Decoding Succession's Opening Credits 

Im obsessed with that last shot from the opening of the kids all looking at their dad as he walks away. That's the whole show.

You don't need a billion dollars to have an insane family, it's actually surprisingly affordable lmao!!! Love it.

Three Seasons in, and I've never skipped the intro! The theme music matches perfectly with the visuals of the Roys' unhappy childhoods. I also love how a different sibling is focused on in each season. In the first, it was Kendall, in the second, Shiv, and in the latest, it was Roman.

I always thought of it as "two perspectives." Obviously Logan is the Super 8 footage and Kendall is the HD video. Just like with the score itself. Logan is the classical strings, Ken is the hip-hop beat. The old and new guard clashing.

Give Matthew Macfadyen his f*cking Emmy! He has delivered his parts exceptionally brilliant, nuanced and phenomenal - throughout all 3 seasons!

The very first shot of the intro is Logan resting his hand on his son's shoulder and then immediately awkwardly walking away. I love how subtle that detail says a lot about their father/son dynamic.

Excellent analysis. One of the most revealing cuts for me is going from Logan's back at a table set out for the family at his estate, to his back at a board meeting in the office. Because this is a man that runs his family as a company - and thinks of his company as his true offspring. And Succession is indeed the true successor (ha!) to GOT, because power and family is also what GRRM was really fascinated with. Unfortunately B&W were too simple minded to understand more than "t*ts and twists".

The very last shot of the opening credits (5:21) always felt to me like we see the Roy kids hung by a rope. As if their tragic fates were sealed from the beginning to be guilty of Logan Roy's children.

I raise a glass to this show for keeping opening credits alive. It's a dying art

“No sudden deaths.” Succession:”and I took that personally!”

I always found the opening credits slightly heartbreaking. Something so sad about seeing the siblings as children and knowing their father was never really there for them, and he never truly will be. Those children have it all, but Logan will always consider his company as his greatest, most important achievement.

I never skip the opening to Succession. The main song by Nicholas Brittell is probably my favorite tv theme of all time. You said it well, this show is like a Shakespearian play, or a Greek tragedy. The opening is so good at getting you in this epic family drama mood, with all the beautiful omnious shots of New York City. Loved this analysis !

Can't ever skip this intro because it sets the stage for every episode. The profound nostalgic sadness, every Roy children looking for their father as he distances himself... Never have I seen a show where the opening is as much a part of the storytelling as this one

the fact that it opens with logan and young kendall is so telling. he was always his number one boy.

“No sudden dea…” oh well.

I've always noticed the focus on the swimming pool in the opening credits, particularly for season 2 - the Roy children said their father didn't swim but we see him in the water with the scars on his back

It's the only show where I watch the intro every single episode, and look forward to it.

4:21 I love Greg so much. Every line from him cracks me up.

I've always loved that they paid homage to David Fincher in the opening credits. I wonder how he feels about the show.

I would personally rank Succession's opening sequence almost as highly as Game of Thrones stunning title graphics which is high praise from my perspective. Succession's credits tell you so much about the family dynamics with a compelling visual style accompanied by an appropiately discordant musical theme. Perfect!

I love the kids on the elephant (Logan) during the crescendo/climax. The kids are just along for the ride and the ride is rough.

Succession is one of the best shows ever I got the whole office hooked

Good video and great insights, I only disagree with the budget comment. While they might not be flooded with expensive CGI, can you imagine how much it would cost to rent the locations they use,not only the luxurius apartments,but all offshore locations, not to mention that they use helis as if they were taxis.

In 4:27 , it is also kind of ironic that even HBO itself wanted to make another show to be their flagship after GOT, which is Westworld. But ultimately they found it in Succession

4:45 "there are no sudden deaths" *S04 E03 enters the chat*

This was really insightful but I would push back on the idea that Succession defies the Game of Thronesian big budget trend. They don't have CGI dragons or massive fight scenes, but they do have a lot of characters in private jets and helicopters, the sets of their homes are all luxury condos and duplexes, and they frequently seen in extremely shiny and chrome office buildings. So they still spend a fair bit of money to portray a mega-rich family.

I also wondered why Connor was depicted as a child in the opening, when he was Logan's son from his first marriage, and would have been in his twenties by the time Kendall, Roman and Shiv were born.

I also find the amount of time we hear the line, 'is it real' extremely intriguing

my favorite shot in the intro (not covered in this video) is when one of the kids (i think its supposed to be young kendall) is smoking a cigar, seemingly at like 10 years old. sure, not the wildest thing a 10 year ole can do, but definitely indicative of logan’s negligence towards them. i mean it makes sense given how kendall is such a drug addict in the first 2 seasons.

Great analysis and I can't help drawing comparisons to the fabulous Madmen with its haunting opening credits ......it's sets the tone for what we are going to see...outstanding writing and performances.

I've been waiting for this video for a long time.. Well done and can't wait for season 4!

04:45 'there are no sudden deaths' 🙃

Succesion's Opening is a masterpiece. You don't need any flashbacks throughout the show to understand their lifes as kids because in the Opening you already see everything that's there to see: They doing expensive things by themselves (rarely together) without the presence of their father.

4:44 "there are no sudden deaths" oop-

I get chills everytime when open credits theme starts playing randomly inside each episode when someone's bout to flex their Wealth n Power.

All the rich white folk are going to argue and then whoever's best is going to win a kiss from daddyyyyyy

"...it is surprisingly affordable" 😂 I just lost it

That no sudden deaths comment have aged well lol.

The last scene of the intro also changes with the seasons, it used to be Kendall standing next to Logan and then it shifts to Shiv.

Well put! This title track has been my phone ringtone since Succession first aired.

“you don’t need $1 billion to have an insane family. It’s surprisingly affordable. “ I laughed so hard I choked on my cereal

Great video, but the comment about budget... Succession has an insane budget, the cast and locations set them back a huge amount. It is far from a cheap show

that was a great analysis.

The acid rain feel of the piano theme. Fabulous. Theme song memorable in same way as sopranos theme. Both a clarion call. One upbeat with energy, the other an unsettling touchstone.

As for the "inaccuracy" of the opening credits - it is clear that they are not supposed to show the actual Roy family. That's obvious from the shot of the 4 children - Connor is at least 15 years older than Kendall, so he shouldn't look anywhere near his siblings' age.

Logan just leaving the scene without any further affectionate lingering after the photos are shot tells the whole story

I think their outfits make sense because old money was slow to change in aesthetic especially back in the late 70s to 80s and then sped up mid 80s onwards.

To everyone saying it's Logan's family; have you watched the show? Season 2 literally shows us where Logan lived as a young child in Dundee. He had a poor childhood until his mother sent him to Canada to live with his uncle who had some money but not the amount depicted in the opening credits. The opening credits are meant to be symbolic of the type of dysfunctional rich family dynamics portrayed in the show, particularly the psychological effects of child negligence from an absent father and self-indulgent mother.

The shot when the children were riding on an elephant...a precarious seat.

"It has no sudden deaths" kekw @4:45

Incredible observations on an amazing show.

"No sudden deaths." S4 Ep3 would like a word

Really good intro!!! And the opening is just amazing. It is not really the Logan Roy's children but like a representation.

Riding on that 3rd season hype I see, I'm all for it!

I take the kids as “archetypal rich kids”, almost a terrible cinematic retelling of their lives. (It would make sense they totally get Connor’s age wrong as he would be minimum teen when they were a children and would have been 20+ when the others were kids)

I might be over analyzing this, but when the elephant brings the kids after Logan's big hand gesture, the music ramps up. Doesn't that whole sequence feels like confrontation is coming and they're ready to go to war? If you look at it that way, the whole looking at Dad from a distance could be interpreted as the kids sizing him up, as if they're almost hunting him. Obviously Logan is not prey but his children had made a habit of biting more than they can chew

"You don't need a billion dollars to create an insane family. It is surprisingly affordable. " *raises hand* I've got an extended one, and this just hits😂😢

Absolutely love it could watch it non stop

Excellent show in every way 👏👍

"And as a guy who also have 3 siblings I can confirm that you don't need a billion dollars to have an insane family" You've spoken from my heart mate ❤

might be something to be said about having antiquated film in the 80s shows Logan’s refusal to move on to newer more modern forms of media.

These opening credits are so good (as someone who usually skips the opening credits) it’s the episode about their childhood that we so desperately want but can’t have. My fave is the shot of one of the boys smoking a cigar and that theme song never gets old

Reminds me of the Mad Men theme too.

One does not simply skip the HBO tv series intros

Show n credits have always reminded me of the Busch family (as in beer) that grew up in Saint Louis at Grant’s Farm. It was the former home of a US President and had unbelievable animals on the property. When I went there as a kid in the 70s, it was a tourist attraction n open to the public because it was so large yet they still lived there.

One of the BEST part of this show...Love Succession!!!

I think of it was both being one and the same, for Logan, life is one big business deal. Perhaps that’s why it cuts from a dinner table to a business deal. You’ll note that in earlier seasons, dinner scenes were as tense as board meetings. The game never stops

"There are no sudden deaths.." And I OOP-

Flashbacks would be so cool

Daaaamn, this whole time I’ve been watching Succession, I thought Logan was the actor Rip Torn. They look so much alike! Didn’t realize Rip Torn passed away in 2019 😢

“There are no sudden deaths”😅

good short summary

The intro reminds me of the clips from that Fincher movie The Game in the 90's. Hope Fincher does TV again. Mindhunters was awesome. A little off topic.

Good video, thanks.

I love The Game. How did I never notice this? Good catch.

The best show on TV

what am I gonna do with a soul anyway

4:44 hits different in 2023

Watching this in 2023 and hearing “no sudden deaths” 😬

Wow I wanna watch this show

I like how Logan is always running away, like he’s too busy for family photos or videos

So freaking good!

5:04 - shots were fired, and they were serious! XD

Lovely opening. HEAVILY influenced by the flashbacks Michael Douglas experiences in “The Game”.

So glad you connected it to The Game. After recently rewatching The Game I was hoping that someone else caught the similarities to Succession.

I've never skipped the intro to this show. Not even when re-watching the entire series with my wife.

“No sudden deaths” 😂😭

Why is the last shot in the opening title the lower part of the kids? any significant meaning?

I like how the theme song only comes on when Logan Roy appears throughout the show

What about that final image of the four kids, without faces, just their torso and legs and feet? What does THAT mean?

Been with the show from the beginning. Interestingly I thought to myself, it was a modern day version of the Lannister family, and wondered if they were doing a minders day GoT, to fill the void. However I read that it’s loosely based on the Murdochs, Redstones and Hearsts.

Rewatching this now and hearing him say "there are no sudden deaths"... if only we knew

They all looked so miserable and wooden round eachother. It felt sad when the dad shows a tiny bit of affection for the camera and then is just off like a shot as soon as it’s done.

4:44 lol at "no sudden deaths" IYKYK

When I slow this to .75 you sound like a person who knows and cares about cinema as art and communication.

There is more than 20 years age difference between Connor and the other three. Yet they all look the same height and similar in age in the last shot of the four kids left there as Logan walks away from them.

4:44 "there are no sudden deaths"

4:43 - 4:45 "There are no sudden deaths"

Why they cut out the part when Logan gives the server a look of contemp

I work in nyc in media and have waystar royco wallpaper😂 goat theme