Of all the words you could use to describe Succession, perhaps the most apt one is "full-tilt." When the Emmy-winning HBO drama first premiered, it was hard to figure out what to make of the show's eccentric tone; not quite a comedy yet still packed with sharp yet hilarious quips. And while it was entertaining to watch the expletive-filled battles over control of a massive media empire (that most certainly bore no resemblance whatsoever to the Murdoch family, no sirree bob), it wasn't necessarily the sort of show you could fall in love with — if only due to a collection of characters who went out of their way to not be lovable.
But with each episode, creator Jesse Armstrong and the writers managed to pull us further into the show's web, a journey that only gets deeper and odder with Season 3. The new season picks up right where Season 2 leaves off, with Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) mobilizing his forces, following a press conference regarding the nefarious doing of the Roy family and the multinational corporation they control. That means it's alliance time, with his siblings Tom (Alan Ruck), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) trying to decide whether or not to desert their father, Shiv's husband Tom (Matthew Macfayden) facing the real possibility of jail time, and Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) doing what he does best: being Cousin Greg.
In some ways, it's tough to talk about what occurs in Season 3 without spoiling it, but in other ways the details remain vaguely consistent. The Roys travel the world while yelling at each other in private planes. Alliances are formed and broken in the span of one phone call or text message. The stakes feel significantly heightened by Kendall's "whistleblowing," which raises the very real specter of consequences for the past actions of the company, which in turn is on shaky ground due to the shaky presence of Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Which is all to say, this season feels like a strong evolution of what's come before — not meant as a slight towards the past, but more a confirmation that this show's only going to get better and better as it goes.
While other shows about extremely rich people living their lives out loud have drawn their appeal from the aspirational aspect of it, the taste of another life where money smooths out everyone's problems, that's not why we love to watch Succession. It only took me two seasons plus seven episodes of Season 3 to understand it, but it has everything to do a line of Shiv's from Season 3, spoken in one of many scenes where someone is being told that they're not about to get their way, because the Roys don't back down. Why? "We don’t get embarrassed." What Succession offers us a glimpse of is a life lived without shame, without any consideration for how other people might see you. After all, the reason to have "fuck you" money isn't to buy fancy cars or vacation homes. It's to say "fuck you" to anyone you want, without any fear for the consequences.
That's why we enjoy watching this choreographed dance starring the Roys, but what takes Succession to the next level is how it shows us the hollow places inside these people, where their hearts might have once been able to flourish. Honesty, what makes these characters so scary and also sometimes heartbreaking is the traces of humanity that do linger, especially as centered around the character of Kendall: As much bluster as Kendall likes to spit out to the world, Strong's performance ensures that we never lose sight of the broken little boy within.
While there have been some much-heralded guest stars announced for Season 3, including Alexander Skarsgård, Adrian Brody, and Hope Davis, Succession is very savvy about the way they're incorporated into the action — because Armstrong does an elegant job of making sure that the series never loses focus on its core narrative, as captured by the show's opening sequence. There have been some small changes made to the credits between Season 2 and 3, but the imagery remains consistent: four children, gazing at a father who's walking away, who never looks back.
Succession Season 3 premieres October 17 on HBO.