“Succession” is Really a Tragedy About Narcissistic Parenting
Through the lens of painful family roles, the TV show takes on a powerful and relatable narrative.
Contains spoilers on seasons 1 and 2 of HBO’s TV show Succession.
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It’s easy to hate the dynastic media family in HBO’s hit show Succession. I certainly did. Led by Logan Roy — a Murdoch breed of billionaire and CEO of an imagined conservative media corporation—the dysfunctional family has four adult children, each worse than the next.
Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, the lone daughter, is sly and unfaithful to her doting puppy of a partner. Kendall is riddled with addictions and seems to be a negligent father to his own kids. Oldest child Connor is out of touch with reality and convinced of his own mental and moral superiority. And Roman, the youngest, is a man-child cracking crass and classist jokes, never to be taken seriously even in moments of real crisis.
As the show opens, we see the family living a life of insane luxury: fine dining, expensive clothes, unfettered access, private chauffeurs, and a seemingly endless supply of penthouse suites used to throw parties. The pretentious bunch are as quick to offend their elite counterparts (and each other) as they are to rip off average…
