Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

"It's a perfect show for right now. Director Adam McKay on 'Succession'

13/08/2018

13 August, 2018 - 06:04

The idea of looking at a dynastic family just felt really appropriate right now, says director Adam McKay of Succession, now streaming exclusively on Showmax in Africa. We're seeing wealth skyrocket in a way we've never seen before.

To put that in context, in November, Forbes reported that a study had found that America's three richest individuals - Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos - collectively have more wealth than the bottom 50% of the population there - 160 million people in 63 million households.

In Succession, Logan Roy (Emmy-winner Brian Cox from War & Peace) controls Waystar Royco, one of the biggest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world, but his children face a difficult choice as family loyalties collide in a feud over company control.

It's about a fictional media family with a patriarch and the children jockeying for succession, says McKay, who won the Oscar for his screenplay and was nominated for his directing on The Big Short, about the American housing bubble that triggered the 2007-2008 financial crisis, but remains best known for his Will Ferrell collaborations like Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and The Other Guys. This is about power; this is about media; this is about where our country is; this is about where our world is - it's a perfect show for right now.

Critics agree: the hit HBO series is currently at number 32 on IMDB's Most Popular TV chart, has an 82% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been hailed as everything from my favourite show of the summer the only thing I've been able to think about by Vox to King Lear for the modern media age by The Telegraph.

Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong from The Big Short), Logan's eldest son from his second marriage, is currently a division president at the firm and the heir apparent. Roman Roy (Golden Globe nominee Kieran Culkin from Igby Goes Down), Kendalls younger brother, is Logans outspoken, fun-loving son and no longer works at Waystar. Siobhan Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook from Steve Jobs), Logans only daughter and youngest child, has been pursuing a career in politics. Connor Roy (Alan Ruck from Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Logan's eldest son, and only child from his first marriage, has pursued an independent life in New Mexico. But they're all drawn into the succession battle for the family business.

When you have a parent who is so driven by power and profits, and you want their love, you have to jump into their game, says McKay. It's very hard to look at a kid who's brought up set to inherit a billion dollars and have compassion for him but in this case I did. You could really see they were trying to love their father but at the same time to be their own people. And you get this sense that it's this really difficult, no-win situation to be in.

Get More Film Business South Africa

Select your Membership

In addition to the family, McKay singles out Pride & Prejudice star Matthew Macfadyen's performance as Tom, Shiv's ambitious boyfriend and a senior executive at the firm, and How To Be Single's Nicholas Braun as Greg, a younger cousin who has moved from Canada to New York looking for work. They have this weird, twisted dynamic between them. You can tell Tom is a guy who just smells out weakness and loves to play with it. They're just hilarious. I never get tired of watching them.

Succession is created by Oscar and WGA nominee Jesse Armstrong (In the Loop) and executive produced by Armstrong, McKay, Ferrell, Frank Rich (HBO's Veep), Kevin Messick (The Big Short), Jane Tranter (HBO's The Night Of) and Mark Mylod (HBO's Entourage).

It's a mixture of the enjoyment of soap opera with the enjoyment of Shakespeare with the enjoyment of comedy, says McKay. He's not bothered if that sounds like a strange mix of genres. Any time you're struggling to define genre that means someone's written something really original.

Binge now exclusively on Showmax in Africa.

About Showmax

Showmax is an internet TV service. For a single monthly fee, get all-you-can-eat access to a huge online catalogue of TV shows, movies, kids' shows and documentaries. Start and stop when you want. No ads. Cancel anytime - there's no contract.

Stream Showmax using apps for smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, media players and gaming consoles. Showmax also works with Chromecast and AirPlay. Manage data consumption using the bandwidth capping feature. No internet? No problem - download up to 25 shows to smartphones and tablets to watch later offline.

Showmax was born in 2015 and is part of the Naspers group. Showmax is currently available in more than 70 countries. For a free, no-risk trial, visit http://www.showmax.com.

Embedded video for "It's a perfect show for right now. Director Adam McKay on 'Succession'

Television

Africa South Africa
LINK: http://www.filmcontact.com/news/south-africa/it%E2%80%99s-perfect-show...
See more stories from filmcontact

Most recent headlines

04/08/2024

Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

03/06/2024

Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...

28/04/2024

Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2

Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...

25/04/2024

Inside the Archives: Highlighting the Importance of Preservation for the Festival's 40th Edition

Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 ...

25/04/2024

SNS Dealer Of The Year Awards: See The Full List Of Winners

alt= class=wp-image-12361 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-booth-2024-960x540-1.jpg/> Set against a vibrant backdrop of innovation and collaboratio...

25/04/2024

Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024

alt= class=wp-image-12356 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-mod-win-960x540-1.jpg/>NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product...

25/04/2024

Peacock Subs Jump 55% YoY to 34M in Q1 2024

PHILADELPHIA Comcast beat earnings estimates in its Q1 2024 financial report, as streaming losses continued to decline and Peacock's paid subscribers spiked...

25/04/2024

Seattle Kraken Inks Deals with Tegna and Prime Video

SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken have inked new multi-year agreements with Tegna and Prime Video that will expand access to their games over broadcast stations and st...

25/04/2024

Opinion: charting a cloud driven future

M2A Medias Matt Hughes asks, is it time for news broadcasting to shift to the cloud? By Contributor Published: April 25, 2024 M2A Media's Matt Hughes ...

25/04/2024

Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+ Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glory

Cintel Scanner G3 HDR Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glo...

25/04/2024

Sinclair Names Kevin Coskren Chief Meteorologist at KTUL Tulsa

Sinclair Broadcast Group said it named Kevin Coskren chief meteorologist at KTUL, its ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma....

25/04/2024

Attend The Business of TV News Event in D.C. on May 2

The Business of TV News, a new one-day event featuring Martha Raddatz, Shannon Bream, Glenn Kirschner and other major figures in television news, happens at Hot...

25/04/2024

Problematic FCC Conditions On Station Sale Could Create Detroit Drama

Conditions put on the proposed sale of WADL Detroit, to Mission Broadcasting have created a potential drama in the Motor City....

25/04/2024

TelevisaUnivision 1Q Loss Widens But DTC Business Expected To Turn Profit in Second Half

TelevisaUnivision reported a $52 million loss in the first quarter, up from $3 m...

25/04/2024

Comcast Earnings Flat As Video, Broadband Sub Losses Continue

Comcast reported flat first-quarter earnings as it reduced the red ink at Peacock but continued to lose video and broadband customers....

25/04/2024

Vevo Brings Music Videos To Telly's Dual Screen TVs

Music-video network Vevo said it launched its app on Telly, the company offering consumers free dual-screen TVs in return for data about what they're watchi...

25/04/2024

Future Today Redesigns Streaming App Interfaces

Future Today said it has introduced a redesigned user interface for about half of its 300 streaming apps, including Fawesome, HappyKids and iFood.TV....

25/04/2024

Czech mates

The writer and director of a hit Czech series tell Robert Shepherd about their approach to portraying real-life Pakistani kidnappings on the small screen, while...

25/04/2024

Molinaire Creative Group opens new Liverpool facility

Notorious DIT will work with the Liverpool Film Office to increase opportunities for regional talent By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 25, 2024 Notorio...

25/04/2024

Deutsche Telekom Powers New MagentaTV Service With Broadp...

Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...

25/04/2024

Lightware Enhances Microsoft Teams Rooms with Powerful BY...

Lightware Visual Engineering, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the professional integrated systems market and a pioneer in signal management...

25/04/2024

Net Insight secures collaboration with DMC Production to...

Net Insight has entered into a collaboration with DMC Production that positions Net Insight at the forefront of sports broadcasting in the Nordics. Net Insight ...

25/04/2024

GlobalM and scoopa announce strategic partnership to faci...

GlobalM has announced a strategic partnership with scoopa, the specialists in broadcast-quality content distribution, offering a complementary service for live ...

25/04/2024

DDish TV LLC Chooses PlayBox Neo Channel-in-a-Box for Bro...

PlayBox Neo announces the completion of a new multichannel playout system for the DDish direct-to-home satellite television network in Mongolia. Based in the na...

25/04/2024

Legendary Producer Garth Richardson Chooses PMC Monitors...

Canadian music producer and engineer Garth Richardson also known as Gggarth due to his stutter - has embraced immersive audio by installing a PMC monitoring s...

25/04/2024

Televisa transforms its broadcast ecosystem with proven t...

Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Televisa, the Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company, has chosen Synamedia as its pa...

25/04/2024

OTTera partners with ThinkAnalytics to enhance personaliz...

OTTera, a leading provider of end-to-end OTT and FAST channel solutions, proudly announces its strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, a global leader in adv...

25/04/2024

Perfect Weather Forecast for American Tobacco Events Tonight and Saturday

The American Tobacco Campus will be hopping with activity tonight and this weekend with two fun events! Durham Night Market At last! The Durham Night Market i...

25/04/2024

Qurate Launches The Big Dish on The Roku Channel

WEST CHESTER, Pa. Video commerce provider Qurate Retail Group has launched The Big Dish, a new culinary-themed FAST channel on The Roku Channel....

25/04/2024

HPA Opens Submissions for 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards

LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association has announced that submissions for the 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards are now being accepted. This re...

25/04/2024

DV Earns MRC Accreditation for CTV Viewability

NEW YORK The digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify has announced that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for Video Vie...

25/04/2024

DAZN FAST Channels to Launch on Tubi

SAN FRANCISCO Fox Corp.'s ad-supported streaming service Tubi has announced a licensing agreement with the sports platform DAZN that will see DAZN Ringside ...

25/04/2024

IAB Makes Three Appointments to Its Leadership Team

NEW YORK In the runup to the 2024 IAB NewFronts, the IAB has announced three key appointments to its leadership team....

25/04/2024

Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam for Android, and more

Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam f...

25/04/2024

Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux

Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux Andy Marken April 24, 2024 0 Comments My empathy is creeping towards what I would de...

25/04/2024

Capitol Broadcasting Company to Air Carolina Panthers Games on Triangle's Strongest Broadcast Signal

The Carolina Panthers and Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) announced they have...

25/04/2024

Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist

Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The accomplished saxophonist secured a spot among the elite winners of this year's ...

25/04/2024

Local News Close-Up: St. Louis Born and Bred

Stations everywhere take pride in having a main anchor who comes from the market they represent. That applies in St. Louis, too, but it also pertains to general...

25/04/2024

Edward Moody Joins WBTW Myrtle Beach Anchor Team

Edward Moody is joining the WBTW Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, anchor crew, and will anchor the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts alongside Trish Williford. He comes f...

25/04/2024

MTV Moving VMAs To New UBS Arena in New York

MTV said the 2024 Video Music Awards will return to New York and take place at the new UBS Arena....

25/04/2024

Offbeat Comedy The Outlaws' Returns to Prime Video Next Month

Season three of comedy The Outlaws premieres on Prime Video May 31. Stephen Merchant co-created the show, and stars. There are five episodes....

25/04/2024

Bidders Interested in Buying Bounce, Says Scripps CEO Adam Symson

The E.W. Scripps Co. is evaluating offers for Bounce, its multicast channel for African-American viewers, according to a report from CNBC....

25/04/2024

Paramount Plus Renews Dora'

Paramount Plus has ordered a second season for Dora, the animated preschool show based on Dora the Explorer. The show, featuring Dora on a rainforest adventure ...

25/04/2024

Bayanat and Yahsat Shareholders Approve Merger to Create SPACE42

Bayanat AI PLC (ADX: BAYANAT), a leading AI-powered geospatial solutions provider, and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (ADX: YAHSAT), the UAE&#...

25/04/2024

Tribeca Festival 2024 Announces Audio Storytelling and Games Lineup

April 25th, 2024 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA FESTIVAL 2024 ANNOUNCES AUDIO STORYTELLING AND GAMES LINEUP Audio Storytelling Program Features 10th ...

25/04/2024

NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand

NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand Mobile cells will help accommodate first responders, social media, sports betti...

25/04/2024

NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Production of Post-First-Round Draft Show on NFL+

NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Pro...

25/04/2024

NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presentations

NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presenta...

25/04/2024

Unlock the potential of automated node-based and no-code media workflows at MPTS 2024

Published On: April 25th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...