The Best Books, Movies, Video Games, and Podcasts to Check Out After Watching ‘Succession’[html]
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Shakespearean in the depth of its family dynamics and populated with some of the most hilariously awful people ever imagined, Succession was deservedly a phenomenon over the course of its four seasons. Watching the Roy children simultaneously scramble for their share of the Waystar RoyCo empire while navigating the emotional wreckage of their lives (caused largely by their demonic father) was great fun—but now that it’s over, you need more.
If you’ve already burned through all the series that scratch the same itch, here are some books, video games, movies, and podcasts that will keep the very bad vibes going.
The best books for fans of Succession
One thing that made Succession so entertaining was the depth of its characterization and worldbuilding, and the best way to replicate that is with a deep dive into a great book. Here are some of the best read-a-likes.
King Lear, by William Shakespeare
The ultimate tale of a father destroying his family through hubris (and a definite influence on the show), King Lear is the story of an ancient king who divides his kingdom among his daughters based on how flattering they are toward him, while trying to cling to his dignity and position. It goes about as well as you might expect (the official title is The Tragedy of King Lear, after all), and the schemes of the king’s daughters and the absolutely dank insults traded throughout the play will make you miss Succession a little less.
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
If you showed up to Succession to watch Logan Roy consistently belittle, humiliate, and manipulate his children, The Brothers Karamazov is the ideal classic novel for you. Fyodor Pavlovich, an awful person and compulsive liar, has three legitimate sons, Dmitri, Alexei, and Ivan. He’s variously ignored them and treated them terribly, so the life of each son is a reaction to their father in different ways. Just like Logan Roy’s monstrous fatherhood, everything in this dense philosophical novel is driven by the poisoned relationship between the truly terrible Fyodor and his sons.
The Man Who Owns the News, by Michael Wolff
As one of the most obvious inspirations for Logan Roy and the Roy family, it behooves any Succession fan to know more about Rupert Murdoch and his family. Wolff’s book predates our current political environment and the latest rounds of Murdoch family drama, but it’s still an eye-opening look at the man and how he built the most influential media empire of the modern age. Fans of the show will see some clear parallels between plot developments and Murdoch’s real life, and come away with a deeper understanding of both.
The Inheritance, by Trisha Sakhlecha
The Inheritance is perfect for fans of Succession who want to repeat the thrill of descending into the madness of a wealthy, infighting family. When Raj Agarwal announces he will sell his immense petrochemical business and divide the fortune among his children—but speculation over exactly how he will calculate that division over the course of a vacation on a Scottish island drives his family to cutthroat maneuvers and revelations that soon spiral into chaos. Fans of the show will love it.
Trust, by Hernan Diaz
This challenging, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel isn’t as straightforward as Succession, but as you untangle its multiple narratives, it delivers a similarly dark, complicated story of money, betrayal, and relationship dynamics. The story involves a novel-within-the-novel about a wealthy man whose fortune survives the crash of 1929 but slowly loses his beloved wife to mental illness, a memoir by the real-life investor who furiously believes the text was slanderously based on his life, his wife’s diary, and the work of a journalist digging into the true story behind it all. It’s dense and layered, but at its core is a story about money, trauma, and emotional corruption that Succession fans will find rewarding.
The best movies for fans of Succession
Want more glitzy corporate offices, lavish multi-million dollar homes, and wealthy people dressed in clothes without labels? Then these movies are the ideal way to sustain yourself after finishing the latest re-watch of Succession.
The Celebration (1998)
Titled Festen in its original Danish, The Celebration is a film in the stark Dogme 95 tradition about a family gathering to celebrate the 60th birthday of its wealthy patriarch, Helge (Henning Moritzen), whose daughter, Linda (Lene Laub Oksen), recently took her own life. When his eldest son, Christian (Ulrich Thomsen), stands to make a toast, he accuses Helge of abusing both him and Linda as children. Helge is a worse monster than Logan Roy in some ways, but the way he treats his children will give you those Roy family vibes. Stream The Celebration on The Criterion Channel.
The Godfather (1972)
The classic story of the Corleone family is actually a succession story. When mafia godfather Vito Corleone is gravely injured at the beginning of a war between families in 1950s New York, his hotheaded son Sonny (James Caan) is the obvious choice to step into his shoes. But as the violent, twisting story unfolds, it’s his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), who evolves into the cold, calculating leader the family needs. At its core, this is a story about a family that can’t escape the shadow of their powerful, corrupt patriarch. Stream The Godfather on Paramount+ or rent it on Prime Video.
The Game (1997)
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