Our Obsession With Succession (and other family shows) *Plus a little trivia game

(8 minute read PLUS a bonus matching game that may take longer)

Last week we watched the finale of Succession. Five years ago the first episode of this dark comedy, family drama series created by Jesse Armstrong aired on television’s HBO. My family was obsessed with Succession. We had lengthy discussions of the fictional Roy family, analyzing their flawed characters and what transpired in each episode over the past four seasons. We humorously drew comparisons to our own family of four children (three sons and one daughter); the siblings’ genders being about the only things our families have in common. Competition, power, and ego drove the Roy children as they vied for who would lead the successful business empire once their authoritative affection-lacking father stepped down. With no intentions of spoiling the story or outcome of this sharp-tongued peek into the boardrooms and fancy New York penthouse apartments, I merely wish to ponder upon what the draw is for us. Why do we choose to tune in to watch a family saga unfold with conflict and emotion? What is it about following the relationships between parents and children or between siblings? Especially with characters such as the Roys who are so selfish? Whether the family we watch is full of unkind or kind relatives, we as tv viewers are entertained by looking into the window of another family’s household. Other family dynamics capture our attention even though we can look across the room at the pictures on our own mantel to be reminded of a more personal family story.

This question made me pause and reflect upon the other tv shows about families I have tuned in to watch on the sofa’s edge as an adult or as a child on the shaggy rug on my stomach with my chin resting on the cradle of my open palms.  Before I dive into this topic, I say we have a little fun with some tv family trivia. 

Match the family name with the clue: (answer to follow in a few days)

1. This family ruled a kingdom from an iron throne.
2. Pa and Ma raised their three daughters on the prairie.
3. Eight kids under one roof was busy for one dad and his new wife.
4. This family has a dog names Astro.
5. Five siblings find their way through life after the loss of both parents.
6. A blended family merging three sons with three daughters.
7. Two uncles live in this full house with their brother and three nieces.
8. They’re creepy and they’re kooky.
9. Before lights out, each family member calls out goodnight to one another.
10. The big cliffhanger of this show was who shot JR.
11. One of this liberal couple’s children turned out to be a staunch republican.
12. Embarking on a mission to explore the universe, this family found themselves lost.
13. A town by their same name was purchased as a joke for their son.
14. This Italian mafia family entertained us for six seasons.
15. Richie and Joanie were the do-good children of this happy family.
16. The 1980s primetime soap opera was rebooted in 2017.
17. Striking it rich, these country folk discovered oil.
18. Conniving, power hungry kids compete for taking over their father’s company.
19. This picture perfect family of the 1950s was full of wholesome tales, even with a friend like Eddie Haskel stopping by.
20. A family that will protect its land at any cost, going back several generations.

1. the Bradys
2. the Waltons
3. the Keatons 
4. the Bradfords
5. the Ingalls
6. the Tanners
7. the Salingers
8. the Ewings
9. the Carringtons
10. the Addams
11. the Robinsons
12. the Clampetts
13. the Schitts
14. the Sopranos
15. the Jetsons
16. the Cleavers
17. the Lanisters 
18. the Cunninghams
19. the Duttons 
20. the Roys

The list above just scratches the surface of fictional families. I was drawing from my own viewing experience (as a child, an adult, and as a mom of children watching tv shows). As I put this list together I realized that my taste for family drama was mostly driven by how very different their situations were than my own nuclear family. My upbringing was fairly normal with two happily married parents and their four daughters. Not having any brothers did occupy some of my curiosity, so shows like The Brady Bunch and Eight is Enough were novel to me. I also liked to imagine myself in a family setting far different than my own, set in a different time period or socioeconomic level. Horrible as the thought of it is, I was drawn to the family shows where children were surviving without living parents. Watching television, going to movies, and reading books is our way of putting ourselves in others’ shoes. Sometimes it is very uncomfortable and makes us appreciate the family we have. I remember the lens in which I viewed life in other families growing up. I also remember it changing as a mother. 

Some of the shows listed above had families with absentee mothers, or too perfect to be real mothers. Just as I did as a child curious about life as a daughter in another family, I find myself questioning the mothering going on in these fictional families. Several years ago, we were watching a tv show where the mother kissed her children goodnight and turned off the light and left their room. My son was distraught, “How come that mommy just left the room? Why didn’t she lay down next to the little boy and read him books, rub his back and sing him a song?” I smiled at his assumption of bedtime rituals taking place in all families.

The mother in the show Succession was far from a mama bear. She provided no affection or words of comfort, and her children grew up to be tough sharp-edged adults. This bothered me, but piqued my curiosity. Whether I am watching Carmella Soprano or June Cleaver, I am subconsciously measuring up. Carmella always had a full refrigerator of great leftover pasta or cold cuts. June listened to Beaver, giving him undivided attention and encouraging loving words. Both mothers performed their motherly tasks in high heels (not ever going to happen for me). I especially loved a story arc where the family grew closer together; Moira Rose in Schitts Creek turned out to be more of a mother than she appeared to be in episode one, as well of the rest of her spoiled family. We root for the flawed folks, we hope that time and events will change them in their ways. Not every family show gives us this satisfied happy ending. Yet still, we set our recorders, tune in, or stream to catch where the action takes our beloved family. Series end, their finales leaving us with some tied up resolutions but many unanswered questions of what befalls each member of the family. 

Two of my all time favorite family show finales are Parenthood and Six Feet Under. The Bravermans end their six seasons on NBC with a family game of baseball. I get chills remembering them heading out to the neighborhood diamond without Granddad (Craig T. Nelson). It made me smile and cry, and left me grateful and hopeful. Interestingly enough, Peter Krouse acted in both of these shows that I reference, but two very different families and shows. The finale of Six Feet Under took my breath away. In a 5 minute montage set to music, each one of the members of the Fisher family (who ran a funeral home), are shown aging and completing their life sped up, wrapping up their character arcs. For a show that dealt with life and death, it was beautiful and moving, artistically portraying the inevitable. The writers of that show gave us something we do not usually get with with our family tv shows. Did Alex Keaton ever run for President? Did Jan Brady ever get the attention she always craved? What kind of mother did Shiv Roy turn out to be? Do the Duttons lose their ranch? How fractured does their family end up in the end? We will be watching the final season to find out, but Taylor Sheridan may just leave us hanging when the credits roll.

My favorite family show is this one. Plenty of action and drama.