‘Succession’ Still Has a Few Surprises Left

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( tv review [Succession Still Has a Few Surprises Left]( In its final season, the HBO juggernaut keeps redefining itself, charting new business battlefields and emotional terrain. Photo: HBO Succession’s fourth and final season is a shining example of the best qualities of long-form storytelling, and of TV in particular. When we’ve lived with characters for multiple seasons, there’s a sense that we know them, and know them well. This is no movie-length fling. It’s a yearslong relationship that creates messy, complex investment and invites obsessive close reading. Characters are pinned down, picked apart, every line and glance and [odd way of sitting in chairs]( noted and charted and considered. We see them. (We hear for them.) They’ve been part of our lives for years; they belong to us. That closeness is a kind of intimacy, but it’s also a way to be lulled into false confidence. How could we be taken by surprise when we’ve examined their every move? And yet, as the Roy family has illustrated over the past three seasons, there’s no better moment to zig than the precise moment when everything is lined up for a big zag. [Read More]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Below Deck: [Going Out With a Bang]( • Swarm: [The Making of a Murderer]( • The Real Housewives of New Jersey: [Shore Losers]( • Ted Lasso: [Hats Off to Roy Kent]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [The Succession Cast Breaks Down the Art of the Insult “It’s an insult, but it’s also a power play.”]( By Jason P. Frank [Yellowjackets Bites Off a Lot, But Not More Than It Can Chew An ambitious and only occasionally unwieldily second season offers proof the Showtime hit could be in it for the long haul.]( By Roxana Hadadi [Smash Is Cut, Print … Moving On to Broadway Ugly scarves are back in, people.]( By Jason P. Frank [The Weirdest and Most Divisive of Genesis, According to Tony Banks “There’s no Genesis song that would’ve sounded anything like it did if I hadn’t been around.”]( By Devon Ivie [James Lance Talked His Way Into More Ted Lasso A three-minute conversation with Jason Sudeikis “changed the course” of his career.]( By Devon Ivie [Twice’s Chaeyoung Wore Controversial Shirts Not Once, Twice “I will pay absolute attention in the future.”]( By Justin Curto [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 3-Down, Four Letters: Drag queen ___ Skye. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Into It With Sam Sanders Photo: Chris Reel/Prime Video Swarm is about a Beyoncé superfan who defends her idol’s honor to the death … as in, by literally committing murder. (The new Amazon Prime Video show isn’t actually about Beyoncé. It’s about Ni’Jah — a fictional pop star who just happens to have a fervent online fandom called the Swarm, is married to an incredibly famous rapper, was involved in an elevator incident, once got bit in public, etc.) [On this episode of Into It](, host Sam Sanders talks to Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers about why she was so excited to create a show about a Black female serial killer and how in the world Amazon’s legal team approved the multitude of similarities to Beyoncé and her fandom. [Read more from Vulture]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](link.nymag.com/manage/588/optout-vulture?email={EMAIL}&hash=39357a76f6d08b16239fd2ffa65e9c6f¶m=vulture-daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved