Succession -- HBO

[Bozo_Casanova 25903]

57 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Bolded weren’t HBO. 
 

Calling Succession a top 3 HBO show is not outlandish at all. I’m torn between it and Deadwood.  The Wire wins. I think this is better than the Sopranos and GoT. 

Agree-  I actually meant among all one-hour prestige dramas, not just HBO.

[NOMAAA 1694]

28 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Succession >>>>>>>>>>> Westworld

yes.  that was in jest.  one of those things is really not like the others.

[Jerry Callo 8631]

Really looking forward to the series finale.  Looks like it's going to be 90 minutes long.

Every episode this season has covered a single day.  I can't imagine how they can wrap the series up with just covering the day after the funeral.

[yoladu 4045]

Westworld - Season 1 was good.

After that, oh boy.

[YGIFS 19445]

Season 2 of WW was still pretty good.  Season 3 was beyond awful.  I think 4 served as a sufficient tourniquet before they put it down humanely.  But nobody ever watched Westworld for the writing.  

Succession certainly deserves to be in a conversation about best HBO drama, though I don't think it's Top 5 material but I don't scoff at the notion.  In the end, it was pictures of shitty people talking down to one another in nice spaces.  But oh what a fucking ride that provided.  Gonna miss it dearly, but this will be one of those rare series you'll be able to rewatch numerous times down the road.  At least for me. 

[Red Five 40449]

39 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

I think 4 served as a sufficient tourniquet before they put it down humanely.

I loved season 1. I don't think I even knew there was a season 4. I bailed on 3 pretty quickly. 

[HamsterHookah 112]

9 minutes ago, Red Five said:

I loved season 1. I don't think I even knew there was a season 4. I bailed on 3 pretty quickly. 

Season 1 was awesome; season 2 was okay- season 3 I hated. Season 4 I got through half an episode before I bailed forever.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4631]

You can’t end your series as poorly as Game of Thrones ended and still be considered among the greats. Absolute garbage.

If we’re limiting to hbo, my personal top tier would be the wire, sopranos, leftovers, and succession, followed by deadwood. Not my cup of tea necessarily, but I think sex and the city at least deserves to be mentioned in terms of iconic, influential shows. 

[irishtexan 11414]

1) The Wire

2) The Sopranos 

3) Deadwood

4) Succession - for now

5) Game of Thrones

Shows that could overtake Succession - Euphoria and Last of Us

Mini-series that would slot in above Succession - Band of Brothers, Chernobyl

Comedies that I would rank higher than Succession: Veep, Curb your Enthusiasm

Not sure where Barry fits in or what to classify it as.

[Augustus 3061]

Boardwalk Empire doesn't make your Top 5, huh?

[irishtexan 11414]

32 minutes ago, Augustus said:

Boardwalk Empire doesn't make your Top 5, huh?

More like Boredwalk Empire

[SizzleChest 8243]

3 hours ago, Augustus said:

Boardwalk Empire doesn't make your Top 5, huh?

Michael Pitt's exit pretty much fucked BE.  Had he remained, I'd like to think that show would look much different in later seasons.

Silicon Valley overcame the death of the actor Christopher Evan Welch, but I too think it would have been even better with Peter Gregory.  I think they made the right call dying the character off, because Welch was pretty amazing in that role.  He nailed it.

[AbeFroman 2049]

An oldie, but since we're on the last week, que sera

 

[Bama Chick 28595]

From Mark Mylod, director of the finale -

[tx ind 6904]

7 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

[ChickenSandwich 9768]

First 3 season of GOT vs 3 seasons of Secession goes to GOT by a convincing margin.  Not even taking into account the number of eyeballs (plus rewatch).  The way they ended GOT and changed perception of the series was criminal. 
 

West World S1 > than any of the 3 seasons of Succession, but much much weaker as a series. 
 

*ducks

[NOMAAA 1694]

Look where we are. Used to be ranking the wire seasons (24135) to ranking awesome hbo shows. How the years have passed. I’ll tell you what. 

[HamsterHookah 112]

"What's even in there? flat shoes for the subway?...you could slide it across the floor after a bank job." scene makes Succession top 10 for me:

 

[irishtexan 11414]

2 hours ago, NOMAAA said:

Look where we are. Used to be ranking the wire seasons (24135) to ranking awesome hbo shows. How the years have passed. I’ll tell you what. 

you must be using the jt rankings, because no one that has actually seen the show would rank season 2 as the best season. unless you're talking about the season in which the best titties are revealed....

for the record its 34125

[Celery Man 20607]

6 hours ago, irishtexan said:

you must be using the jt rankings, because no one that has actually seen the show would rank season 2 as the best season. unless you're talking about the season in which the best titties are revealed....

for the record its 34125

You must have only watched the show once, plenty of people recognize the greatness of season 2.

[CooterBrown 17759]

1) The Wire
2) The Sopranos 
3) Deadwood
4) Succession - for now
5) Game of Thrones
Shows that could overtake Succession - Euphoria and Last of Us
Mini-series that would slot in above Succession - Band of Brothers, Chernobyl
Comedies that I would rank higher than Succession: Veep, Curb your Enthusiasm
Not sure where Barry fits in or what to classify it as.

Mare of Easttown needs to be on that list. It’s as good as anything HBO has ever done.

[Bama Chick 28595]

First 3 season of GOT vs 3 seasons of Secession goes to GOT by a convincing margin.  Not even taking into account the number of eyeballs (plus rewatch).  The way they ended GOT and changed perception of the series was criminal. 
 
West World S1 > than any of the 3 seasons of Succession, but much much weaker as a series. 
 
*ducks

Wow.

Literally all your opinions on a variety of topics are terrible.

Not enough pow pow, swords, explosions, robots, zombies, dragons and rape in Succession, I guess.

[Buzzrock 14785]

Says the middle-aged Harry Styles fanatic. 

Opinions are opinions. And he’s right about GoT. It was a cultural phenomenon for a reason. 

[CooterBrown 17759]

20 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

Not enough pow pow, swords, explosions, robots, zombies, dragons and rape in Succession, I guess.

A corporate drama about a horrible rich elite family with pow pow, swords, explosions, robots, zombies, dragons and rape?

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by CooterBrown

[irishtexan 11414]

58 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

You must have only watched the show once, plenty of people recognize the greatness of season 2.

I've watched the show four times. Watching season 2 for the first time with that fucking halfwit Ziggy and his stupid fucking duck was an absolute slog. But after multiple viewings I understand why the story of season 2 needed to be told and have come to appreciate it and even enjoy it. Certainly more than season 5 and the homeless murder shenanigans. But having an appreciation for a flawed season (when compared to the rest of the series) does not mean you elevate it above 3, 4 or 1. 

[irishtexan 11414]

48 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Mare of Easttown needs to be on that list. It’s as good as anything HBO has ever done.

I liked Mare of Easttown. It was entertaining. It didn't do anything groundbreaking. I think it was on par with something like The Night Of. But it's a clear tier below the shows I cite. It's also not as good as some of the shows that didn't make my cut. Perry Mason is better, as is 'I Will Destroy You', which I thought was excellent but didn't quite do enough to land in the top tier. 

I also agree that the first three seasons of GOT were as strong as any stretch of Succession. But things fell off toward the end of the series and that's why it doesn't hold up. 

[ChickenSandwich 9768]

1 hour ago, Bama Chick said:

Wow.

Literally all your opinions on a variety of topics are terrible.

Not enough pow pow, swords, explosions, robots, zombies, dragons and rape in Succession, I guess.

Succession is outstanding but not near as watched as game of thrones. 
 

Discovery), the series premiered to HBO records and is averaging 29 million viewers per episodeacross all US platforms, according to the network. To put that number into context, season seven of “Game of Thrones” averaged 32.7 million viewers per episode, and season 8, its final season, averaged 46 million viewers

 

Popular on Variety. For the second week in a row, “Succession” reached its biggest audience yet. The HBO drama reached 2.6 million viewers on Sunday night, when the fourth episode of its fourth and final season debuted.

Edited May 25, 2023 by ChickenSandwich

[Reynolds Woodcock 4631]

55 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Succession is outstanding but not near as watched as game of thrones. 
 

Discovery), the series premiered to HBO records and is averaging 29 million viewers per episodeacross all US platforms, according to the network. To put that number into context, season seven of “Game of Thrones” averaged 32.7 million viewers per episode, and season 8, its final season, averaged 46 million viewers

 

Popular on Variety. For the second week in a row, “Succession” reached its biggest audience yet. The HBO drama reached 2.6 million viewers on Sunday night, when the fourth episode of its fourth and final season debuted.

It’s also not near as watched as Yellowstone, or Walking Dead back in it’s day, or NCIS, or any other number of brain dead shows, which is what GOT turned into after they ran out of source material. America by and large is full of knuckle dragging troglodytes

[mchookem 15568]

Mare of Eastown is a different category...'limited series or movie' or something, the same category True Detective falls into. not the same as 'primetime drama series'.

[Bama Chick 28595]

lol at using audience size as a measurement of quality

[Mittens 8036]

6 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Not enough pow pow, swords, explosions, robots, zombies, dragons and rape in Succession, I guess.

That is pretty accurate as far as I'm concerned.  Been watching this love fest the last couple of days w/ a raised eyebrow, as the show is just OK, imo.  I watch for the quips and one-liners and some masochism watching dickheads backstab one another, but the setting of megacorp and plotline of who gets it does nothing for me.  Certainly doesn't help that there's not a single protagonist in the entire series.  It's well outside my HBO Top 5 and not even in the conversation for my overall TV Top 10.

[Bozo_Casanova 25903]

2 minutes ago, Mittens said:

That is pretty accurate as far as I'm concerned.  Been watching this love fest the last couple of days w/ a raised eyebrow, as the show is just OK, imo.  I watch for the quips and one-liners and some masochism watching dickheads backstab one another, but the setting of megacorp and plotline of who gets it does nothing for me.  Certainly doesn't help that there's not a single protagonist in the entire series.  It's well outside my HBO Top 5 and not even in the conversation for my overall TV Top 10.

[Buzzrock 14785]

This list lumps everything together but still rightly puts The Wire on top. Succession comes in at 10.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g26293745/best-hbo-series/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_esq_md_pmx_us_urlx_17940812588&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjryjBhD0ARIsAMLvnF86amh2wmuxNXPE_9Prycl_sfKpes0eXewzNs_DlE-dUgpjyq4vOzcaAnTCEALw_wcB

You forget about some of the juggernauts. Sex and the City was a monster.

[mchookem 15568]

...as was True Blood! 

and Oz will always have a special place for being the first one-hour marquee drama of its kind, not to mention one of the first fleshed out male homosexual relationships on tv (as fucked up as it was lol). 

i think i've mentioned before, but when The Sopranos was really first taking off Playboy did an interview with the HBO exec at the time who basically said if it hadn't been for Oz, The Sopranos wouldn't exist.

 

what that list really hammers home is how much i am HBO's bitch 😄

[yoladu 4045]

50 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

This list lumps everything together but still rightly puts The Wire on top. Succession comes in at 10.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g26293745/best-hbo-series/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_esq_md_pmx_us_urlx_17940812588&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjryjBhD0ARIsAMLvnF86amh2wmuxNXPE_9Prycl_sfKpes0eXewzNs_DlE-dUgpjyq4vOzcaAnTCEALw_wcB

You forget about some of the juggernauts. Sex and the City was a monster.

wow.. lots of quality (i had forgotten about) there.

don't agree with the order, but that is a solid Top 50.

[ChickenSandwich 9768]

4 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

lol at using audience size as a measurement of quality

Seasons 1-3 of GOT stand on their own.  They were dialogue and character development heavy with usually one episode to blow the budget with the boom, pow etc.

 

And that was never my point, but it's a lovely story and you tell it so well.  Bless your heart.

[Red Five 40449]

I haven't seen a lot of these series. I'm not comfortable admitting which ones. 

[Bozo_Casanova 25903]

1 hour ago, Buzzrock said:

This list lumps everything together but still rightly puts The Wire on top. Succession comes in at 10.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g26293745/best-hbo-series/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_esq_md_pmx_us_urlx_17940812588&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjryjBhD0ARIsAMLvnF86amh2wmuxNXPE_9Prycl_sfKpes0eXewzNs_DlE-dUgpjyq4vOzcaAnTCEALw_wcB

You forget about some of the juggernauts. Sex and the City was a monster.

 

39 minutes ago, yoladu said:

wow.. lots of quality (i had forgotten about) there.

don't agree with the order, but that is a solid Top 50.

It's a solid top fifty, but it almost feels like everything outside the top 10 was sorted at random. 
Glad to see Getting On get the respect it deserves. That was brilliant, brilliant TV. 

[billfromlaketravis 11291]

Dark comedy : Succession. Honorable mention: Principals 

Drama : The Sopranos. Honorable mention: The Wire 

Comedy: Curb. Honorable mention: The Larry Sanders Show

Limited series: Band of Brothers. Honorable mention: We Own This City

Documentary: A Good Job. Honorable mention: Whitey

 

Documentary was the toughest category for me. They make a lot of crap, but when HBO runs into one it’s superb. The Ohio State - Michigan Rivalry doc is one of the best sports docs I’ve ever watched. Pleas do Texas-OU next. The Case Against Adnan Syed is also great. The Cold Blue is Ana amazing war doc. When The Levees Broke is just a HBO flex. Hey we got Spike Lee to make a 4 hour documentary. 

 

[HornPhD 1316]

1 hour ago, Buzzrock said:

This list lumps everything together but still rightly puts The Wire on top. Succession comes in at 10.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g26293745/best-hbo-series/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_esq_md_pmx_us_urlx_17940812588&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjryjBhD0ARIsAMLvnF86amh2wmuxNXPE_9Prycl_sfKpes0eXewzNs_DlE-dUgpjyq4vOzcaAnTCEALw_wcB

You forget about some of the juggernauts. Sex and the City was a monster.

Band of Brothers at #30? Fuck the writers of this article. They must hate America. 

[billfromlaketravis 11291]

I still love GOT despite the ending. They had a shoe string budget in Seasons 1 and 2. The writers and directors had to be very creative to work around budget shortfalls, so they leaned on their actors’s performances. And the show blossomed. Then it blew up and received a huge cash/CGI infusion, and became an action movie. 
 

I believe GRRM wrote for the show through Season 4. I’ve heard The Tower of Joy Episode in Season 6 was the last episode with his “input”. The show took a f***ing nose dive after that. 
 

I take comfort in the fact the Benioff and Weiss continue to punished for the finale, and haven’t done shit since. 

 

[Celery Man 20607]

3 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

The writers and directors had to be very creative to work around budget shortfalls
 

[Stringer 1423]

However you dice it up, looking through that list is a reminder of how much truly great TV HBO has put up over the last 25 years. No other network has 10% of the essential TV they have put out.

[TOR 5208]

Kendall is finally going to grow into the CEO role and it will appear that all his plans are working, he is clean and sober, and has reconciled with annoying-as-hell Reva and his cute kids.  Mattson will screw over Shiv (of course) for the U.S. ceo position, and she will then somehow torpedo his deal with Mencken as revenge.  Mencken will put Rome on IGNORE and his usefulness to W-R will be over (not to mention is ongoing mental break-down), so he is done.  Cameron Frye will ride off into the sunset with his hot hooker wife to a weird ambassadorship, or possibly back to New Mexico. 

Meanwhile, the fake India numbers will crater GoJo stock and Kendall's plan to turn the offer around and buy them will be succesful thanks in large part to Hugo being his attack dog (love fisher stevens).  The Waystar-Royco board will be poised to crown him CEO and Ruler of all he surveys, and BAM!  Colin has been speaking to the UK police, possibly/probably at the direction of Logan.  The whole story of Kendall's drug-seeking adventure will be exposed in a letter or taped deposition or something that Logan made with Colin.  This may also be where Marcia's son comes back into the story as a corroborating witness, along with Marcia and Jess, which would explain her sudden resignation.  This will be Logan's final sociopathic 'victory' over his children, because as we know, they are not serious people.

The way will then be wide open for the Old Guard executives to draft the Disgusting Brothers as CEO and COO.  Another BAM!  Bodega sushi for everyone!  

[CooterBrown 17759]

1 hour ago, TOR said:

Kendall is finally going to grow into the CEO role and it will appear that all his plans are working, he is clean and sober, and has reconciled with annoying-as-hell Reva and his cute kids.  Mattson will screw over Shiv (of course) for the U.S. ceo position, and she will then somehow torpedo his deal with Mencken as revenge.  Mencken will put Rome on IGNORE and his usefulness to W-R will be over (not to mention is ongoing mental break-down), so he is done.  Cameron Frye will ride off into the sunset with his hot hooker wife to a weird ambassadorship, or possibly back to New Mexico. 

Meanwhile, the fake India numbers will crater GoJo stock and Kendall's plan to turn the offer around and buy them will be succesful thanks in large part to Hugo being his attack dog (love fisher stevens).  The Waystar-Royco board will be poised to crown him CEO and Ruler of all he surveys, and BAM!  Colin has been speaking to the UK police, possibly/probably at the direction of Logan.  The whole story of Kendall's drug-seeking adventure will be exposed in a letter or taped deposition or something that Logan made with Colin.  This may also be where Marcia's son comes back into the story as a corroborating witness, along with Marcia and Jess, which would explain her sudden resignation.  This will be Logan's final sociopathic 'victory' over his children, because as we know, they are not serious people.

The way will then be wide open for the Old Guard executives to draft the Disgusting Brothers as CEO and COO.  Another BAM!  Bodega sushi for everyone!  

[Saint Tacky 1609]

On 5/25/2023 at 7:17 AM, CooterBrown said:

Mare of Easttown needs to be on that list. It’s as good as anything HBO has ever done.

One-and-done seasons? "Band of Brothers." mic drop.

Glad someone finally mentioned "The Larry Sanders Show."  For my money, the top five:

The Wire
Deadwood
The Larry Sanders Show
Sopranos
Six Feet Under
 

[Aqua Buddha 14255]

Six Feet Under gets points for how the stuck the ending.  The finale perfectly tied everything off and was true to the series and the characters.

[TOR 5208]

The Larry Sanders Show was greatness.  Any Arli$$ fans out there?  Currently Barry is pretty good, series finale is the same night as Succession.  Got to find something new.

[TonyTexas 10431]

This theory for the finale is as good as any. Bill Wambsganss in 1926, completed the only unassisted triple play ever in World Series history. So Tom obviously takes out all 3 siblings to assume the top spot of Waystar. 

[YGIFS 19445]

^

This is particularly entertaining as a theory if you read it in the voice of a 1926 baseball announcer voice.  

"Nary one hundred games remain in the season for Wambsganss and the Athletics' season.  Rumors abound that he shares the same middle name as that crazy German, Hitler.  But here we are sports fans, as Logan Roy names a successor to his empire.  Who will it be?  Only time will tell."