James R | On 18, Oct 2021

Succession Season 3 premieres on Monday 18th October, with episodes arriving weekly on Mondays at 2am. This spoiler-free review is based on the opening three episodes. Not caught up? Read our spoiler-free review of Season 1 here.

“I’m not serious, OK, but I am serious.” That’s the sound of Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) in Succession Season 3 after he’s done the unthinkable – actually stand up to his dad, Logan Roy (Brian Cox). That moment was the thrilling cliffhanger at the end of Season 2, when the heir-apparent to the family empire publicly implicated Logan in the company’s lengthy string of scandals and crimes – all thanks to the documents leaked by Greg (Nicholas Braun).

Season 3 picks things up directly after that press conference, and the fun of it all lies in seeing how everyone reacts to the bombshell – and, at the same time, enjoying just how well drawn each of these characters is. Jesse Armstrong and his writing team really know these people inside out, finding surprising nuances and shades of grey between their uniformly terrible selves.

Logan immediately heads for sanctuary in any country that doesn’t have an extradition agreement with the USA, but his instinct is tellingly to try and assemble his kids together. That’s less because he wants to be loved or protect them and more because he wants to be surrounded by people he can bully or control, and Brian Cox’s barking authority remains as unnerving as it is acerbically funny – “Let’s go full beast!” he yells at no one in particular as he storms out of an office. He even thinks he can just swear at the FBI and they’ll go away. But that final shot of Season 2 looms large over everything we see here, as it becomes increasingly clear that Kendall’s betrayal is perhaps the only thing that would make this toxic father figure proud of his son – Logan values loyalty, but only respects the one thing he can understand: ruthless cruelty.

Jeremy Strong’s Kendall, meanwhile, remains mesmerising to see in action. He’s a guy who is trying to do the right thing but is fundamentally incapable of doing it. He’s selfish, egotistical and values numbers and company performance over people’s well-being – and so he thinks he can actually take down his dad but without taking down himself or damaging the company he hopes to inherit and take over.

It’s a joy to see him with the weight off his shoulders, but the more confident he gets, the more cringe-inducing and tone-deaf he becomes. He talks of planting flags, destroying the patriarchy and giving a voice to the victims of abuse at his company – and just keeps talking, even when his advisors are trying to explain a strategy to him. His trash-talking and attempts at jokes becomes increasingly absurd and nonsensical, and his delivery only becomes more hyperactive – a sure sign that the happier Kendall gets, the more we expect him to crash and burn. Because every time he stops moving or talking, a look of dawning shock spreads across his face – and you wonder whether he really does know what to do next, or even expected himself to make a play against his dad in the first place.

Things get more interesting as it becomes apparent that the rest of the family also struggle with the idea of betraying their dad – and it’s hugely entertaining just trying to work out whether that’s because of an actual shred of affection or because they use the notion of being a loyal son or daughter as an excuse to back up their own selfish positions.

Sarah Snook’s Shiv, who on paper appears to be the ideal face for change in the corporation, has been on her dad’s side ever since he dangled the idea of him wanting her to be his replacement in Season 2 – but the question is how many times she’ll let herself be passed over in the hope of securing his vote. The more she puts on a smiling facade, the more we suspect that she doesn’t even know the answer to that herself, as she makes bad decision after bad decision; one of the most fascinating and layered Roy kids, Shiv’s arrogance actively undoes her own intelligence.

As her husband, Tom Wambsgans, Matthew Macfadyen continues to deliver the best performance of his career, enjoying the chance to play goofy as well as deadpan. From his ongoing attempts to feel superior by being mean to Greg to his apparent willingness to do anything to get into Logan’s good books, he’s a brilliantly pathetic figure who epitomises Succession’s flawless balance of comedy and tragedy.

In what other show would a character like Connor (Alan Ruck) make sense? His ambitions to be President of the United States briefly put to one side, he’s still living in his own amusingly inept bubble – and his attempts to support his girlfriend’s ambitions as a playwright are at once sincere and horribly business-minded.

Stealing every scene going, meanwhile, is Kieran Culkin as the hilariously witty Roman, whose childish nature makes him the polar opposite of Kendall. Where his older brother wants to do the right thing but is incapable of it, Roman has the impulse to do the worst possible thing at any moment, but just might have an actual conscience lingering under the surface. Culkin and Snook have genuine sibling chemistry that hints at a real concern for each other, while Culkin and J Smith-Cameron, who plays Logan’s stalwart number-two Geri, are the best unlikely couple on the show. And yet the more Roman seems to mature as a result of these relationships, the less Logan seems to respect him.

Even the smaller players get their moments, from Peter Friedman’s long-suffering Frank and David Rasche’s patient CFO Karl to Fisher Stevens’ wonderfully slimy comms chief, Hugo. The writing team give them all dialogue that’s eminently quotable, while throwing such humdingers as “the soul of the company” about to keep the awkward-o-meter high.

And, amid it all, Nicholas Braun steals the show as Greg, whose hysterical cluelessness is the only constant in the face of sweeping change. He’s unswayed by the politics and plotting, mainly because he can’t grasp them, and is therefore torn between loyalties, friendships, family and saving his own skin. But as he continues to get sucked into this world of luxury watches and legal immunity, Greg is a loveable useful idiot who reminds us nobody in this programme is immune to corruption.

Logan is under no illusion on that score. As Season 3 sets the stage for civil war, the beleaguered bear of a man may have the upper hand, as he can easily read (and manipulate) other people, whereas Kendall can barely read himself. What ensues is a clash of ever-climbing stakes that doesn’t lose sight of its own fundamental truth: that no matter what buzzwords get thrown around or what reshuffles take place, these hypocrites have no concept of corporate or personal responsibility. These wealthy one-percenters live in a world where doing less wrong than someone else counts as doing right. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, scathingly critical and devastatingly human – a comedy in which every tiny action is its own towering Greek tragedy. From the opening titles, complete with Nicholas Britell’s ironically jaunty theme tune, Succession is serious, not serious and exquisitely executed.

 

Succession is available on Sky Atlantic. Don’t have Sky? You can also stream it on NOW, for £9.99 a month with no contract. For the latest Sky TV packages and prices, click the button below.

 

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