On Sunday night, March 26, HBO's Succession returned with its highly anticipated final season. Our favorite family baddies, the Roys, serve up a lot of drama filled with sibling rivalry, business takeovers, and toxic family love. If you, like me, are on the edge of your seat, dying to know what happens next but also dreading the completion of the series—then you’re probably not doing so well.
I hear you! Let's first take a moment to remember all the good (and not so good) times with Logan's awkward family dinner parties, Cousin Greg and Tom's strange friendship, the Shakespearean courts of Kendall, Siobhan, and Roman, and wallflower Connor wishing he weren't there at all.
Despite our best efforts, we won't be able to fill the Roy-shaped hole in your heart that will inevitably grow with the very last episode. However, we can recommend some podcasts and audiobooks that will remind you of Succession's best moments.
Rumor has it Succession is based on the dynamics of the Murdoch family, the subject of this new podcast. Bitter Blood: Murdoch v. Murdoch goes behind the scenes of one of the world's most powerful clans and the man who spearheads it all: Rupert Murdoch. Much like Logan Roy, Murdoch pits three of his children against each other for the chance to take over 20th Century Fox. Narrated by Succession’s Alan Ruck, Bitter Blood illuminates the family's inner workings through exclusive interviews with key insiders, including employees, Murdoch biographers, and journalists. It's the tale of a family that fights for wealth and power at all costs, even if that means battling each other until the bitter end.
If you like Succession for the family dinners and times when the siblings are getting along, check out Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, author of the hit novel Dear Edward. Inspired by the classic Little Women, this poignant and engrossing family story asks: Can love make a broken person whole? The story follows William Waters as he gets involved with the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano. William's life, which had been marked with tragedy, is soon transformed by Julia and her three sisters, whose chaotic lives bring him newfound contentment. The audiobook, narrated by Maura Tierney of TV’s ER, will keep you engaged until the end and stay on your mind for a long time after you finish it.
Every family has its secrets, but this is next level. If you enjoyed Succession for Roy's corporate empire of high-stakes battles, money laundering, and political intrigue, Empire of Pain is your next listen. Author Patrick Radden Keefe narrates a devastating portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, famed philanthropists whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin. The Sackler dynasty is rife with drama—baroque personal lives, bitter estate disputes, boardroom fistfights, glittering art collections, Machiavellian courtroom maneuvers, and the calculated use of money to burnish reputations and crush the less powerful. This is a masterpiece of an audiobook that leaves you wondering, “Why isn't this a movie?”
YA lovers, this one's for you! In The Cousins, Karen M. McManus presents a tale of mystery and intrigue as three cousins battle over an inheritance on a spooky island. Invited to the island by the rich and reclusive grandmother who had disinherited their parents decades earlier, the cousins try to get their family back into the matriarch’s good graces—and maybe uncover a secret or two. This is perfect for hitting Succession-esque notes of familial love mixed with high-stakes competition. And let’s be honest—can’t you see Logan Roy doing this to his grandkids in the future?
If family inheritance is still on your mind, then Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson might be for you. In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny—a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. With this heartfelt tale, Succession fans will be transported straight into the heart of another multigenerational family saga, one that finds siblings grappling with the impact of discovering who their mother really is.
Or maybe you’re looking for a more unorthodox family scandal. How about the story of the largest reproductive scam in history? In the wake of the discovery that a prolific sperm donor (identified by his number, 9623) was not as described by the fertility agency—among other discrepancies, he had a criminal record and a history of mental illness—some parents banded together to file suit against the sperm bank while others tried to connect with the elusive donor. Plus, like any good Succession fan eagerly awaiting a next season, you can listen to Donor 9623 in anticipation of an upcoming new chapter, expected to drop this summer.
There wouldn't be a list of toxic family inheritance dramas without Shakespeare's King Lear. Succession fans won't miss the similarities of the king pitting his children against each other to win the biggest slice of the kingdom to prove their love to him. This version is commandingly performed by an acclaimed full cast, including the late Trevor Peacock and the beloved star of Dr. Who and Broadchurch, David Tennant.
