Review: There is no successor to “Succession”

Sarah Snook, Arian Moayed, Brian Cox, Jesse Armstrong, Kieran Culkin, J.

The HBO series about a fictional mogul and his adult children scheming to replace him is so captivating because it draws on real-life dynasties like Rupert Murdoch’s family.

Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, is a cutthroat titan in his twilight years who built the conglomerate that operates a powerful cable news network, newspapers, theme parks and a cruise line.

Some of the events and characters evoke the career of Sumner Redstone, the architect of ViacomCBS for $71 billion.

With a combined market value of little more than $30 billion, they’re dwarfed by the likes of Netflix , the $270 billion streaming juggernaut.

In a desperate attempt to stay relevant, the Roy family courts Lukas Matsson, the founder of a streaming company, GoJo, played by Alexander Skarsgard.

Yet while the introverted Matsson may have the upper hand in the digital age, it’s hard to envisage his character inspiring a series like “Succession.” The same is true in real life.

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