TV Reviews: ‘Succession,’ ‘Barry’ and ‘Ted Lasso’

Words by Harry Moore

In an interesting turn of fate, or more likely in a bid to beat the deadline for Emmy eligibility, three of the most acclaimed and discussed series of recent years are making their final farewells and going off the air within the same week. Each show has been a stalwart of the streaming era and a flagship for their respective services, but they differ greatly in their aims and executions.

With “Succession,” power in modern capitalism is examined through a privileged and conniving family who sit at the head of a media empire, perpetually double-cross and squabble with one another to seize control of the multinational conservative news corporation Waystar Royco and also attempt to gain affection from their monstrous father. The Roy family, a set of thinly-veiled stand-ins for the Murdoch clan of media tyrants, is headed by the brutish patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) whose unwavering drive to dominate industry and steer the wheels of power in America has caused the underlings who surround him to both fawn and fear him — none more so than his emotionally stunted adult children. Since the beginning of the show the craven siblings, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan aka Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin), have spent the majority of their time and energy jockeying amongst each other for Logan’s affection and the keys to the family business in the inevitable succession of corporate power. While many audience members may be understandably turned off by watching a bunch of wealthy deplorables fighting over a hollow throne, the peerless performances from the ensemble somehow turn these self-serving, soulless husks into characters with depth who, against all odds, you find yourself routing for even as we see them verbally destroy anyone they cross paths with, casually upend people’s lives and even subvert democracy itself for their own means. 

Cox has long been regarded as a consummate thespian, able to bring gravitas to any role he takes on, and the part of Logan Roy was supposed to be an emphatic exclamation point to his long and revered career — and it is a titanic, scenery-chewing performance. But the show’s success also speaks to the strength of Strong’s performance as Kendall, the seemingly most capable Roy sibling, who deals with an endless roster of inner demons. As Kendall, Strong has developed this equally loathsome and tragic character with a layered performance that stands with the likes of James Gandolfini and Bryan Cranston as one of the best leading roles in any series ever. And it truly is the entire ensemble giving revelatory, career-best performances, from recurring characters like J. Smith-Cameron’s veteran executive Gerri Kellman and Alexander Skarsgård’s maniacal tech billionaire Lukas Maatsen to scene-stealing supporting characters like the Disgusting Brothers themselves, Nicholas Braun’s Cousin Greg and Matthew Macfadyen’s Emmy-winning turn as Tom Wambsgans, the self-preserving husband of Shiv. But as good as the performances are, it is the writing that really puts “Succession” at the precipice of prestige television. Headed by Jesse Armstrong, a veteran of British television, the writers of “Succession” manage to seamlessly blend the drama of these broken people with some of the most acidicly funny lines of dialogue uttered on television. Through its time on the air, “Succession” has been peerless as a dramatic series and will leave a massive void in the television landscape.

The conclusion of “Succession” has been paired with the ending of another lauded series from HBO with Bill Hader’s sublime black comedy “Barry” airing its fourth and final season. Much like its previous seasons, “Barry” managed to clear its endlessly raised bar as it hurtles toward its inevitable bombastic conclusion. For the final act of his hitman/Hollywood satire, Hader has gone full auteur, directing and co-writing every episode, and his labor has produced results for all to see. “Barry” is amongst the most cinematic works of television ever seen. Everything from the camera movements to the choices in blocking and framing and editing shows that this series is the work of someone with a deep knowledge of and affection for film and has put an endless number of hours of thought into what they would like to see on screen and then flawlessly executes that vision. Hader has revealed plans to turn to filmmaking once his series has ended, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will go on to be one of the most exciting and definitive directors of his generation. Even still, this gripping, deeply funny and often heartbreaking series will be greatly missed after the finale.

Then there is “Ted Lasso,” the feel-good underdog star of the pandemic. Upon its release in 2020, Jason Sudeikis’ fish-out-of-water sitcom about an eternally optimistic American football coach moving across the pond to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling London-based Premier League football club, was a much-needed breath of positive fresh air at a time we’d all like to forget. And that first season has all the hallmarks of a feel good, underdog sports comedy, often tickling a funny bone as it tugs on the heart strings. Then the second season avoided the sophomore slump even as the hugely expanded cast and the divergence into weightier themes threatened to derail the breezy show. But in its current third and, supposedly, final season Ted Lasso has wavered and struggled beneath the weight of its deep bench of charming ensemble players, who are largely given a supply of underdeveloped storylines with half-baked resolutions to work with. The developments in the season feel more concerned with sharing a perspective on a given social issue than on telling a cohesive story. Most egregiously, key moments in ongoing storylines happen off screen with little build up; such as the redemption arc of Nate (Nick Mohammed), Ted’s former assistant-turned-heel, where important moments in his return to the light occur between episodes, which is quite befuddling given that the episodes’ runtimes have doubled on average. It is almost as though the writers on “Ted Lasso” got a head start on the Writers Guild strike.

Having said that, “Ted Lasso” is far from terrible. Sudeikis is a ray of light on screen in a role that will likely define his career going forward, as are the rest of the cast, who have earned their expanded time in front of the camera — even if it is to the detriment of the show’s overall writing choices. It is hard to escape the feeling that if “Ted Lasso” were continuing for further adventures, then this could be viewed as an adequate, if underwhelming, season of a long- running sitcom. But as an ending to one of the more beloved dramedies in recent years, it is a disappointment.