14 Shows to Fill the 'Succession' Void in Your Cold, Empty Heart
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After 39 episodes and some of the most dramatic boardroom and personal drama we've ever seen on this side of Central Park, HBO's darkly comedic smash Succession has finally come to a close. And while the show, led by showrunner Jesse Armstrong, is basically one-of-a-kind, surely viewers who saw how the story of Logan, Kendall, Shiv, Roman, Tom, Connor and Greg played out are hungry for more stories of a similar flavor.
We have good news: "dysfunctional family" has been a popular story to tell for quite a while now. Difficult people are also out there to be found. Complex, fast-paced maneuvering and power struggles in general... well, it's not all Succession, but you can find it on your TV if you know where to look. And we've got a bunch of shows, across all different genres, that Succession fans will eat up faster than Tom and Greg eating an Ortolan under a napkin.
If you're looking for shows with familiar Succession faces, that can be found—Brian Cox comes in late to Deadwood, Kieran Culkin kicks off Fargo Season 2 with a bang, Sarah Snook was in a memorable episode of Black Mirror, Alan Ruck was in an underrated TV adaptation of The Exorcist and had a great turn in The Dropout, and Jeremy Strong has had recurring roles on both Masters of Sex and The Good Wife. But for the purpose of this list, we're mostly sticking not so much with familiar faces, but with that snarky, quick, feel-bad Succession vibe that we've all fallen in love with.
So, without further ado, here are 14 shows that you can watch right now to keep your Succession energy as high as Roman Roy after fixing a presidential election.
Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013-2019)
If you took only the funny parts of Succession and put the drama to a minimum, you'd get Arrested Development, one of the seminal comedies of the 2000s. The show is about a son (Jason Bateman) who believes he's the heir to his egotistical father's (Jeffrey Tambor) business empire, only to be passed up for the job. In the meantime, he deals with one brother who's energetic and outlandish (Will Arnett), another who's a growth-stunted space cadet (Tony Hale), and a sister who he relates to the most—if she wasn't so out of touch (Portia de Rossi), and married to a completely bizarre interloper (David Cross). Sound familiar?
The biggest difference, however, may be the presence of Jessica Walter as the Bluth family's matriarch, Lucille; she is incredibly funny and sells every line with great skills. Also keep an eye out for Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat, both of whom eventually became stars in their own right, as the family's youngest (and still hilarious) members.
The Righteous Gemstones (2019 - )
Another show about a family that balances their personal with business interests, The Righteous Gemstones is Danny McBride's latest endeavor into finding the hilarious in something unexpected for HBO (previously he dove into professional sports with Eastbound and Down and academia with Vice Principals). Righteous Gemstones is another show that pits three spoiled adult children (played by McBride, Edi Patterson, and Adam Devine) against their larger-than-life father (played by the always great John Goodman). Plus, Walton Goggins as "Uncle Baby Billy" is one of the greatest comedic characters you'll ever see in your life.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Okay, The Royal Tenenbaums is a movie and not a TV show. But if you're looking for the toxic, dysfunctional family dynamic... there's no better. Tenenbaums, which features a cast led by Gene Hackman that also includes Bill Murray, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Luke Wilson, and Gwyneth Paltrow, is basically the blueprint for what Arrested Development and Succession would eventually do. It's one of Wes Anderson's best movies, which means it comes with a sensational soundtrack and some dynamic visuals.
Dirty Sexy Money (2007 - 2009)
Dirty Sexy Money is basically like if there was a lawyer named Nick (played here by Six Feet Under's Peter Krause) who had to clean up all of the Roy family's dirty business. The Roy-adjacent family in this case is the Darling family, and they're led by a powerhouse father played by Donald Sutherland; after Nick's father dies, he has to clean up all of the Darling family's blackmail, affairs, and general debauchery. The show only aired for two seasons, but it was kind of a proto-Succession in retrospect.
Industry (2020 - )
If you're looking to get in on (basically) the ground floor of what could end up being the next Succession, look no further than HBO's Industry. The show follows several young financial movers and shakers for the firm Pierpoint & Co in London as they break rules to get deals done, and party hard when they're off the clock. The show is led by Myha'la Herrold, who proves both here and in Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, that she's a star very much on the rise.
Kings (2009)
Outside of maybe LOST, Kings was likely the most ambitious thing to make its way onto network TV in the last 20 years. Essentially a modern-day telling of King David starring Ian McShane (from Deadwood and John Wick), Kings only lasted a single season and was watched by few, but those few were devout about how great it was. For Succession fans, Kings should have all the familial in-fightingand top-notch acting that you're hoping for.
Six Feet Under (2001 - 2005)
One of HBO's most beloved series about family drama ever is Six Feet Under, which follows a family that runs a funeral business. The show, which stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Ambrose, and Frances Conroy, ran for five seasons and is one of the consensus picks for greatest series finale of all time.
Billions (2016 - )
If drama in the financial world is what you seek, then look no further than Showtime's hit, Billions. The show has a stacked cast, led by leads Damian Lewis (Homeland) and Paul Giamatti (tons of things), who engage in what is essentially a cat and mouse thriller set among the super-rich—and drag everyone in their orbit into it with them. The show is entering its final season, but is planned to have spinoffs when it concludes.
Peep Show (2003 - 2015)
If you want to go directly to the source, there are 9 seasons and 54 episodes of Peep Show waiting for you. Co-created and co-written by Succession creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong, Peep Show follows two roommates going through life in London, and has similar dark and hilarious writing to Succession.
Empire (2015 - 2020)
There was a time in the mid 2010s when Empire was one of the most popular shows on TV, and Taraji P. Henson even won a Golden Globe for her leading role. The show follows a hip-hop mogul (Terence Howard) who struggles to choose a successor to his music empire among his three sons, while his ex-wife (Henson) does what she can to simultaneously take control. The show loses a bit of steam as it goes, but it can still be a fun, soapy bit of melodrama for anyone looking for a little family drama in a very different setting from what they got in Succession.
Andor (2022 - )
Andor is unquestionably the only show on this list that takes place in outer space. A direct prequel to the Star Wars film Rogue One, Andor follows a number of different plot threads, including the titular character's (Diego Luna) rise to becoming a rebel hero. But what reminds us most of Succession in Andor, and where the show most thrives, is in its fast dialogue that helps to make bureaucratic proceedings into utterly thrilling sequences. Plus, the show's most entertaining character, Luthen, is played by Stellan Skarsgård—of course, the father of Alexander Skarsgård, who played Lukas Matsson on Succession.
Mad Men (2007 - 2015)
Succession and Mad Men have one key thing in common: both are extremely character-driven workplace dramas that viewers and fans became extremely attached to. In the same way that Succession paints a brutally accurate picture of modern day corporate life, Mad Men takes viewers inside the toxic workplace of an ad agency in the '60s. Led by iconic performances from Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery, and countless others, Mad Men is, simply put, a canon show. If you are a television fan—or want to be—you need to have seen Mad Men. It's funny, dramatic, intricately written, and something that will be talked about (and studied) for decades to come.
The Sopranos (1999 - 2007)
The setting is different, but the vibe is the same: The Sopranos ushered in much of what would come in the age of prestige TV, but the idea of never knowing who was going to align who and who was going to betray who has proven to be universal across shows, eras, and characters. The Sopranos may have slightly different characters from slightly different socioeconomic backgrounds from Succession, but you'll find yourself attached and engaged much in the same way for this story of mafia, family, and alliances.
Yellowstone (2018 - )
You're reading Men's Health, we obviously weren't going to end this list without Yellowstone. While Yellowstone and Succession are kind of the foils to one another—and my god, if the characters from these two shows ever somehow met, sparks would fly—they are very much cut from the same cloth. A powerful patriarch (Costner, in the case of Yellowstone), controls the family's business and assets, while the kids (Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, and Wes Bentley), in this case, fight with each other for either relevant or irrelevant reasons. Yellowstone is about land and Succession is about a media empire, but they're not that different at the end of the day.
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