For the last few months, it seems like everyone (or, perhaps more likely, a large group of coastal, creative-field-employed millennials) has been raving nonstop about Succession. The second season finally came to an end last Sunday, leaving us bereft, with only memes and inscrutable catchphrases (“You can’t make a Tomlette without breaking a few Greggs!”) to soothe our troubled souls.
Luckily season three of Succession has already been ordered and will likely premiere next summer. But if you just can’t wait that long, we get it. To that end we’ve compiled a list of TV shows and movies that scratch the Succession itch, organized by category.
If you need more corporate intrigue: The Wolf of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Street provides all the high-octane thrills and boardroom betrayals of a really good episode of Succession, plus Margot Robbie. If you don’t have time for a movie-length examination of the business world, the “Succession” episode of 30 Rock (in which Liz Lemon ditches her creative team to fit in with executives—“Suck it, monkeys! I’m going corporate!”) cuts right to the chase.
If you crave incisive commentary about news media: Broadcast News
You’re not going to do any better than this 1987 rom-com/battle for the soul of TV news that was eerily prescient about how far we’ve fallen. Bonus: Holly Hunter, a.k.a. Rhea Jarrell from Succession, stars as plucky, principled producer Jane Craig. (“A lot of alliteration from anxious anchors placed in powerful posts,” to quote Albert Brooks’s Aaron Altman.)
If it’s Succession’s quip-per-minute ratio you miss the most: The Thick of It
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong previously wrote for Armando Iannucci’s British political comedy The Thick of It, which in turn served as inspiration for Veep. There are definitely some Succession-esque bon mots tossed around on The Thick of It, for example: “Scruples? Scruples? What are they? Is that those low-fat Kettle Chips?”
If you need more Tom Wambsgans, and you don’t care how you get it: Pride Prejudice
Matthew Macfayden, the actor who plays Tom, starred as Mr. Darcy in the 2005 version of Pride Prejudice. Watch him moon over Elizabeth Bennet in a waxed jacket, and marvel at how well he manages to suppress his English accent in order to play Tom.
If you’re seeking a new, dark Sunday-night appointment show: Watchmen
HBO’s Watchmen, based on the DC Comics limited series and developed by Lost creator Damon Lindelof, seems like a likely hit; the first season chronicles superheroes and masked vigilantes starting a revolution in an alternate-reality America.
If you’re looking for a thoughtful exploration of vast material wealth: Generation Wealth
Lauren Greenfield’s documentary Generation Wealth gets at the heart of what globalization and widespread wealth culture have done to society, asking the viewer what it means when the American dream is up for sale.
If you just want to watch rich people behaving badly: The Simple Life
All of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s reality show The Simple Life is on Amazon Prime. Go to town.
