The first teaser trailer for HBO’s Succession confirms the Roy family dynamic is as twisted and dysfunctional as ever. One of the best new shows of 2018 (and also one of the best shows of that year period), the indelicate family drama from creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong may have gotten off to a slow start for some, but it ended is first season with an incredibly strong string of episodes that delivered its fair share of memorable moments and in once case may have even added a winning phrase to its foul-mouthed lexicon.
In addition to having razor-sharp dialogue, the show boasts an impressive ensemble cast that’s essentially an all-star team no one saw coming. With Brian Cox heading up the cast as Roy family patriarch Logan, Succession also has Jeremy Strong as his recovering addict son and failed successor Kendall, as well as daughter Shiv (Sarah Snook), ne’re-do-well son Roman (Kieran Culkin), and the eccentric oldest child Connor (Alan Ruck). But while Logan’s children are often the center of attention, Succession boasts a pair of series MVPs in Matthew Macfadyen’s Tom and Nicholas Braun’s Greg (or Cousin Greg), who consistently deliver the series’ funniest and most memorable moments.
That terrific ensemble is on display again in the short but tantalizing teaser for Succession season 2, which is set to return this summer on HBO. The trailer doesn’t go in for the usual recap, but instead plows forward into the heartbreaking aftermath of the season 1 finale, setting up an entirely new conflict between the Roy clan and an as-yet-unforseen adversary. Check out the new teaser as well as some new images from season 2 below:
The business of Waystar Royco (the family’s media conglomerate) acts as a catalyst for much of the infighting that makes the series work. And it would seem that there’s someone out there hoping to pounce on Kendall in his moment of weakness in order to get him to turn on his father and help an outside interest seize control of the company. Naturally, this admission from Kendall is enough to warrant a bitterly sarcastic remark from Logan as well as Roman.
All in all, it looks as though one of HBO’s best series is set to deliver another great season of television. Between Succession and Big Little Lies, it looks as though this summer will be filled with some fraught drama that might just wind up netting the network a few more rewards.
Succession season 2 premieres in August on HBO.
Photo credits: Craig Blankenhorn/HBO and Peter Kramer/HBO