Content Consumed: Succession Premiere

Good morning and happy Monday! While I’m feeling mentally better than last week, I’m down bad with some sort of sinus infection right now. Hoping it clears up soon. Nothing can stop the post-Succession bliss though.

In today’s edition of Content Consumed, we’re talking about the Succession season 4 premiere.

Succession: Season 4, Episode 1 review and recap

Kendall Roy is a wordsmith that I could never be.

“Substack meets MasterClass meets the Economist meets the New Yorker” is how he pitched the short-lived concept of The Hundred, a media organization devised by the Roy kids and immediately ditched when there’s an opportunity to fuck over their father by taking over the Pierce family’s company.

Oh, Succession. Missed you.

The kids aren’t alright. They’re pretending they are—especially Shiv, whose crumbling marriage is just about as complicated as it gets (cheating, workplace conflict of interest, bicoastal distance, etc). Kendall too, who’s probably high on something, and clearly still has lingering emotions for Naomi Pierce. Roman is as witty as ever, stealing every scene with one-liners and micro-expressions. But he probably misses Gerri, let’s be honest.

And the crazy thing is… Logan misses them. He misses being around the vulgar, quick humor and the chaos of his children. He forces Cousin Greg and the remaining stragglers on his side to join in on a roast on his birthday. Which Greg starts with: “Where are your children?”

By the way: Greg’s side plot is, perhaps, the best part of this episode. “The Disgusting Brothers”, especially when it comes out of Shiv’s mouth during her tearful non-fight with Tom, had me hysterical.

Nan Pierce, by the way, is a perfect and underrated multi-season side character. Her waffling—fake, sneaky, and hypocritical—as the Roys battle for her devalued company is incredible. “I feel like I’m in the middle of a bidding war!” as she’s literally in the middle of a bidding war… being equally saddened by and excited by each new number thrown her way… perfect.

And you know who’s really a player now? Kerry. She’s not just an assistant/fuckbuddy to Logan anymore. She’s controlling the calls, writing the game herself between the kids and Logan.

Logan Roy will die by the end of this season. I’m more sure of that than ever after he asked for a Cardinal at his birthday party and took his bodyguard to a diner to discuss life after death.

But the question still remains, and is nowhere close to being answered: who will be the successor? Could there even be a successor, with the endless shifts (and possible takeover or merger) of WayStar RoyCo?

And when the hell is Skarsgård showing up?

Some of my favorite lines:

• “I don’t want to see what happens in Guantánamo.” — Greg, as his date is removed from Logan’s party
• Connor wants “bum fights” at his wedding to Willa, to gain media attention and not get his 1% of the presidential vote “squeezed”
• Everything Kendall says about The Hundred: “like a private members club but for everyone,” “an indispensable bespoke information hub” with “high-calorie info-snacks.”
• “Congratulations on saying the biggest number,” said Logan, to his kids, who he calls “the rats” behind their backs and to their faces.
• “Time to talk to an old lady about newspapers,” Roman aptly describes their meeting with Nan Pierce.
• “Rummage to fruition”, “omelette nipples”, and honestly, a few other sex jokes that I don’t want to write down here.
• “Marcia’s shopping in Milan. Forever.”

That’s it for today! Tomorrow, we’ve got a podcast highlight, a newsletter rec, music reviews, and more.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to subscribe to Content Consumed to get more culture and content from me (almost) every weekday.

Cheers!
Casey

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