After four fantastic seasons, 13 Emmys, and one emotional 90-minute final, Succession came to an end on Monday morning.
The finale was everything fans had hoped for: there was drama and intimacy in equal measure, storylines were (on the whole) tied up, a successor was finally announced, and Nicholas Britell’s incredible score tied it all together.
But the final has left a lot of people feeling utterly bereft. Succession had become a major part of Monday mornings/evenings (depending on how keen you were to watch it) and its conclusion has left a gaping hole in our schedules.
But fear not – it might not feel like it right now, but there are dozens of other brilliant shows that can replace the thrilling HBO drama. Here’s our pick of 11 incredible TV shows to watch next.
Barry
Barry’s fourth and last season also ended this week, which has sent many TV fans into mourning. But for those lucky few who haven’t startedâ the Emmy-winning dark comedy yet, it could be a fantastic next move after Succession. Bill Hader stars as Barry Berkman, a former U.S. Marine who now works as a hitman. He travels to Los Angeles for a job, but ends up attending an acting class, and meeting an aspiring actress, Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg). Suddenly he decides he wants to leave his old life behind him and become an actor.
The Guardian described Barry as the “best show on television”, saying, “since 2018 it has towered above its rivals, thanks to its highwire ability to mix incredible comedy with the sort of intense drama that leaves your stomach in knots for days.”
Now TV
The Bear
Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a talented young chef who has been working at a fine dining restaurant in New York City, has to return home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after his brother dies by suicide. From the off, the comedy-drama is all go: “The Bear does not bother to explain its restaurant lingo, immediately lay out character backstories, or even establish itself firmly as a comedy or drama,” explains Vulture. “There is no time. Dinner service starts in 20 minutes, and Carmy and his co-workers have sandwiches to make.”
Disney+
Beef
If you haven’t heard about Beef, Netflix’s latest buzzy TV show, you will very, very soon. The 10-episode comedy-disaster-revenge show has been causing a stir for many reasons, one of which is its amazing score, composed by The Haxan Cloak (aka Bobby Krlic, who also made the music for Ari Aster‘s horror film Midsommar) as well as its incredible, increasingly byzantine plot, which is action-based but is also wickedly funny and deeply moving.
Beef tells the story of Los Angeles residents Danny, a contractor, and Amy, a small business owner, who get into a road rage altercation. It could end there, but Danny and Amy are not normal people. They decide to get revenge on each other for their parts in the incident, and slowly the event, and their subsequent actions, start to consume them both.
Netflix
Fleishman is in Trouble
Hulu’s Fleischman is in Trouble stars Jesse Eisenberg as a recently divorced doctor who, as an established professional, finds he is pretty successful on dating apps – a far cry from his experience dating as a younger man. The miniseries follows his life as he dates, looks after his kids, copes with pressures at work, and tries to work out what happened to his ex-wife, Rachel (played by Claire Danes), who has disappeared.
The miniseries, adapted by American journalist and author Taffy Brodesser-Akner from her own bestselling novel, pulled in mostly rave reviews. The Standard gave it five stars, saying, “It is a story about a man putting a mirror up to himself, his life, his family, his work, his parenting, his friends, their friends, society, coffee shops and the idiots who populate his world. And in doing so, the author holds up a mirror to us all... It’s what makes it both painful and brilliant.”
Disney+
Somewhere Boy
Teenager Danny (Lewis Gribben) has been kept indoors ever since his mum died in an accident by his overprotective father. The isolation has meant that pallid Danny is timid and scared of the “monsters’’ outside. But everything changes when his dad dies, and he has to go and live with his aunt Sue (Lisa McGrillis) and begins to interact with the world again.
“It is the kind of drama that rewards knowing as little as possible about it, as it unfurls the story slowly and with great care,” said The Guardian. The eight-episode series was a huge hit with the critics: The Standard said, “It will knock your socks clean off”. The Telegraph called it, “an unforgettable piece of television” and The Guardian said the show is “a beautiful, rare find that is in a world of its own”.
Channel 4
Mr In-Between
Like Barry, Mr In-Between is also about a hitman, but rather than wanting to become an actor, Raymond “Ray” Shoesmith (Scott Ryan) is pretty content with his job, or at least, he doesn’t have time to think about much else in this black comedy. It’s his family who he finds much more of a challenge: he attempts to be a good boyfriend, a good father to his step-daughter and a good brother. And being part of a criminal organisation isn’t always breezy either. The three-season show was described by The Guardian as “one of Australia’s best”.
Disney+
Tokyo Vice
Set in the late-Nineties, Tokyo Vice is about what happens when American Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) starts working as a journalist in the Japanese capital. He starts to investigate the world of the yakuza – Japan’s Mafia-like criminal organization – which draws him into the city’s underworld. Granted, Tokyo Vice’s one series has pulled in mixed reviews. But those who loved the show, really loved it. The Times gave it four stars, calling it “thoughtful and vividly detailed”; NME called it “a vivid and fascinatingly morbid crime series.”
Prime Video/ Lionsgate+
Industry
Aesthetics-wise, Industry, a HBO drama about the inner workings of an investment bank in London, is the closest to Succession: there are a lot of office scenes, and a lot of suits. But rather than it being about the team at the top of the business, Industry follows the lives of the employees right at the bottom – the show is about fresh young graduates who are competing against each other for permanent positions. Although it means the stakes aren’t as high on a global scale, it means the characters’ livelihoods are on the line. Which means back stabbing, betrayal, and undignified behaviour galore.
“At its heart, Industry is an exploration of power in its many guises: money and sex, most obviously — but also class, and privilege,” said The Standard about its September-released second season. “The dog-eat-dog world of banking is back on our screens and it’s just as thrilling as last time.”
BBC iPlayer
The White Lotus
If you are looking for a proper laugh – the merciless cackling kind – look no further than the five-time Emmy Award-winning show The White Lotus. Set in a luxury hotel (the first season’s is in idyllic Hawaii, the second is in one of Sicily’s most opulent spots) creator Mike White faultlessly anatomises relationships, wealth, racial politics, sex, family and loneliness – using a motley crew of over privileged clientele, and the staff who look after them. The two seasons are stand-alone stories, with only one cast member (the fabulous Jennifer Coolidge – the series arguably resuscitated her career) making the crossover.
Now TV
The Good Wife
The Good Wife follows what happens to Alicia (Julianna Margulies), the wife of State’s Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), who has to return to work after her husband gets embroiled in a prostitution and corruption case and has to resign. After having taken years’ out to raise her kids, Alicia restarts her career as a junior litigator. She is competing for the one permanent position in the office against Cary Agos, a young Harvard-educated lawyer. If you like courtroom dramas, and enjoyed Succession’s power plays, this is going to be a real winner.
Paramount+/ Channel 4
Game of Thrones
It’s possible you’ve heard of it before, but if you haven’t got into the 73-episode TV show based on George R. R. Martin’s bestselling fantasy novels (themselves loosely inspired by the War of the Roses), now’s the time. On the continent of Westeros, noble families make allegiances, betray their allies, and plot devilish schemes in order to try and rule supreme. Sounds familiar, no?
When the show begins Robert Baratheon sits on the Iron Throne, but his brother, Stannis, believes he has the rightful claim. Robert’s wife, Cersei Lannister, isn’t having any of it, and so the games begin.
Although a violent period drama set in the 11th century – especially a period drama with zombies and dragons – is a far cry from Succession, Game of Thrones is almost peerless when it comes to providing captivating family interplays, ever-winding narratives and non-stop drama.
Now TV
The West Wing
In many respects The West Wing is the absolute antithesis of Succession: it tells the story of the inner workings of the White House when there’s a very clever and thoughtful Democratic president in charge, and everyone who works for him is talented, ambitious and well-meaning. Lifting the curtain on one of the most exclusive workplaces in the world, we follow the president’s team battle challenge after challenge with absolute class. The script, written by Aaron Sorkin, is whip-sharp, and rivals Succession’s: fewer dick jokes, more political puns.
Prime Video / Channel 4
Big Little Lies
Based on the 2014 bestselling novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz, and tells the story of five women who become involved in a murder at a school fundraiser. The show received huge critical acclaim and won eight Emmys. The two season’s 14 episodes are super starry, with Meryl Streep, Adam Scott (Severance), and even Alexander Skarsgård – for those who are already missing GoJo boss Lukas Matsson – also putting in appearances.
