The Feud Between Media Mogul Logan Roy and His Children Continues
The highly anticipated season four of HBO’s critically acclaimed drama, Succession, has finally arrived. The season premiere aired on Sunday, setting up what promises to be the ultimate showdown for the Roy family. The feud between media mogul Logan Roy and his children continues to boil over as they fight for control of their family company, Waystar Royco.
The season opener introduces the ongoing conflict between Logan and his children. Logan’s assistant and girlfriend, Kerry, tries to arrange a birthday call between Logan and his children, but it only triggers an awkward negotiation. Meanwhile, Shiv and her husband Tom decide to call it quits after discussing an open marriage, and Tom betraying her to get into Logan’s good graces.
The Real-Life Families That Inspired the Pierce Family
Succession has been praised for its portrayal of the wealthy and powerful characters that populate its world. Specifically, the Pierce family in the show was researched to be based on reputable, blue-blooded northeastern legacy-media families including the Bancrofts, Sulzbergers, Graham family, and Chandler family.
According to research conducted by The New York Times, the Pierces are a mashup of the Sulzbergers and Bancrofts’ characteristics. The Bancroft family in real life notably sold Dow Jones to NewsCrop in 2007. The Sulzberger family is also referenced in the show because of their Jewish history and the ownership of the New York Times. Meanwhile, the Graham family shares similarities with Nan Pierce as women leaders in predominantly male industries.
The Upcoming Fourth and Final Season
The third season of Succession ended with a bang as fans saw the Roy siblings join forces against their father, who was selling off their family company. The upcoming fourth and final season aims to conclude the storyline that has captivated its audience. The main question being, which Roy child (or wild card outsider) will take over Waystar from aging monarch Logan?
The show’s creator, Jesse Armstrong, recently announced that the fourth season would be the final one, with only ten episodes left. This season also arrives at a perfect time in the broader culture amid existential questions about the influence and motivations of billionaires.
In this final season, the Roy children are trying to stop their father from selling Waystar outright to streaming video company GoJo. They must forge alliances with former friends and enemies to make this happen. Trust has never been a value of the Roy family. The siblings’ relationship is tenuous, functional-only-until-one-of-them-spies-a-path-to-the-top.
The Impact of Succession on Society
Succession has always been praised for its intricate characterizations, sharp scriptwriting and encapsulating themes about power and wealth in modern society. The show offers an intimate look into how powerful, wealthy people behave behind closed doors while striking deals or making decisions that have ripple effects on the rest of society.
Succession offers audiences a taste of what happens when individuals have too much power without accountability. It raises deeper questions around morality, power dynamics and how societies are run for good or ill-effect.
Overall, there is no question that Succession is a well-written show that is engaging and thought-provoking. Fans of the series will surely be glued to their screens as they watch the rest of the drama unfolds in this final season.
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