RoyCast

We're at the movies again as Gabi and Brendan discuss each of the nominees for Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards, whether any of these films are any good, and what they say about the particular present anxieties of the American movie industry. We also recap the last hurrah of Succession's awards tour.

Brendan, Gabi, and producer Dan reunite for a retrospective look at the complete run of Succession by attempting to rank every episode of the series. Discussion also covers the cast and crew's final tour of the awards circuit, the publication of the full shooting scripts, and unreconciled feelings about the series finale. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ We thank everyone who has listened and supported us over the years.

In the Succession series finale, "With Open Eyes", the closed-loop system begins another revolution as the Roys lose Waystar for good. Critic and author Adam Nayman returns to the RoyCast to discuss the anxieties and potential pitfalls of this final season, the insular quality of the ending, frustrated expectations, the uncertain fate of Mencken's Presidential bid, corporeal themes, eruptions of physical violence, hearty fare, meager rations, and the fates of the many lead and supporting characters we bid farewell to in this episode. We also offer some thoughts on Succession's legacy and the future of the podcast. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ We thank everyone who has listened and supported us over the years. ~~~ Adam Nayman is a critic, lecturer and author whose writing has appeared in The Ringer, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. He is a contributing editor to Cinema Scope magazine and the author of several books, most recently David Fincher: Mind Games. Twitter: @brofromanother

At Logan’s funeral mass, Kendall and Shiv eulogize their father while rallying their forces, and Roman goes to pieces. Number one boy Vikram Murthi returns to the RoyCast to talk about “Church and State” as a classic penultimate episode, the show’s signature blend of dry humor and pathos, the direction and staging of Logan's funeral, the decline and fall of Roman, Kendall's bitter goodbyes to Rava and Jess, the pending Shiv W, Mencken maneuvers, Ewan’s good hard take, a curious scene with Colin, the women in Logan's life, CEO odds, some light series finale speculation, and more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Vikram Murthi is a freelance writer and critic based in Brooklyn, NY. He's a contributing writer for The Nation, the editor of Downtime Magazine, and has contributed to publications such as The New Republic, Filmmaker Magazine, Criterion, Vulture, Vanity Fair, the old A.V. Club, among others. He tweets at @fauxbeatpoet.

It's election night in "America Decides", where the Roy family tragedy spills over into a national catastrophe of their own making. Brendan and Gabi sit down for a solo discussion that dives deep into the road to this inevitable outcome, the episode's atypical structure, the details of the show's electoral reality, lost votes in Milwaukee, Kendall's swing vote, Shiv's final humiliation, Roman's demonic energy, real life parallels for Mencken and Jimenez, Tom's election night diet, Greg's payback moment, a rare sign of agency from Jess, the ATN culture, director Andrij Parekh and his history with the series, ethical walls, bodega sushi, and more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/

At the Roys' pre-election party, the simmering tension between Shiv and Tom finally boils over. Critic and programmer Madeleine Wall returns to discuss the staging and writing of that climactic blowup, the paths leading both Shiv and Tom to finally unload their grievances, scorpions and frogs, Shiv's moment of recognition, the layers of the episode's premise and what it says about the show's political critique, Matchstick Matsson, Skarsgard's performance and his standout scenes with both Snook and Eili Harboe's Ebba, the returns of both Nate and Rava, Roman's failure to close, the Connor surge, ambassador games, Franky and Kenny, Greg's zoom firings, and more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Madeleine Wall is a film critic and programmer whose work can be found in Cinema Scope Magazine. Subscribe here: https://cinema-scope.com/subscriptions/ Twitter: @parietines

Kendall's ambitions take flight as the Waystar team preps for a Hollywood investor presentation in "Living+". Returning guest Danny Bowes joins the RoyCast to discuss the episode's grim central conceit, its larger social and political implications, the season's tragic endgame coming into view, a standing ovation for director Lorene Scafaria, Kendall's moment of victory, model homes, Matsson's bad tweet, the fall of Rome, an explosive confrontation with Gerri, Shiv and Tom's reunion, a friendly game of "Bitey", bad bosses, a surprising Logan cameo, Karl unleashed, Hollywood strife, and much more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Danny Bowes is a former critic for Roger Ebert Dot Com, Salt Lake City Weekly and the Village Voice. Twitter: @bybowes

The Roys are off to bleed the Swede in "Kill List", where newly minted CE-bros Kendall and Roman face new developments in rival Lukas Matsson's bid to acquire Waystar. Critic and author Charles Bramesco joins the RoyCast to help work through the shifting power dynamics of the Gojo deal, revelations of Matsson's true character, Alexander Skarsgard's impressively off-putting performance, Roman's turning point, location shooting, "room meat", opposite numbers, Kalispitron reshoots, culture clashes, blood bricks, flirt fighting, the Quad Squad, and more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Charles Bramesco is a film and television critic living in Brooklyn. In addition to the Guardian, his work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Little White Lies, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Forbes, Nylon, Vulture, Frieze, The A.V. Club, Indiewire, The Dissolve, Vox, and Pitchfork. He is the author of Vampire Movies (Little White Lies for William Collins, 2019). His book Colors of Film: The Story of Cinema in 50 Palettes is in bookstores now. https://www.quarto.com/books/9780711279384/Colors-of-Film Twitter: @intothecrevasse

The Roy family gathers with Waystar colleagues and assorted hangers-on for a wake at Logan's home, where an ambiguous pencil stroke complicates their search for an interim CEO. Novelist, TV writer and showrunner Megan Abbott joins the RoyCast to discuss this week's installment of Dark Kendall: Waystar Rising, Shakespearean themes, Logan's true intentions for his heir, the revelation of Shiv's pregnancy, themes of misogyny and women being cast aside, the episode's single setting and its evocations of prisons, traps and haunted houses, director Lorene Scafaria's skillful blocking and staging, Tom's Midwestern origins, Greg's continued devolution, the return of Marcia, real estate negotiation, costume choices, and much more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Megan Abbott is the award-winning author of ten crime novels, including You Will Know Me, Give Me Your Hand and the New York Times bestseller The Turnout. She also writes for television, including Dare Me, the series she adapted from her own novel, now streaming on Netflix. Her next novel, Beware the Woman, will be in bookstores on May 30. Twitter: @meganeabbott

In “Connor’s Wedding”, Logan disrupts yet another blessed family event by unexpectedly passing away on his flight to Stockholm. Critic and programmer Maddie Whittle joins the RoyCast to break down the shocking yet mundane execution of this endgame development for the series, TV deaths, siblings bonding through crisis, the episode’s intricate direction by Mark Mylod, parallels to the demise of another real-world publishing tycoon, the drowning motif, Tom’s bedside manner, the C-suite jockeying, Connor and Willa’s happily ever after, the return of Dark Kendall, and more. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Maddie Whittle is a critic and programmer for Film at Lincoln Center. Twitter: @maddiewhittle

In “Rehearsal”, Succession’s final season begins to take shape as old habits die hard. John Semley joins the RoyCast to discuss the episode’s theme of regression, insularity versus circularity, the cable news landscape, new wrinkles in the Gojo deal, Connor’s blues, family lore, karaoke confrontations, desperadoes, the season’s use of NYC locations, Logan’s ATN visit, business bona fides, Ken’s addictive drives, Mencken’s electoral prospects, and Kerri’s TV ambitions. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ John Semley is a freelance writer for The Baffler, The New Republic, Wired, and elsewhere. Twitter: @johnsemley3000

In Succession's final season premiere, a merger-of-the-week plays out in sunny California with dark clouds on the horizon. Marie Bertonneau returns to the RoyCast to discuss Logan's troubling state of mind, Catholic perspectives on sin and redemption, the world's dullest birthday party, a rare glimpse into Colin's backstory, the show's relationship with the modern American right wing, the Comedy Central Roast of Logan Roy, new developments in Shiv and Tom's fractured marriage, sympathy for Shiv, the Disgusting Brothers, Architectural Digest tours, hypermarche vin ordinaire, and getting the facts about The Hundred. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Marie Bertonneau tweets from @marieberd.

Filmmaker and film production professor Alex Sherman joins Brendan for a discussion of the 2022 film Armageddon Time, starring Jeremy Strong, Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Chastain, John Diehl, Banks Repeta, and Jaylin Webb. Before getting to the film itself, Brendan and Alex dive deep into the career of writer-director James Gray, whose films address themes of family, legacy, inheritance, immigration, Judaism, assimilation, and transfers of power. Inspired by Gray's childhood experiences, the story follows a young Jewish-American boy who befriends an African-American classmate and begins to struggle with expectations from his family and growing up in a world of privilege, inequality and prejudice. This bonus episode was recorded a few days before Jesse Armstrong announced that Succession's fourth season would be its last, so the preamble features some outdated speculation about the future of the show. Collin Brinkmann's blog The 15:17 to Cinema, featuring his critical biography of James Gray and Jordan Mintzer's report from the set of Armageddon Time: https://the1517tocinema.blogspot.com/

The RoyCast reacts to Jesse Armstrong's unexpected announcement that Succession will end with its upcoming fourth season. Topics include: the five stages of grief, the dashed hopes for a fifth season, creative decisions, what we'll miss most, spinoffs, holiday specials, ill-advised predictions, what to expect from a final season, what NOT to expect, and the future of the podcast.

Brendan and Gabi reunite to discuss Succession at the 2022 Emmys, speculation about the upcoming season, a recent trend in commentary about the show and other media that depict the super-wealthy, as well as our favorite films and television of the year. Financial Times: The ‘Succession’ effect: how TV dramas got angrier about the rich https://www.ft.com/content/b3a10aeb-184d-46b8-9d64-9f5ea8a0d659 Vanity Fair: Hollywood’s Eat-the-Rich Satires Need Sharper Teeth https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/hollywoods-eat-the-rich-satires-need-sharper-teeth Patrick Preziosi on Crimes of the Future: https://triplefeature.substack.com/p/body-words-cronenberg-kavan-delany The Film Comment Podcast: TÁR WÁRS https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/the-film-comment-podcast-tar-wars-with-jessica-kiang-and-nathan-lee-todd-fields-cate-blanchett/ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting the podcast. However, we have no intention of paywalling the show. For those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/

In the second half of an epic recording, Brendan, Gabi, and guest Marie Bertonneau take a long view of the doctrinal, social, and political contexts surrounding The Righteous Gemstones, whether it represents a softening of its creators' earlier satirical projects, and the musical, historical, and literary influences that make up its deep-fried vision of the South. Marie Bertonneau tweets from @marieberd.

For the first installment of a two-part episode covering HBO's The Righteous Gemstones, Brendan, Gabi, and guest Marie Bertonneau take a deep dive into the history of collaboration between multihyphenate creators Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green. The discussion starts with their time at the North Carolina School of the Arts and goes on to consider McBride's first screen appearance in Green's 2003 romantic drama All the Real Girls, Hill's first two features The Foot Fist Way and Observe and Report, and the HBO series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals. Marie Bertonneau tweets from @marieberd.

For the first installment in a series exploring works that make up the creative DNA of Succession, critic and author Adam Nayman joins Brendan to discuss The Game, the 1997 conspiracy thriller directed by David Fincher starring Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, and Deborah Kara Unger. The discussion kicks off with an analysis of the title sequence, which inspired Succession's own opening credits, and branches off from there to explore other interesting connections between film and series. Towards the end, Adam and Brendan also discuss Succession executive producer Adam McKay's recent film Don't Look Up. This episode was recorded before the Oscar nominations, so listeners will once again be privy to some laughably outdated awards speculation. ///// Community's spoof of The Game's ending, from "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de4KwN6CjZ8 ///// Critic Gina Telaroli on The Game, for Criterion: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7135-the-meaning-of-money-in-the-game ///// Adam Nayman (Twitter: @brofromanother) writes about film for The Ringer and Cinema Scope magazine. His latest book is David Fincher: Mind Games. https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/david-fincher-mind-games_9781419753411/

From a chat recorded on March 7th, Brendan and Gabi reunite for a loose, hangout style episode to share some news about the podcast, discuss season 3 with the benefit of a few months’ hindsight, and share wildly outdated thoughts about the awards race. Topics include: Euphoria, The Righteous Gemstones, Golden Globes, SAGs, Emmys, Succession season 2 versus season 3, episode rankings, fantasy casting, and favorite films of 2021. Apologies for Brendan’s squeaky chair in the background of this ep.

Dominoes fall in the Succession season finale, and "All the Bells Say": too late. Isaac Butler returns to the RoyCast for a spirited debate about the third season's flaws and virtues, as well as to weigh in with some expert commentary on the recent Jeremy Strong discourse. Topics from the finale discussion include: Ken's confession, the Roy children teaming up, parallels between Matsson and Logan, billionaire elitism, the decision to sell Waystar and its implications for the future, Godfather references, Kieran Culkin as the season's MVP, Sympathy for Shiv, Tom as the show's true protagonist, Greg's place in the narrative, costume design, and the long-deferred dream of Connor Season. ~~~ RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting the podcast. However, we have no intention of paywalling the show. For those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ ~~~ Isaac Butler (Twitter: @parabasis) is a cultural critic and author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act, available 2/1 from Bloomsbury. He is also the co-host of Slate's Working podcast. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/method-9781635574784/