13 Shows to Binge When ‘Succession’ Ends

13 Shows to Binge When ‘Succession’ EndsHBO

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We’re nearing the end times. With just a few weeks until the sure-to-be-epic series finale of Succession, it’s about time we start lining up our next personality trait. The show that turned Mr. Darcy into milktoast and Nicholas Braun into a goofy heartthrob. The show with the priciest ugly blazers on television. The show that taught us that sometimes billionaires park their private jets next to each other while they speak over the phone. The reason you delete Twitter every Sunday night at 9 p.m. That show, the show, is ending. How do we fill the void? There is no anti-hero like Kendall Roy, no comedic timing like Tom Wambsgans, no bag so capacious, and no original song like “L to the OG.”

Whether or not we’re ready to accept it, Succession is almost over. If restarting the series from the pilot is not your vibe, then give these shows a try. We think you’ll like them.

The Murdochs: Empire of Influence

In June 2022, Rupert Murdoch, the IRL inspiration for Logan Roy, filed for divorce from his then-wife Jerry Hall. In the filings, one of the settlement terms dictated that Hall, having been married to the media magnate for six years, was barred from giving any story ideas to the writers room of the HBO hit Succession. Beyond being one of the most unique settlement terms in divorce filings, the statement was a court-coded stamp of authenticity for the dramatized series. That said, the best way to mourn the impending loss of Succession Sunday nights is to dive into the history of (alleged) the real-life Roys. This HBO docuseries details the rise of Murdoch’s media empire, the lasting legacy of Fox News, and the very real battle for a successor inside the News Corp culture.

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The Morning Show

If your favorite Succession storylines involve the fictional ATN and network drama, give Apple TV’s The Morning Show a stream. The series stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and is based on the 2013 book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. The show brings audiences inside the inner circles of broadcast television’s elite, following them through the public figure gauntlet, complete with sexual misconduct reckonings and network politics.

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Industry

Sharp insults and high stakes business decisions, but 20 years younger. HBO’s Industry follows a group of post-grads beginning their finance careers at a prestigious London investment bank, Pierpoint & Co. If Succession taught you everything you know about media conglomerates and billionaires, let Industry teach you about the stock market.

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Billions

Billions is the older sister to Succession; the series did a similar thing and it did it first, but not nearly as well and to less fanfare. The series follows two enemies who bear no blood relation, a powerful hedge fund manager flirting with white collar crimes, and the U.S. Attorney hoping to prosecute him. Much like Succession, many of the plot points in Billions are inspired by real life events.

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The Newsroom

From the mind and desk of Aaron Sorkin, one of our most adept screenwriters, The Newsroom is a political drama that ran on HBO from 2012 to 2014. The series builds a fictional broadcast news culture from inside the newsroom of ACN, Atlantis Cable News. Led by actor Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom tells stories that weave together corporate drama, personal crises, and American news culture. This plug also allows us to draw attention to one of Succession’s greatest lines, delivered by Logan’s brother Ewan. “The ‘Logan Roy School of Journalism’? What’s next, the ‘Jack the Ripper Women’s Health Clinic’?”

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Ozark

One of Netflix’s most celebrated crime dramas, Ozark stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as a married couple who move their family across the country to become money launderers. There are definitely differences between these two series, but the vibes match and the audience base overlaps. Ozark has far less humor than Succession, and explores crime in a way that feels more real than the billionaire white collar discretions of the Waystar Royco universe.

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Yellowstone

If you asked ChatGPT to write a western version of Succession that takes place at a national park, you’d get the pilot script of Yellowstone. The hit Paramount+ series follows the conflicts, business, personal, and otherwise, of the Dutton family who runs a large cattle ranch on the border of Yellowstone National Park. Succession’s battles take place in high rises between Roys and key stakeholders, while Yellowstone’s war wages between the family, the developers, and the residents of the neighboring reservation.

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Veep

This political satire was the show to watch in its time, and it’s still just as good. Veep ran from 2012 to 2019 on HBO, winning a handful of awards and making Julia Louis-Dreyfus a six-time consecutive Best Actress Emmy Award winner. Louis-Dreyfus plays fictional U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer. Like Succession, Veep achieves the overarching goal of a satire–the honest truth. If Succession opened your eyes to the true nature and business of American news and politics, then Veep is your next move.

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The Sopranos

In the years to come, we will see headline upon headline comparing Succession’s effect on television culture to The Sopranos, so might as well get ahead of it. Both were considered legacy television in their time, and each marked a time of “event television.” Both aired on HBO in the hallowed Sunday night 9 p.m. time slot, and wear the crown of GOAT-ed television. Must we include a plot description of The Sopranos? No, you’re familiar.

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Empire

Empire follows a music mogul who must choose which of his three children will be the successor of his multi-million dollar business. Sound familiar? Starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, the series ran on Fox for five years and was one of the most watched series on the network.

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Mad Men

Like Succession, Mad Men exists in the world of big business in New York, just in a different era. The series follows Don Draper, an executive and creative director of a major advertising agency in the late 1950s. This series has quite the legacy, having won 16 Emmys and 5 Golden Globes, plus the priceless accolade of inspiring hundreds of thousands of college freshmen to major in advertising.

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The Righteous Gemstones

This HBO comedy follows a family of famous televangelists and megachurch leaders who use church donations to fund a luxurious lifestyle. Starring Danny McBride, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, and John Goodman, the series has two seasons currently available to stream.

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House of Cards

A series marked by amorality, on and off the screen, House of Cards is set in Washington D.C. and stars Kevin Spacey as fictional politician Frank Underwood. The series explores the depravity and manipulation tactics of American politics, which again, speaks to the ATN of it all.

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Originally published May 3, 2023 at 11:13 AM