Commentary: ‘Succession’ Was A Non-Political Show About Politics

Succession wasn’t necessarily a political show. Mainly, it was about business. Since that business was a multimedia international conglomerate that delivers news to millions, though, politics will inevitably be part of the conversation. This was touched upon in the previous season as a controversial presidential candidate was introduced. That storyline came to a head in the final season as the actual election came under way. But still, the show managed to touch upon politics without actually being political, and it did this by focusing on its characters and their arcs.

At its core, Succession was about a group of siblings and how they interacted with one another as they searched for control and power within their father’s business. The politics were secondary because they were not political creatures. Politics, for them, was merely a means to an end, another tool for them to achieve their goals. At some point, they expressed some sort of weariness about the controversial candidate that their organization kept pushing, but it doesn’t last. All of them eventually drop their concerns when they see an opportunity to use the situation to their advantage.

So the great tragedy of Succession — or, perhaps, its greatest comedic element — is the fact that it dealt with politics at the highest level and pulls back the curtain to reveal the pettiness of it all. This family holds the fate of not just the country but the entire world in its hands, and they aren’t making any decisions on any ideological level. It’s all petty familial squabbles to one-up each other. Their own damaged psychology drives them to be their father’s successor, and their choices will have drastic implications for the country. None of them seem to care, though. And that’s how Succession can be a show about politics while showing that politics had nothing to do with how things turn out.

Succession is now streaming on Max.