HBO's Succession has been a hit on TV since its release on 3 June 2018. The show focuses on dark humor that is centered around power, money, and politics. It is an award-winning provocative, funny series about a highly dysfunctional dynasty. The series follows Logan Roy played by Brian Cox, CEO of one of the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerates plans to retire, each of his four grown children follows a personal agenda that does not always mesh with those of their siblings-- and by extension, their father.
So far, the show has a total of three seasons. Following the epic conclusion of season 3, fans are eagerly awaiting the fourth season. The good news is that HBO has granted the show a fourth season which had been renewed in October 2021.
The show now has a total of 29 episodes, and it is filmed in a variety of places. However, the primary location for filming the show is in New York City with locations across Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island. As a result, Succession is nothing short of elite, fancy, and bougie. So, just how much does it cost to keep the show going?
Who Created Succession?
Succession is created by British writer Jesse Armstrong. Prior to Succession, he co-created the Channel 4 comedy shows Peep Show and Fresh Meat. He is also the show-runner for Succession, meaning he is in charge of the show and has full control over any creative and management decisions relating to it. Other writers on Succession include Lucy Prebble and Tony Roche.
Succession's family, The Roy clan has massive wealth which makes it easy (and fun) to judge their various misdeeds. But Jesse Armstrong views them through a different lens. Armstrong explains how he developed Succession’s distinctive style and where he empathizes with Logan, Kendall, and the rest of the Roys.
In an interview, he states that "in every interaction that takes place in our professional and personal lives we have boundaries that we sort of trust the other person not to breach. In a family, they're particularly wonky boundaries." He then went on to further add that 'there's an underlying sense that your family should accord you a greater level of safety in your interactions with them. When that's violated, it's particularly brutalizing."
Armstrong also admitted that some of his experiences as well as the other writers are used in the show.
Why is Succession Considered To Such An Expensive To Film
Thecentral playground for Succession is in New York City, New York,one of the most expensive cities to live in the world and if it costs that much to live in, one can only imagine how much it costs to film in such an area. In addition to filming in New York City, the show has filming locations throughout the state.
The Waystar RoyCo headquarters from the show is located in the Financial District of Manhattan, while production uses venues like the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, The Plaza, and the New York Marriott Marquis as settings for lavish galas and parties. Season 3, in particular, was filmed in Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island, primarily in Wainscott and Montauk and on the beaches of Shadmoor State Park and Kirk Park, and other parts of the season were filmed in The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. In season 2, there were episodes shot in Tuscany, Italy.
The show's filming budget is no ordinary budget, especially having to account for travel expenses, hotel rooms, and props for its cast.
According to The Guardian, the shoot costs an estimate $90 million!
What Was The Cast Of Succession Doing Before The Hit Show?
The HBO series “Succession” follows the super-rich and deeply dysfunctional Roy family, as the children fight to win patriarch Logan Roy's favor and lock down a position of power in their company, Waystar Royco. The Roy empire includes theme parks, cruises, and a right-wing TV network undeniably modeled on Fox News.
At the beginning of the series, Logan Roy played by Bryan Cox suffered from a health issue at the beginning of the series. That had his four grown children — played by Alan Ruck, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin — fighting for control.
Kieran Culkin began his career as a child actor in the films Home Alone (1990), Father of the Bride (1991), The Mighty (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999) and plays Roman Roy. Alan Ruck (Connor Roy) is a well renowned American actor and is well known for his role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Jeremy Strong is best known for his present role in Succession as Kendall Roy. Lastly, Sarah Snook is famed for her starring role as Shiv Roy in the television series Succession.
