The battle for the Iron Throne isn’t the only power struggle you’ll soon be able to find on HBO. The premium cable network has the new drama series Succession coming in June. As a teaser trailer released Thursday shows, the series centers on a media conglomerate and the complicated family that controls it.
Created by Jesse Armstrong and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Adam McKay, Succession focuses on the Roy family as patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) approaches retirement age. Although he already has an heir apparent in second-oldest son Kendall (Jeremy Strong), there appear to be others who have ideas about who could or should take over as head of the firm. The teaser trailer offers a sneak peek at the strife, starting with Logan announcing that he’s not ready to step down.
“So, I changed my mind,” he says. “I’m staying on as head of the firm.”
“You fucked me,” Kendall tells his father in response.
That sets the tone for the kind of dysfunction we can expect to see from the family and key players in their empire. As HBO explains, the series “explores themes of power, politics, money, and family.”
“There’s no question that Succession, at its root, is a family story,” McKay said in a statement. “There’s also a tragic side to it, where you see how massive wealth and power distorts and twists and wounds this family.”
There are numerous people caught up in the family power struggle, including Logan’s other children, Connor (Alan Ruck), Roman (Kiernan Culkin), and Siobhan (Sarah Snook). Their cousin, Greg (Nicholas Braun) is also involved, as are Logan’s third wife, Marcia (Hiam Abbass); Siobhan’s boyfriend, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen); and Kendall’s somewhat estranged wife, Rava (Natalie Gold). We’ll also see the firm’s COO, Frank (Peter Friedman), factor in, as well as a character named Lawrence (Rob Yang), who’s the CEO of a digital media outfit the firm plans to take over.
The series is executive produced by Armstrong and McKay, as well as Will Ferrell, Kevin Messick, Jane Tranter, Frank Rich, and Mark Mylod. Armstrong is the showrunner.
Succession is set for a 10-episode season and will premiere in June on HBO.
