41 Things You Didn't Know About HBO's Succession
A pivotal character was supposed to die in Season 1.
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Whether it was their opulent lifestyles or the dysfunctional family dynamics that kept viewers tuning in every Sunday night, Succession was HBO's breakout hit of 2018. If you aren't familiar with the show, you're in luck. We've rounded up the tidbits to know, including those that even the show's fans might not be privy to. And just in time for the premiere of Season 2 on August 11.
The show was inspired by real families.
A screenplay about the Murdoch family, written by the show's creator Jesse Armstrong, sparked the idea. Though the characters aren't based on actual people, Armstrong drew inspiration from families like the Redstones, the Murdochs, and the Hearsts to highlight the distinct dynamics that come into play within powerful families.
Adam McKay and Will Ferrell produced it together.
Before Succession, McKay and Ferrell produced several other projects together, including Anchorman, Talladega Nights, The Big Short, and Vice.
Jesse Armstrong has comedy experience.
There's a reason this sleeper hit makes you laugh at the most surprising of times: The writer and producer cocreated the British cult comedy Peep Show.
As does executive producer Frank Rich.
Rich (center) was an executive producer for HBO's popular dark comedy, Veep.
Adam McKay knew the Roys had to be a media conglomerate.
Logan Roy's empire, Waystar Royco, was always destined to be in the media industry. Why? McKay told Variety that "media families were the most interesting and the most dramatic."
The show is filmed in New York City.
In fact, production fought to shoot in locations within NYC that would make the show feel authentic and real.
Logan Roy's NYC apartment is on Billionaires' Row.
The show's creators said it was extremely important to them for the apartment to have a view of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park. However, the facade seen on the show is from a residential building on Fifth Avenue.
The apartment's interior is fake.
The marble floors, spiral staircases, and impeccable decor of the Roy family patriarch's duplex is actually a set in Long Island City's Silvercup Studios.
Props were sourced from antiques stores in Connecticut.
Set decorator George DeTitta Jr. said he sourced high-end antiques from Newel Props, 1stdibs, John Street Antiques, and an array of antiques stores in Westport and Stamford, Connecticut, to give the set an authentic feel.
Waystar Royco is located in the One World Trade Center.
The offices were built and shot on a soundstage, but some scenes are shot in vacant spaces within the tower, primarily for the views.
Brian Cox doesn't watch his work.
The Scottish actor who plays Logan Roy has starred in everything from King Lear to Braveheart, but he says he doesn't enjoy watching his past films. "It's madly depressing to say the least," he told the BBC in 2016.
Kieran Culkin wasn't supposed to play Roman Roy.
The actor was sent the script for Greg, but after reading it, Culkin found he resonated more with the cynical and pompous Roman. "There was something that clicked with me and this character that's something I still don't understand, and probably don't want to understand, considering the kind of guy he is," Culkin told The Hollywood Reporter.
You might recognize Kieran Culkin as a former child star.
No? Well, you'll definitely recognize his older brother, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. Kiernan began acting at six years old and starred in films like Father of the Bride and Home Alone.
Sarah Snook wasn't stressed for her audition.
Because she didn't think she'd get it. "I really just was like, 'Eh, this is out of my league. I'll just come and do it and get out of here. Free trip to L.A. for a weekend and see my friends,'" Snook told GQ. Little did she know.
And Alan Ruck almost missed his audition.
On the day Ruck got the call to audition for Succession, he was busy helping his wife with their kids. "We took our boy to the music class. It's one of those classes where you leave your phone outside. And when I got out, there were seven messages that said, 'Just go to Adam Mckay's house.' I drove over there and told him I didn't even know the material," Ruck told Awards Daily.
Jeremy Strong and McKay go way back.
The two worked together on The Big Short. "I went to lunch at his house, and he said that he had this script that was kind of loosely about the Murdochs—sort of a King Lear–meets-the-media-industrial-complex kind of thing. It sounded really compelling to me, and I read the script and fell in love with it," Strong told GQ.
This is Hiam Abbass's first major TV role.
Abbass, who plays Logan Roy's elegant and mysterious third wife, has starred in numerous indie films, but this is her first time landing a TV gig. Now, she also stars on Hulu's Ramy.
A lot of the show's dialogue is improvised.
"Having them all around a dinner table, and having a couple cameras running, and saying, 'Do the script but then do some bits around it'—I love that way of shooting," Armstrong told Thrillist. He says it allows the cast to be more comedic, and he thinks it works really well for a drama like Succession.
The show's network was involved in a real-life media merger.
In HBO's case, life really does imitate art. After the show's first season, AT&T acquired Time Warner (HBO's parent company) in a very high-profile and controversial merger.
Sarah Snook hails from Australia.
The actress was born in Adelaide, South Australia, where she started her career as an actress.
