RoyCast

🚨 NEW ROYCAST 🚨

In case you missed it: Brendan and I were joined by our trusty producer Dan to run the fool’s errand of RANKING ALL 39 EPISODES OF SUCCESSION. We had a lot of fun, we hope you don’t forsake us for any of our choices. Let us know what you think and talk soon.

**photos posted here not correspondent to the ranking!

I’m still over the moon to see one of the greatest writer/director duos of our time recognized for their tremendous work on “Connor’s Wedding”. Succession wouldn’t be the show it is without these two helming the ship all these years—unmatched grace, talent, dedication. If you’re unaware of the tricks it took to pull off the episode of the year, check out the RoyCast recording “Connor’s Wedding” where we break it down. Congratulations Jesse and Mark 🏆🛳️

Oh what a night ❣️

Congratulations to Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Mylod, & Jesse Armstrong on their individual category wins, and the entire team for the BEST DRAMA WIN. Thank you for everything.

Congratulations to Succession on FOUR huge Golden Globe wins:

Best TV Drama
Sarah Snook, Lead Actress in a TV Drama
Kieran Culkin, Lead Actor in a TV Drama
Matthew Macfadyen, Supporting TV Actor

🏆

🏆 AWARDS SEASON 🏆

Hello, friends & fly guys. We hope this new year finds you healthy and rejuvenated. Awards season has begun and Succession’s final season abounds with nominations.

TONIGHT at the , Succession will vie for:

- BEST DRAMA SERIES
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TV DRAMA (Sarah Snook)
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TV DRAMA (Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong)
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TV SUPPORTING ROLE (J. SMITH-CAMERON)
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TV SUPPORTING ROLE (MATTHEW MACFADYEN, ALAN RUCK, ALEXANDER SKARSGARD)

Congratulations and good luck to our beautiful nominees! Sadly they literally cannot all win, but we are sure it will be a lovely night regardless. Stay tuned for updates. And also for a new episode from us sometime this month. eagles aerie out! 🥂

(Photo 1 from 2020 Golden Globes after Season 2 won Best Drama)

In summation…

SUCCESSION SEASON FOUR (2023)

1. THE MUNSTERS (dir. Mark Mylod)
2. REHEARSAL (Becky Martin)
3. CONNOR’S WEDDING (Mark Mylod)
4. HONEYMOON STATES (Lorene Scafaria)
5. KILL LIST (Andrij Parekh)
6. LIVING+ (Lorene Scafaria)
7. TAILGATE PARTY (Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
8. AMERICA DECIDES (Andrij Parekh)
9. CHURCH AND STATE (Mark Mylod)
10. WITH OPEN EYES (Mark Mylod)

🥀 ICYMI: THE FINAL ROYCAST 🥀

In the Succession series finale, “With Open Eyes”, the closed-loop system begins yet another revolution as the Roys permanently lose Waystar. Critic and author Adam Nayman returns to the RoyCast for a hefty discussion of the joys, anxieties & potential pitfalls of the season. We delve into the insular quality of the final moments, the intoxicating pull of the Roy kids bonding, eruptions of physical violence, the uncertain fate of Mencken’s presidential run, the long running corporeal themes, hearty fare & meager rations in the Caribbean, and final outcomes for the many lead and supporting characters we bid farewell to. We also offer some thoughts on Succession’s legacy, and the future of this podcast.
🧀🪡🌴🍞⛓️🩹👑👁️🌪️🥚🗳️🩸🔜💸

Thank you so much for your support, fly guys. What started as a few friends trying to cobble together a way to collectively obsess over a season of television turned into a project that went places well beyond our expectations. It has been a pleasure sharing in this with you all. As said on the pod, we are going to take a short break but will be back.

Talk soon 💌

302//410

Last look back before we know how it ends…

SUCCESSION SEASON THREE (2021)

1. SECESSION (dir. Mark Mylod)
2. MASS IN TIME OF WAR (Mark Mylod)
3. THE DISRUPTION (Cathy Yan)
4. LION IN THE MEADOW (Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
5. RETIRED JANITORS OF IDAHO (Kevin Bray)
6. WHAT IT TAKES (Andrij Parekh)
7. TOO MUCH BIRTHDAY (Lorene Scafaria)
8. CHIANTISHIRE (Mark Mylod)
9. ALL THE BELLS SAY (Mark Mylod)

Well, see you on the other side, friends 💌

SUCCESSION SEASON TWO (2019)

1. THE SUMMER PALACE (dir. Mark Mylod)
2. VAULTER (Andrij Parekh)
3. HUNTING (Andrij Parekh)
4. SAFE ROOM (Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
5. TERN HAVEN (Mark Mylod)
6. ARGESTES (Matt Shakman)
7. RETURN (Becky Martin)
8. DUNDEE (Kevin Bray)
9. DC (Mark Mylod)
10. THIS IS NOT FOR TEARS (Mark Mylod)

Quick interruption from the nostalgia run to announce a NEW ROYCAST 🔊🔊🔊

While political unrest mounts outside, we meet the Roys at Logan’s funeral mass, where Kendall and Shiv eulogize their father while Roman falls to pieces. Original Fly Guy Vikram Murthi returns to the RoyCast to talk about “Church and State” as a classic penultimate episode, the show’s signature blend of dry humor and pathos, the direction and staging of Logan's funeral, the decline and fall of Roman, Kendall's bitter partings from Rava and Jess, the pending Shiv W, Mencken & Matsson maneuvers, Ewan’s good hard take, a curious scene with Colin, the women in Logan's life, top bunks & good eggs, CEO odds, some light series finale speculation, and more.
✍🏼⚰️🌹🎻🚢🗞️🌎🫂🕋🥀🚔🚧🫀

Quick interruption from the nostalgia run to announce a NEW ROYCAST 🔊🔊🔊

As political unrest mounts outside, we meet the Roys at Logan’s funeral mass, where Kendall and Shiv eulogize their father while Roman falls to pieces. Original Fly Guy Vikram Murthi returns to the RoyCast to talk about “Church and State” as a classic penultimate episode, the show’s signature blend of dry humor and pathos, the direction and staging of Logan's funeral, the decline and fall of Roman, Kendall's bitter bitter partings from Rava and Jess, the pending Shiv W, Mencken & Matsson maneuvers, Ewan’s good hard take, top bunks, a curious scene with Colin, the women in Logan's life, CEO odds, some light series finale speculation, and more.
✍🏼⚰️🌹🎻🚢🗞️🫂🕋🥀🫀🚧🚦🚨

Quick interruption from the nostalgia run to announce a NEW ROYCAST 🔊🔊🔊

While political unrest unfolds outside, we meet the Roys at Logan’s funeral mass, where Kendall and Shiv eulogize their father as Roman falls to pieces. OG Fly Guy Vikram Murthi returns to the RoyCast to talk about “Church and State” as a classic penultimate episode, the show’s signature blend of dry humor and pathos, the direction and staging of Logan's funeral, the decline and fall of Roman, Kendall's bitter partings from Rava and Jess, the pending Shiv W, Mencken maneuvers, Ewan’s good hard take, top bunks, a curious scene with Colin, the women in Logan's life, CEO odds, some light series finale speculation, and more.

✍🏼⚰️🚢🎻🌹🕋🫂🫀🚧🚦🚔🚨

A look back…

SUCCESSION SEASON 1 (2018)

1. CELEBRATION (dir. Adam McKay)
2. S**T SHOW AT THE F**K FACTORY (Mark Mylod)
3. LIFEBOATS (Mark Mylod)
4. SAD SACK WASP TRAP (Adam Arkin)
5. I WENT TO MARKET (Adam Arkin)
6. WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON (Andrij Parekh)
7. AUSTERLITZ (Miguel Arteta)
8. PRAGUE (S.J. Clarkson)
9. PRE-NUPTIAL (Mark Mylod)
10. NOBODY IS EVER MISSING (Mark Mylod)

this is it, this is the day we make it happen.

🇺🇸ICYMI: NEW ROYCAST🇺🇸

It's finally election night in "America Decides", where the Roy family tragedy spills over into a national catastrophe of their own making. Brendan and Gabi sit down for a solo discussion that dives deep into the road to this inevitable outcome, the episode's atypical structure, the details of the show's electoral reality, lost votes in Milwaukee, Kendall's swing vote, Shiv's humiliation, Roman's demonic energy, real life parallels for Mencken and Jimenez, Tom's election night diet, Greg's payback moment, a moment of agency from Jess, ATN culture & shenanigans, director Andrij Parekh and his history with the series, ethical walls, bodega sushi, and more.
🗳️ 🍣 🇺🇸 🔥 🍗🥩🪞

🚨NEW ROYCAST🚨

Shiv & Tom host Logan’s legacy pre-election party, where the couple’s simmering tension finally boils over. Critic and programmer Madeleine Wall returns to discuss the staging and writing of that climactic blowup, the paths leading both Shiv and Tom to finally unload their grievances, scorpions and frogs, Shiv's moment of recognition, the layers of the episode's premise and what it says about the show's political critique, Matchstick Matsson, Skarsgard's performance and his standout scenes with both Snook and Eili Harboe's Ebba, the returns of both Nate and Rava, Roman's failure to close, the Connor surge, ambassador games, Franky and Kenny, Greg's zoom firings, and more.

🇺🇸🧑🏻‍💻🦂🍷🤝🚬🍿🧥🇴🇲🐍🌶️🗽

And then there were three…

As always, thanks so much for your support. We can’t wait to see these last few episodes through with you all. Talk soon.
💌

🔊NEW ROYCAST🔊

Kendall's ambitions take flight as the Waystar team preps for a Hollywood investor presentation in "Living+". Returning guest Danny Bowes joins the RoyCast to discuss the episode's grim central conceit, its larger social and political implications, the season's tragic endgame coming into view, a standing ovation for director , Kendall's moment of victory, model homes, Matsson's bad tweet, the fall of Rome, an explosive confrontation with Gerri, Shiv and Tom's reunion, a friendly game of "Bitey", bad bosses, a surprising Logan cameo, Karl unleashed, Hollywood strife, and much more.

Thank you so much for all the love & listens, fellow fly guys!!! If you’d like to show your support as we stare down these precious final episodes, see link in bio. Talk soon 💌🙏🏻

🔊NEW ROYCAST🔊

Kendall's ambitions take flight as the Waystar team preps for a Hollywood investor presentation in "Living+". Returning guest Danny Bowes joins the RoyCast to discuss the episode's grim central conceit, its larger social and political implications, the season's tragic endgame coming into view, a standing ovation for director Lorene Scafaria, Kendall's moment of victory, model homes, Matsson's bad tweet, the fall of Rome, an explosive confrontation with Gerri, Shiv and Tom's reunion, a friendly game of "Bitey", bad bosses, a surprising Logan cameo, Karl unleashed, Hollywood strife, and much more.
🌴🎬♾️📈🫦☁️🤖🏚️🫵👕

Thank you, fellow fly guys!!! If you’d like to show us support as we stare down these last precious episodes, see link in bio. Talk soon 💌

🚨NEW ROYCAST🚨

In their first off-campus episode sans Logan, The Roys are off to bleed the Swede in "Kill List", where newly minted CE-bros Kendall and Roman face new developments in rival Lukas Matsson's bid to acquire Waystar. Critic and author Charles Bramesco joins the RoyCast to help work through the shifting power dynamics of the Gojo deal, revelations of Matsson's true character, Alexander Skarsgard's impressively off-putting performance, Roman's turning point, location shooting, "room meat", opposite numbers, Kalispitron reshoots, culture clashes, blood bricks, flirt fighting, the Quad Squad, and more.
🇳🇴🧖‍♂️🇸🇪🧑‍💻🩸🥖🐍📊🐖👂🏼👟🤖🚁⛓️

Thank you, fly guys for your ongoing support. 🙏🏻

🚨NEW ROYCAST🚨

At Logan Roy’s wake, grief is a secondary concern as friends, associates & advisors are on maneuvers to determine who will helm the Death Star. Joined by the brilliant NYT-bestselling author & showrunner , we talk The Paper, a searing Marcia return, Dark Kendall, Shiv’s new battle, the unrepentant misogyny of the Roy world, Zoe Winters’ performance, Lorene Scafaria’s haunting direction, and much more, including Megan’s delicious Tom Wambsgans Midwestern Archetype Theory.
📝✍🏼🗞️🤴🌮🪜🔐🚕🚊

You can snag Megan’s new novel BEWARE THE WOMAN on 5/30. If you’re behind the times we strongly recommend checking out her work. Both Brendan & I have been longtime readers/watchers and it was an honor to have her with us to muscle through this very busy and satisfying episode of Succession. We hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Be well and talk soon, friends 🔊💌

🎙️ICYMI🎙️

Joined by critic & programmer Maddie Whittle, we bid a somewhat earlier than expected farewell to Logan Roy in our “Connor’s Wedding” episode.
🛳️👰‍♀️🤡🚽📞🛩️💻🚑

Celebrating the big day with a classic Succession zag, we talk about what Logan’s death & the power vacuum it leaves behind means for Waystar, the family & the final episodes of the series. We also get into grief and its forms, the incoherence of tragedy, insularity, Death of Stalin & jockeying for position, as well as the remarkable way this episode was staged and shot.

Thanks so much for your ongoing support. Enjoy today’s Succession Sunday and we’ll talk soon. 🙏🏻💌

🎙️SURPRISE EARLY DROP🚀

Available now, the RoyCast discusses “Connor’s Wedding” 🛳️🛬

🚨NEW ROYCAST🚨

On the eve of Connor’s wedding, a sure-to-be joyous affair, Succession’s final season continues to take shape as old habits die hard. We’re joined by a wonderful guest to talk regression/retrenchment, ATN, Connor Lore, shades of Austerlitz, Shiv/Ken alliance, the New York-ness of it all, the closed loop system, and much more.
🚁🎤🍺🐁🪩⛓️⛩️🏴‍☠️

Thanks so much for your support and we’ll see you soon 👰‍♀️🤵

HAPPY SUCCESSION SUNDAY 🙌👑🥰

In case you missed it, our “The Munsters” recording went live on Friday. With the Roy kids (sans Com) estranged from their father on his birthday, we spend a couple hours on this bicoastal episode talking Logan’s loneliness & frustration, Colin Stiles, Shiv & Tom’s partial post-mortem, Pierce negotiations redux, “The Hundred”, The Disgusting Brothers, and (cautiously) speculate on what’s to come as we head into the final episodes of the series.

Thanks so much to everyone who’s already listened 💌 Enjoy tonight’s episode and you can expect ours next Friday 🎙️

Happy Rummaging 🥳👜🌻

🔊🔊🔊 Attention all Fly Guys

If you can believe it, we are just two days out from the beginning of the end. A few housekeeping notes before we go full beast:

🔹You can expect weekly RoyCast episodes to drop every Friday once the season begins. Thank you for your patience as we carry out our process. As always, our goal is to bring RoyCast listeners the best & most thorough Succession analysis on the market (and sometimes a little fun), and that means preparation 📝📝📝
🔹Get excited about the incredible slate of RoyCast guests shaping up for this season. Tell your friends.
🔹The RoyCast currently has two episodes for your listening this weekend as you await the premiere: 1) A special bonus episode about the films of James Gray, including the Jeremy Strong-led Armageddon Time; 2) An “emergency” episode sharing our thoughts on the news of Succession coming to a close.

That’s all for now. We’re excited to journey through these next ten weeks with you. This is the full fu***ng thing!
💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸

🚨EMERGENCY EPISODE 🚨

We took to the offices this weekend to address the surprise announcement that the upcoming fourth season of Succession will be the show’s last.

In this brief (for us) chat, we walk through Jesse Armstrong’s interview with The New Yorker, offering our thoughts and hopefully some solace to the very passionate Succession community. We’re here for you, friends.

The fourth and final season of Succession airs March 26th. Deep breaths, it’s going to be great 🤎

ARE WE READY TO F*CK OR WHAT

March 26th! We’re greasing the wheels here at the RoyCast offices & prepping for the temporary stoppage of everything else going on in our lives. The Fly Guy Code

Let’s goooo!

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨

Long overdue but here at last: the RoyCast 2022 roundup. Brendan & I hit the studio to run down Succession’s success at last year’s Emmys and offer some thoughts about the upcoming season. We also address the purported media trend of “eat the rich” satire and how Succession fits in. Finally, we dive into a spirited discussion of some notable & favorite shows, movies & performances of 2022 📽️🎞️

Thanks so much for all your continued support, fellow fly guys. You can find us at all the usual spots, and if you’re so inclined please leave us a 5-star rating & review 💌 You can also support us on Square 💖Hoping your year is off to a healthy start. Good to connect & talk soon.

Photos herein:
1) SUCCESSION S4 teaser
2) Mark Mylod shoots THE MENU
3) ANDOR
4) DECISION TO LEAVE
5) IRMA VEP
6) THE CROWN
7) THE REHEARSAL
8) TÁR
9) PEARL
10) CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

Congratulations to the brilliant Matthew Macfadyen, Jesse Armstrong, and cast and crew of Succession on Emmy victories for OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR, WRITING, & DRAMA SERIES!

Hope you don’t mind me posting this photo of Sarah Snook at tonight’s show 😌 Am simply too overwhelmed to put together a longer tribute at the moment.

WELL DONE, TEAM 🥳