from a 7 or so to a solid 8 for me. Very unexpected, raw, dark, and chilling. Looking forward to the following seasons.