“Apparently, people were fainting, some woman fainted,” he toldEmpire.
There’s no denying that “Succession” has become a huge phenomenon since it began in 2018.
The show follows the Roys, a family of multi-billionaires who helm the international media conglomerate Waystar Royco.
At first glance, it’s hard to see how the show has become so popular.
The cast of characters is, without exception, morally irredeemable.
These anti-heroes represent the corrupt world of elite capitalism.
Want to learn more about how the team made this one-of-a-kind show?
Here is the untold truth of “Succession.”
Lots of real-life moguls," Armstrong said.
It seems there’s a reason “Succession” feels so real.
The show plays with the idea of genre, seamlessly combining comedy and drama in one scene.
Plus, the language is shockingly brutal.
It’s safe to say that “Succession” feels unlike anything else on TV.
The show owes its unique writing to its incredible team of writers.
Armstrong got a group of British and American writers together to create this unusual mix of comedy and drama.
It’s quite irreverent towards its subject, it doesn’t respect its betters."
Every single performance in the show is pretty much perfect.
But, as he toldThe Guardian, he immediately knew that Roman was the part for him.
“[Series creator] Jesse Armstrong saw it and cast me.”
I’ll just come and do it and get out of here.
Free trip to LA.'"
After Jeremy Strong read for Kendall, everything fell into place.
As Armstrong toldGQ, “He just felt completely Kendall from the very first read.”
As composer Nicholas Britell toldNME, he was inspired by the Roy family.
“I started to theorise that it would be this really dark, classical sound.
Britell explained that he explored various eras of classical music in the song.
But, he added, he also made sure to give the song a bit of humor.
“Adam encouraged it, and I was really keen for it to happen.”
Eventually, this “looser take” came to be known as a “freebie.”
Director Mark Mylod also became a fan.
“It’s very loose and fluid.”
Sadly, not all the actors are fans of the freebie.
Whether Cox likes the freebies or not, it’s clear they’re working!
Their flirty, sexual, strange pairing delighted fans.
It turns out, the writers had never planned on pairing up the two characters.
However, they began to notice chemistry during the on-set improvisations.
As Culkin toldVariety, the writers noticed a flirtation during a freebie take.
The rest, of course, is history.
During a large dinner party, Logan begins to suspect disloyalty and plotting within his Waystar Royco ranks.
He launches into a brutal game he calls “boar on the floor.”
It’s weird, horrifying, and kind of amazing.
For the cast, it was an unforgettable day on set.
As Cox toldVariety, he was initially worried the scene wouldn’t work.
Actor Jeremy Strong added, “Brian, I thought you were just titanic in that scene.
… it almost felt like we needed a safe word on the set, too.”
It’s a fast-paced, tense show that throws you into the world of the Roy family.
And it can feel incredibly real almost as though you’re watching a documentary.
The show uses handheld cameras to give an unpolished effect (viaLA Review of Books).
It’s as much about finding what’s going on underneath the surface.
… we as an audience are let into their unconscious in a way.
It’s a window into their souls.”
“It did affect us,” Brian Cox toldThe Hollywood Reporter.
“We had one scare one of our actors tested positive.”
Even though Cox thinks it was a false positive, they had to quarantine for 10 days.
The pandemic also meant that the cast had to stay in New York while they were filming.
“You start to think.
What am I doing?
I’d be walking around Brooklyn, thinking, where do I live?
It was odd and hard,” he told theEvening Standard.
It still feels like ‘Succession.'"
Unlike other TV shows, “Succession” contains a lot of long, wordy scenes and locations-specific episodes.
As Matthew Macfadyen toldVariety, “I’ve done theater, and it feels like doing a play.”
“Each of the scenes are very much written like little playlets,” he said.
“People make this analogy of it being Shakespearean, and I definitely see that.”
But not all of the actors have the same approach.
Jeremy Strong, for instance, is what is commonly known as a “method actor.”
To get into character as Kendall, Strong tries to actually become his character.
Brian Cox, on the other hand, is not a fan of this all-encompassing approach.
I don’t see the value in it."
Kieran Culkin also seems to be able to separate himself from his character.
He prefers to take a playful, spontaneous approach.
“You just walk in a room and we just play.'”
“Gerri’s wardrobe has gotten more chic over time,” J. Smith-Cameron toldVogue.
“It sort of coincided with Gerri and Roman’s budding non-romance,” she added.
Shiv’s costumes have also changed.
In the first season, the character is trying to build a career in politics.
However, by season two, she’s turned her attention to the family company.
Seems like the show’s costumes mean a little more than we thought!
Writer Georgia Pritchett toldThe Guardianthat the wealth advisors helped them avoid some errors in the first season.
For instance, she had suggested that Marcia cook a turkey for Thanksgiving.
The advisors also helped them ensure that the sets and costumes looked right.
You know where the propeller is.
You wouldn’t be ducking your head,'" he said.
As far as Brian Cox is concerned, two more seasons after season three would be ideal.
“I would say possibly two more series and then I think we’re done.
It depends what the writers feel.
I know they’ve got an endgame,” he toldGQ.
Jesse Armstrong toldThe Times, “Putting a number on it feels like a weird thing to do.
