#Succession Season 4 HBO Review

[filmmarvel]

Barry and Succession: The Nature of Change

Fyi I’m sure many people have pointed this out before. Also this post is sort of piggybacking off of @childhoodtheme’s post of Jeremy Strong’s Vanity Fair interview.

Watching Succession right after Barry is just heartwrenching. They both deal with such intense themes about change. Each show deals with it differently. With Succession, it goes unsaid. You’re meant to watch the show and see for yourself. With Barry, it’s a very present question throughout the show. There are even moments where the characters put that question directly into words. But they end very similarly.

Starting with Succession- one of the general themes is that life is cyclical. Roman doesn’t recover. He doesn’t go to therapy, he doesn’t become a better person. He doesn’t change, he just accepts who he’s always been. In one of his culminating scenes, he simply says ‘We’re bullshit…we’re nothing.’ He, unlike his siblings, has come to terms with the reality of their situation instead of trying to change it. Shiv and Kendall’s arcs are cyclical in a different way. They do not change, and fail to recognize their situation, so they face the consequences instead. Instead of giving up, and getting out in the hopes of a freer life, Shiv does what she’s always done. She schemes, she manipulates, she ruins peoples lives and her own while she’s at it. She’s still striving for what she’s always wanted, but she’s dead inside. And Kendall? Just like Shiv, he ends up where he’s found himself so many times before. He’s alone. He’s failed AGAIN. After scheming and backstabbing and failing to learn and grow once more. His story ends the way we’ve all known it’s had to end, but the way he could never accept. After this long journey, they’re all right where they’ve started. Alone, bitter, and falling back into the same habits they’ve never been able to let go. And it’s devastating.

As stated before, Barry ends in a similar way. Like Roman, Fuches and Sally’s stories end in being honest with themselves and the people around them. Have they really changed? Not entirely. Are they happy? Not entirely. But they’re free- or as free as they can be. They’ll always be tortured by their situation, and by their character, but they’re out. They’re alive. In the same fashion, Barry and Noho Hank’s stories end in a way that reflects Shiv and Kendall’s. They’ve doomed themselves, by not only failing to change, but failing to accept the reality of their lives and what they’ve done.

So I’m losing my mind a little bit. These themes are incredibly interesting to me, and I’d like to explore these ideas more, but I’m going to stop myself before I fall into a pit of depression :) To conclude, these shows are both absolutely fantastic pieces of art. The writing and acting is phenomenal from both shows, and they’re both among the best shows I’ve ever seen, certainly the best shows on television right now. Hats off to both casts and crews. It’s been a wild couple of months.

[oneofusnet]

Screener Squad: Succession Season 4 SUCCESSION SEASON 4 REVIEW Last season on Succession, big bad CO of Waystar RoyCo Logan Roy (Brian Cox) reins supreme and has laid the smack down on his children. If you come after the king, you better be prepared to ravage the land, salt the earth, and drag the bodies of your enemies behind a… Read More »Screener Squad: Succession Season 4 read more on One of Us

[bookhouseboy1980-blog]

Succession S4X08: America Decides (Review) 

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[shivroygirls]

I WAS THERE.

succession scripts / cardigan by taylor swift / annotation on thumbs by lucy dacus / thumbs by lucy dacus / tumblr user sightofsea / succession season 4 review: HBO's blistering drama goes back to where it started by allison picurro / the prestige tv podcast, recap with arian moayed / writing prompts for the broken-hearted by eden robinson / funeral by phoebe bridgers / wait for me by original cast of hadestown / norwegian wood by haruki murakami.

[maryxoliver]

I posted 2,383 times in 2022

That's 1,778 more posts than 2021!

11 posts created (0%)

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I tagged 2,056 of my posts in 2022

Only 14% of my posts had no tags

#char henry - 143 posts

#char bruce - 119 posts

#succession - 95 posts

#char annie - 90 posts

#char phin - 85 posts

#char tanya - 85 posts

#char mira - 73 posts

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#phinnip - 60 posts

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Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i actually am really annoyed about how sidelined lucas got this season i feel like he got set up for such an interesting storyline and then

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

new icon happy pride <3

1 note - Posted June 6, 2022

#4

rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with (or tag whomever)

tagged by: @full---ofstarlight

favourite colour: yellow

last song: you are in love by taylor swift

currently reading: ninth house by leigh bardugo

last movie: set it up :)))

sweet, savoury, or spicy: sweet! but also imagine all 3 at the same time sounds amazing

currently working on: a personal project that i think is gonna help ppl! 

no pressure tags whatsoever but: @rotanawrites @rowingtherubicon  @dearemma @ladywithalamp

1 note - Posted February 24, 2022

#3

sorry to inform you all that this goncharov fever is probably a guerilla marketing technique for the hbo max remake miniseries that’s coming in 2024... unfortunately i dont care and will be watching it

4 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

#2

10 characters 10 fandoms 10 tags

tagged by @full---ofstarlight

share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media, in no particular order, then tag/send to ten people (anon or not)

August Landry, One Last Stop

Theo Dimas, Only Murders In The Building

Devi Vishwakumar, Never Have I Ever

Bela Malhotra, The Sex Lives Of College Girls

Greg Hirsch, Succession

Harper Moore, Set It Up

Arthur Holmwood, Dracula 

Max Mayfield, Stranger Things

Gregory Eddie, Abbott Elementary

Kermit The Frog

no pressure tags to @kelofmindelan @queertommen @theeriinyes @dentpx @liionne @theladysarmor @rowingtherubicon @ladywithalamp @dearemma ​

6 notes - Posted September 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

maryxshelley -> maryxoliver

13 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[fifaworldcups]

SOCCER: USWNT Opens 2023 Campaign In Wellington/Te Whanganui-A-Tara

The U.S. Ladies' Public Group will start off a gigantic 2023 in Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara, New Zealand, taking on the 2023 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup co-have Football Plants at Sky Arena. The game will start off on Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. nearby NZT, which will be 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 17 back in the US and will be accessible for review stateside on HBO Max, with pre-game inclusion starting at 9:30 p.m. ET and present game inclusion on follow.

The 2023 opener in Wellington, which will act as the host city and setting for the USA's subsequent gathering stage match against the Netherlands throughout this mid year's Reality Cup, will be the first of two gatherings between the USA and New Zealand during this outing Down Under. The groups will meet again three days after the fact in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau for a standoff at the famous Eden Park, New Zealand's Public Arena. The opening shot for the subsequent match is scheduled for 4 p.m. NZT on Jan. 21 (10 p.m. ET on Jan. 20; HBO Max).

Fans can likewise follow the activity by means of Twitter (@USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the authority U.S. Soccer Application.

USWNT Nitty gritty Program BY POSITION (CLUB; Covers/Objectives) GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Kansas City Current), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Fortitude), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Safeguards (8): Alana Cook (Old Rule), Emily Fox (Dashing Louisville FC), Gem Dunn (Portland Thistles FC), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Sofia Huerta (Old Rule), Hailie Mace (Kansas City Current), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thistles FC), Emily Sonnett (Old Rule)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Sam Coffey (Portland Thistles FC), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave FC), Rose Lavelle (Old Rule), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Soul), Andi Sullivan (Washington Soul)

Advances (6): Ashley Trapdoor (Washington Soul), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Soul), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

The 24-player program called up for this outing highlights 21 players who partook in the USA's November Instructional course and matches against Germany toward the finish of 2022. The USWNT will be without advances Sophia Smith and Megan Rapinoe for these games, both of whom scored in the November friendlies against Germany, as both are returning from minor wounds. Safeguard Emily Sonnett and forward Lynn Williams return to the program subsequent to missing huge time in 2022 because of injury while forward Midge Purce likewise is back in camp for the USWNT.

Thirteen players on this program saw activity in the latest gathering between the USWNT and New Zealand, which came on Feb. 20 at Poise Wellbeing Sports Park in Carson, Calif. During the 2022 SheBelieves Cup. Ashley Lid and Mallory Swanson, previously Pugh who will currently be playing under her wedded name, both scored in the success as the Americans additionally constrained three New Zealand own objectives in the 5-0 triumph.

Go THROUGH DOWN UNDER This January camp, which will advertise the very first games for the USWNT in New Zealand, furnishes the USWNT with the extraordinary and priceless experience of getting to remain and prepare in the city in which it will headquarters during the World Cup, as the USA will be situated in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau for the span of the gathering stage.

The USA will likewise get to play at the two its Reality Cup bunch stage scenes this month, as Sky Arena, which will be known as Wellington Local Arena during the World Cup because of sponsorship guidelines, will be the site of the USA's second Gathering E match against the Netherlands on July 27 (opening shot at 1 p.m. NZT; 8 p.m. ET on July 26 in the USA). The USA's Reality Cup opening match against Vietnam (July 22 at 1 p.m. NZT; 8 p.m. ET on July 21) and third gathering stage match against the Gathering A Season finisher Victor (Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. NZT; 3 a.m. ET) will both be organized at Eden Park in Auckland.

Leading the pack up to the 2019 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup, the USA likewise had the valuable chance to encounter travel and preparing On the planet Cup have country, holding its January camp in France and opening the 2019 timetable with a match against 2019 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup has France in Le Havre.

SERIES HISTORY: USA Versus NEW ZEALAND The USA and New Zealand have played multiple times beforehand with the USWNT driving the general series 17-1-1. The solitary misfortune for the Americans arrived in a 1-0 loss during the main gathering between the groups on Dec. 15, 1987. From that point forward, the USA is unbeaten in the last 18 no holds barred matchups with the Football Greeneries, scoring at least five objectives in every one of the last four gatherings. The groups attracted 1-1 during a cordial October of 2013.

The latest gathering between the groups came 11 months prior at the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, a 5-0 triumph for the Americans in Carson, Calif on Feb. 20, 2022, behind objectives from Seal and Swanson and three New Zealand own objectives. Preceding that, the groups got down to business in the gathering phase of the postponed 2020 Olympics, a 6-1 triumph for the Americans as Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Dedicate Press and Alex Morgan scored while the USA constrained the Football Plants into two own objectives.

The gathering during the Tokyo Olympics denoted the fourth sequential Olympics in which the USA and New Zealand have gotten down to business, a streak that started during bunch stage play in 2008.

THE WORLD CUP Is standing by The 2023 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup will start off on July 20 as co-have New Zealand takes on Norway in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau. After an hour, co-have Australia opens against the Republic of Ireland in Sydney/Gadigal. The full competition plan alongside the opening shot times can be seen as here.

The USA, which has equipped for each FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup in history and will look to lift the prize for a fifth time frame, will confront World Cup debutant Vietnam, Netherlands and the Gathering A Season finisher Champ - - either Portugal, Thailand or Cameroon - - in Gathering E, playing the whole of the gathering stage in New Zealand. The U.S. will open Gathering E play against Vietnam on July 22 at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau and afterward face the Netherlands on July 27 at Wellington Local Arena - otherwise called Sky Arena - in Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara, denoting the initial time in FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup history that the two finalists from the past competition will meet in bunch play. The USA will then finish off the gathering stage against the Gathering A Season finisher Victor on Aug. 1 at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau.

The Between Confederation End of the season games will decide the last three capability spots for the 2023 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup, including the USA's last adversary for the gathering stage. The ten-group season finisher competition will happen in New Zealand from February 17-23, 2023, and highlights ten countries split into three gatherings, with the victor of each gathering meeting all requirements for the Ladies' Reality Cup. Bunch A will highlight Cameroon against Thailand on Feb. 18 with the champ taking on Portugal for a billet to the World Cup on Feb. 22.

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND 2023 Gatherings Bunch A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland Bunch B: Australia, Ireland, Nigeria and Canada Bunch C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan Bunch D: Britain, Gathering B Season finisher Champ, Denmark and China PR Bunch E: USA, Vietnam, Netherlands and the Gathering A Season finisher Champ Bunch F: France, Colombia, Jamaica, Brazil and the Gathering C Season finisher Victor Bunch G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy and Argentina Bunch H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia and Korea Republic

Single match passes are accessible among now and Walk third through FIFA's tickets entrance on a the early bird gets the worm premise. Costs will begin at AUD/NZD$20 for grown-ups and AUD/NZD$10 for kids. For more data about the 2023 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup visit the 2023 FIFA World Cup center point.

2023 SHEBELIEVES CUP, Introduced BY VISA, Just around the corner Following these January games in New Zealand, the USA will return stateside for the February FIFA Global Window, where it will have the eighth yearly SheBelieves Cup, introduced by Visa®. The current year's competition will run from Feb. 16-22 as Brazil, Canada and Japan join the USA for the four-group worldwide competition. Each of the four countries will be taking part in the 2023 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup the following summer and every one of the four are positioned in the main 11 on the planet with the USA at No. 1, Canada at No. 6, Brazil at No. 9 and Japan at No. 11.

The SheBelieves Cup will get back to its conventional three-setting design with matches played at Exploria Arena in Orlando, Fla., GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn. what's more, Toyota Arena in Frisco, Texas. Play starts off on Thursday, Feb. 16 at Exploria Arena as Japan takes on Brazil (4 p.m. ET) and the USA faces Canada (7 p.m. ET). The competition resumes on Sunday, Feb. 19, as the opposition moves to Nashville's GEODIS Park with the USA playing the principal match of the day against Japan (2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET) and Brazil confronting Canada (5:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. ET) in the nightcap. The competition finishes up on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Toyota Arena in Frisco, Texas, with Canada taking on Japan (3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET) and the USA confronting Brazil in the competition finale (6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET). Broadcast data for all the matches will be accessible sometime in the future.

USA List NOTES Starting from the beginning of 2020, the USWNT has played 33 matches in the US and 18 external the country. The USA is 30-1-2 in homegrown matches and has outscored the resistance 130-6 (+124) at home and is 10-4-4 with a 35-16 objective edge (+19) while playing outside the USA. The most covered player on this program is Becky Sauerbrunn at 211, followed Alex Morgan (200), Precious stone Dunn (126) and Lindsey Horan (122) while the most un-covered players are Casey Murphy (11), Adrianna Franch (10), Trinity Rodman (10), Naomi Girma (10), Hailie Mace (8), Taylor Kornieck (7) and Sam Coffey (4). Morgan procured her 200th cap on Nov. 13 in the USA's match against Germany in Harrison, N.J., turning out to be only the thirteenth player in USWNT history to arrive at the 200-cap achievement. Morgan is the top scorer on the list in worldwide play with 119 objectives. Lindsey Horan has 26. Swanson has 25 and Dunn has 24 objectives for the USWNT while Rose Lavelle has 22. Seventeen unique players scored for the USWNT in 2022 - Sophia Smith (11), Mallory Swanson (7), Catarina Macario (5), Alex Morgan (4), Rose Lavelle (4), Kristie Mewis (3), Ashley Sanchez (3), Ashley Trapdoor (2), Trinity Rodman (2), Midge Purce (2), Kelley O'Hara (1), Jaelin Howell (1), Andi Sullivan (1), Taylor Kornieck (1), Emily Sonnett (1), Lindsey Horan (1) and Megan Rapinoe (1). The USA's other six objectives in 2022 came through own objectives, the most ridiculously ever in a schedule year in program history with three on Feb. 20 versus New Zealand, and one each on April 12 versus Uzbekistan, June 28 versus Colombia and Sept. 6 versus Nigeria. Nine unique NWSL clubs are addressed on this program, alongside 2021-22 UEFA Ladies' Bosses Association champs Olympique Lyon, drove by four players each from the Washington Soul and Old Rule, and three players each from Portland Thistles FC, San Diego Wave FC and NJ/NY Gotham FC. IN Concentration: NEW ZEALAND | FIVE THINGS TO Be aware

Current FIFA World Positioning: 24 OFC Positioning: 1 FIFA Nation Code: NZL World Cup Appearances: 5 (1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019) Best World Cup finish: Gathering stage Record versus USA: 1-17-1 Last Gathering versus USA: February 20, 2022 (5-0 win for the USA in Carson, Calif.) Mentor: Jitka Klimkova (CZE) Title Respects: OFC Ladies' Countries Cup Champions (1983, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2018); AFC Ladies' Heroes (1975)

NEW ZEALAND WOMEN'S Public SOCCER Group Program BY POSITION GOALKEEEPERS (3): 1-Erin Nayler (IFK Norrköping), 21-Murphy Sheaff (Jacksonville College, USA), 23-Brianna Edwards (Wellington Phoenix FC)

Protectors (8): 7-Ali Riley (Holy messenger City FC, USA), 18-Mackenzie Barry (Wellington Phoenix FC), 19-Liz Anton (Perth Magnificence, AUS), 24-Partner Green (Vålerenga, NOR), 30-Ashleigh Ward (Southampton FC, ENG), 31-Anna Green (Sydney FC, AUS), 35-Elegance Neville (London City Lionesses, ENG), 37-Rebecca Lake (Canterbury Joined Pride)

MIDFIELDERS (7): 12-Betsy Hassett (Wellington Phoenix FC), 15-Daisy Cleverley (HB Køge, Cave), 20-Jana Radosavljevic (DSC Arminia Bielefeld, GER), 28-Ava Collins (St John's College, USA), 29-Jacqui Hand (Åland Joined together, Blade), 32-Aniela Jensen (College of the Pacific, USA), 33-Elegance Wisnewski (Wellington Phoenix FC)

Advances (9): 9-Gabi Rennie (Arizona State College, USA), 11-Olivia Possibility (Celtic FC, SCO), 13-Paige Satchell (Wellington Phoenix FC), 16-Emma Rolston (Wellington Phoenix FC), 22-Hannah Blake (College of Michigan, USA), 25-Elegance Jale (Canberra Joined together, AUS), 27-Indiah Paige Riley (Brisbane Thunder), 34-Tayla O'Brien (Eastern Rural areas AFC), 36-Deven Jackson (Eastern Rural areas AFC)

NEW ZEALAND List NOTES The Football Greeneries have equipped for each big showdown since the 2007 FIFA Ladies' Reality Cup. New Zealand showed up at the Olympics the previous summer, having equipped for each Olympic Games since its presentation in 2008, and will play in its fifth sequential World Cup in the late spring of 2023. Practically the aggregate of NZL's list plays club soccer outside the nation and they are spread across the world in Australia, the USA, Scotland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Germany and Finland. As these matches are occurring outside a FIFA window, the Greeneries are feeling the loss of a couple of standard call-ups, yet have a determination of exceptionally experienced players. Group commander Ali Riley, who plays for Heavenly messenger City FC in the NWSL, is the most experienced Greenery on the list with 147 covers and two objectives. Riley, who experienced childhood in Southern California and went to Stanford, has burned through a large portion of her master vocation abroad, spending around seven years in Sweden, one Germany and one in Britain, she returned the USA to play for the Orlando Pride and was exchanged to Holy messenger City FC before last season. Beginning goalkeeper Erin Nayler, who plays for IFK Norrköping in Sweden and has 78 covers, has had a few brilliant games against the USA throughout the long term. Veteran midfielder and previous California Brilliant Bear Betsy Hassett (137/14) acquired her 100th cap against the USA during the match in 2017 in Colorado. Hassett played with U.S. forward Alex Morgan at Cal. Midfielder Daisy Astutely played school soccer at UC Berkeley and Georgetown and presently plays expertly in Denmark. Five players on this New Zealand program are as of now playing school soccer in the USA including Gabi Rennie of Arizona State who scored in New Zealand's 2-1 misfortune to Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. Rennie was a piece of the New Zealand U-17 group which impacted the world forever by winning NZL's most memorable decoration at a FIFA Word Cup with a third-place finish at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Ladies' Reality Cup. Two different players on this program, safeguard Mackenzie Barry and midfielder Beauty Wisnewski, were likewise in that group. Lead trainer Jitka Klimkova was the lead trainer for the U.S. U-20 WYNT during the 2020 World Cup cycle and was additionally lead trainer U.S. U-19s as well as head scout for the U.S. group at the 2018 FIFA U-20 WWC in Papua New Guinea. She came to U.S. Soccer from New Zealand Football League, where she was lead trainer of the New Zealand U-17 Ladies' Public Group and an associate mentor for the Greeneries U-20 Ladies' Public Group more than 2013 and 2014, likewise filling in as an associate mentor for the senior New Zealand Ladies' Public Group in 2014.

[cagefreeromanroy]

I posted 1,229 times in 2022

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I tagged 1,031 of my posts in 2022

Only 16% of my posts had no tags

#succession hbo - 124 posts

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Longest Tag: 136 characters

#slipping my essay on why caroline should die next season and how i should be cast as her killer under jesse armstrong’s door as we speak

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So what’s up? How you been?

121 notes - Posted March 11, 2022

#4

All right, what do you want?

313 notes - Posted February 4, 2022

#3

MAYANS MC 4.3 

"SELF PORTRAIT IN A BLUE BATHROOM"

328 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

#2

See the full post

439 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

962 notes - Posted January 15, 2022

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[legion1227]

Succession: TV Show Review (Season 4 Spoilers)

Who knew a show about wealthy, pretentious white folks could be so… fascinating?

On June 3rd, 2018, Succession aired the first episode of its satirical comedy-drama on HBO. And on May 28th, 2023, Succession aired the final episode, bringing one of the best shows in recent memory to a premature close.

I emphasize premature because I think the show would've benefitted from just one more season.

The show, as a whole, is great. Despite starting in 2018, it was not until this year, upon hearing about the finale closing in, did I decide to start watching the show from the beginning. It doesn't take long going into the first season for the wheels to start grinding, and the show picks up a momentum that carries until the final vestiges.

Succession follows the Roy family, who own the global media conglomerate Waystar Royco, headed by the family patriarch, Logan Roy. Logan, along with his children Kendall, Roman, Siobhan (and the other one, Connor, I guess,) consistently fight amongst each other and against outsiders over who may takeover next after aging father Logan steps down. One might think four seasons of bickering and in-fighting might grow old, but Succession found a way to keep me hooked by being simply one of the best TV shows released within the last several years. During my time binging Succession, other TV shows were neglected because the desire to see what was next for this dysfunctional family was too high.

There were times when the business jargon between various men and women in suits became hard to follow or made my mind wander, but if there was something to keep me glued, it was the characters and their interactions. The way the Roy children interact with one another, their father, or even the employees that work for them feels genuine and enticing.

Succession is also a lot funnier than I thought it was gonna be.

I thought the show was mostly a drama but the comedic aspects and the witty one-liners held by Roman or Siobhan, are shocking and hilarious. Many of the characters uphold the professional businessman-like facade, but as they drop profanities like Logan telling numerous others to "fuck off," or Roman getting ridiculously obscene with scenarios, it's clear many of the characters are unhinged and the opposite of that archetype. The banter between characters is on another level and is clearly one of the best qualities of Succession.

I don't have many significant qualms pertaining to the first three seasons or the majority of season four, but two things come to mind.

The way season four went down didn't feel like a finale. It felt like there could've been just a bit more. The fourth season of Succession consists of ten episodes, just like seasons 1 and 2. Logan dies in episode 3 of season 4. The episode itself, revolving around his death and Connor's wedding, ultimately overshadowing the wedding, was one of the best episodes of Succession. Logan's death was bound to happen as he got older in years, but it felt like it happened too early in the season. It felt like we were deprived of more of the gravitas Brian Cox's performance as Logan carried. In the next several episodes without him, Logan's lack of presence is felt. I would have preferred his death to come later in the season, then one more season focusing on a post-Logan world for the Roys and Waystar Royco. And in regards to the final episode, it sets up more than it pays off. I want a little taste of a company run by Tom with Greg higher on the food chain or how the others like Frank and Karl, get along with Tom as opposed to the years spent at Logan's side. Does Siobhan and Tom's relationship get worse as Tom becomes head honcho? If so, how? With a baby on the way, how does the dynamic change? And how fucked is that kid with how fucked up the Roy family is? What happens to Kendall now that he is out of the business? I feel like everyone might be alright in the end, except for Kendall.

Succession does a wonderful job at making detestable people like the Roys, Tom, and Greg, into people you root for, from time to time. It excels at bits of comedy and breaking your heart as well. The heart, and I'm hesitant to use the word as they are awful people, of the show, Kendall, Roman, and Siobhan's lasting images with one another in their final, nastiest fight, was messy. It still feels like one more aspect to venture with those three as they end on the worst of terms after almost uniting together and being on the same page seemingly.

Each episode in the final season is great. It's just sad how it ended because the potential for just a little bit more is there. But I suppose it's better that Succession ended sooner rather than drag out and become worse like too many other long-running shows. I should've watched this sooner, but I'm glad I saw it when I did. Go watch if you haven't already. It's like a darker version of Arrested Development, I suppose. 4/5. (Rating for the show as a whole).

[sunshinestatecineplex]

#Succession sets the board for its finale. The funeral of Logan Roy becomes a chess board for everyone. Shiv, Roman, and Kendall square off. Matsson and Menken show up. The world is on fire, and Nero fiddles. #HBO

[fans4wga]

Unfortunately we've already fact-checked a few things from this video, so I'm pasting in the text of this post below:

While this video is a decent primer (link here if anyone wants to watch), Drew unfortunately perpetuates some common misconceptions, so here’s some more sourced info if you want to read more.

I’m not calling Drew a liar at all—in fact I’m really glad Youtubers are calling attention to the strike and supporting the WGA publicly. But he said he remembers the strike himself, and to be fair, he was at maximum 14 years old during the strike. His memory might be faulty or he might have misinterpreted sources or found flawed sources in the first place. Anyway, in the spirit of fact-checking…

Did the 2007 WGA strike tank shows?

At the 0:44 mark and later around 1:40, Drew claims the 2007 strike tanked a lot of shows. While a very common misconception, this is mostly untrue! Many of the shows that got canceled/"got worse" were already on a downwards trend before the strike. “Heroes” got bad reviews before the strike; meanwhile, “Lost” and “Pushing Daisies” both got renewed despite the strike, so you can’t really blame the strike for its changes or cancellation. See this Twitter thread for a comprehensive debunking of shows people think "got worse" during the 2007 strike, written by someone who covered it (writer Emily St. James @/emilystjams.)

To sum up her thread: “The 2007-08 strike didn't uniformly impact shows. For the most part, the shows on good trajectories stayed on them and vice versa.”

This is an especially pernicious mistruth because it has the potential to turn audiences against the WGA strike; fans are being led to think that the strike will only mean bad news for their shows. But the opposite is true: shows will in fact get better if writers have fair wages and aren’t overworked.

Later in the same Twitter thread linked above, Emily St. James says: “By far the most deleterious effect on young shows at that time was that a bunch of shows that might have gotten time to build more of an audience suddenly had to deal with long hiatuses. Many were canceled. Most never re-found their viewers.”

Yes, that’s what happened with fan-favorite Pushing Daisies (RIP). But this is already happening with no need for a strike intervention with Lockwood & Co., HBO’s canceled Batgirl, First Kill, Willow, Warrior Nun, The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, 1899, and more. Popular shows are getting canceled after 1-2 seasons, for no good reason—or getting wiped from the streaming service entirely. The worst has already happened for many shows.

…Drew’s absolutely right about Quantum of Solace, though. They were basically working with a rough draft script for the film, which, of course, bad idea.

Did the 2007 WGA strike cause the reality TV boom?

At the 0:58 mark, Drew claims that the 2007 strike led to the reality TV boom and “altered the landscape of television.” While it’s true to an extent that studios filled their programming with reality TV during both the 2007 and 2023 strikes, the reality TV boom definitively predates the 2007 strike.

Again, this is a particularly pernicious mistruth because it could potentially turn people against the WGA and blame them for a trend they dislike. In truth, the reality TV boom that shifted the landscape started in the early 2000s with the enormous success of such shows as Survivor (2000), America’s Next Top Model (2003), The Apprentice (2004), The Biggest Loser (2004), Dancing with the Stars (2005), and more all predating the 2007 strike. This is all years before the strike was even a glimmer in a writer’s eye.

Lots of people have made jokes about the 2007 strike causing Donald Trump’s presidency because The Apprentice was popular during the strike. I tend to think this is a pretty silly correlation—who’s to say he wouldn’t have gotten a gig like that despite the strike?

What is the WGA fighting for now?

At the 4:00 mark Drew claims that the WGA is fighting “to be paid residuals for streaming shows rather than just a day rate.” I see what he’s getting at, but as phrased, this is a nonsensical statement. He means “flat rate”—a pre-determined rate the studios currently pay to writers regardless of how many people watch it. The writers—and I’m quoting this directly from the WGA demands posted by WGA member Adam Conover—want to “establish a viewership-based residual—in addition to existing fixed residual—to reward programs with greater viewership.” (Link to the WGA demands here.) This would make streaming residuals more like network residuals, but it would also require streamers to have transparency about how many people are watching, which they’ve been very nervous about publishing.

Drew also confuses the term “production companies” with the term “studios”, though this is a minor nitpick. The WGA is fighting the studios. A production company like ILM visual effects works with a studio like Paramount (studios are also called “motion picture companies”, because we’re old-timey) to make a movie. Some studios ARE production companies (Studio Ghibli does their own production), but not all production companies are studios. Okay, film school over, next point. (Link to read more about studios vs. production companies vs. publishers)

At the 4:06 mark Drew claims writers are fighting to keep AI out of the writers room entirely. This is just a slight misconception! The WGA is fighting to keep AI from replacing them, but in the current WGA demands, individual writers would still be able to use AI as a tool at their own discretion, but AI couldn’t be used as “literary material” and writers couldn’t be forced to rewrite an AI-generated script. Individual WGA members are not a monolith; some are hardline anti-AI, and some want to see if they can make AI work for them. (Mod Ani is on the anti-AI side of things, just to make my own bias here clear.)

The current WGA stance is, “How do you make sure this is a tool used by writers, like spellcheck and Wikipedia, and not a tool used to replace writers?” (John August, a WGA member and also part of the negotiating committee, wrote that and has some blog posts about it.) I think this part of Drew’s video is in line with a lot of popular anti-AI sentiment, and I do not personally disagree, but anyone talking about the WGA has got to put aside personal biases and report what the WGA is actually doing, not what we want the WGA to do. All in all, this is still a strong position for the WGA, considering the WGA is on the frontline of any business agreement about AI! The main struggle is to make sure it doesn’t replace human labor.

Drew also contradicts himself at 4:43 by saying the previous strike wasn’t about streaming services, when earlier in the same video he said correctly that the 2007 strike was all about gaining residuals for streaming services in the first place. So, uh, fact-checking himself?

Again a small nitpick, “There’s no financial upside for doing a good job” (5:45 mark) is also not quite true. The financial upside is getting a Season 2 renewal. Yes, increased transparency and viewership-based residuals would mean high-performing film/TV shows get paid more. But there’s definite financial upside to getting a renewal!

Production companies/studios shortening employees is absolutely not about “not having to put your name in the credits” (6:14). Everyone in the writers’ room gets their name in the credits. The issue, of course, is that studios are trying to have shorter writers’ rooms so they pay the writers for fewer weeks of work. WGA members not being credited isn’t a negotiating point at all, so not sure where this is coming from.

Miscellaneous things Drew is absolutely correct on and I will reiterate here

Drew’s absolutely correct on how scripts evolve during filming. That’s why writers are so necessary on set! Studios are cutting costs by getting rid of writers earlier in the production timeline, and a consequence of this is that writers aren’t getting the mentorship/training of being on-set for the show’s actual production. This is necessary training to become a producer/showrunner that writers nowadays simply are not getting.

He’s also absolutely right about how little money writers actually make in Hollywood, despite the films and shows they make producing so much more value for the studios. Residuals are lower than ever, writers’ rooms are shorter than ever, and many WGA members work a lot of side hustles to just be able to afford LA rent. So the discourse surrounding “rich spoiled writers” is just totally incorrect and maddening!

Drew is also absolutely correct about the entertainment industry simply being the first place AI is threatening jobs. Without legal challenges, AI will disrupt other industries soon, and the WGA is on the frontline of battling that.

Just for some clarification, around the 12:20 mark, Drew is talking about the common complaint about prequels/sequels/franchises/spin-offs. This is a real industry problem! Writers desperately want to write original stuff (remember the creator of Powerpuff Girls saying he pitched 16 originals to Netflix, with no luck, before doing a reboot?) It’s 100% the studios' fault; no writer wants this industry landscape.

Also at 13:40 mark, Drew makes a very good point that AI is only a small part of the strike, and it’s kind of been blown out of proportion because AI is trending in the news and popular in the discourse. Even the WGA probably wasn’t expecting this to get so much air-time. It’s still a part of the strike, of course, but keep in mind that pay and staffing are more major negotiating points at the moment.

Conclusion!

To sum up, Drew makes some good points, but muddles some too. I’d highly recommend going straight to WGA members instead of Youtuber middlemen… but in the meantime we’re here to fact-check. :)

Louder for the people at the back!!

[enriquelopeznm]

Who Is Cyd Peach In Succession Season 4? Everything About Cyd Peach You Don’t Know

The premiere of Succession was spectacular, and it ended with Logan Roy scolding Cyd Peach. But who is she? We praised the show in our review, saying, “The groundwork has been laid for an epic rivalry in the first episode of Succession’s fourth season, as HBO’s brilliant series has hit its most cutting and humorous peak yet.”

aubtu #aubtubiz #movie #tv #entertainment

[biglisbonnews]

‘Succession’ Season 4 Review: The Roy Family’s Savage Saga Reaches Its Final Act HBO's messiest — and most entertaining — family drama is coming to an end in the most brutal way possible with 'Succession' Season 4. https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/succession-season-4-review-hbo

[your-ace-cousin-clover]

What was your foreshadowing theory?

So yeah,, I was gonna make a proper post about this, but u know I'm gonna explain it here as a timeline.

So here's how it goes -

TINHAT ALERT. THIS IS JUST A THEORY. I'M JUST HAVING FUN.

1. Succession Season 2 finishes airing. The publicity is your general stuff, nothing very much about explicitly shipping them. But calling it a bromance / toxic relationship, etc.

2. Round Table Interview with the Cast. S3 has not started shooting. Only Brain Cox knows about the entire storyline of the season. Matt talks about how Tom loves Shiv and pauses for a moment before saying Shiv. This leads to Nick making a joke about Tom loving Greg.

Brain clearly says "Think about S3. Think in S3!" while the cast is cracking up about it.

3. S3 finishes shooting. Now, the entire cast knows about the storyline. Matthew suddenly more vocal (he's always advocated about Tomgreg since S2? even S1) But now literally, the frequency of him mentioning Tomgreg in an explicitly romantic context goes higher. Even going as far as to compare Tomshiv on par as Tomgreg.

4. HBO Marketing??? Need I say more? The posters. The stills with Matt and Nick next to each other. The individual / duo posters. The Nero Sporus thingy (with Tom explicitly invoking it). The Matt and Nick Q & A. The Tomgreg vid that HBO dropped.

They did the same poster thing for Roman and Gerri (literally the same pose in the photos). And before u tell me about ship marketing,, it is obvious they know about Kenstew (the trailer promos) yet, they haven't heavily invested in it for some reason? While Tomgreg is more heavily promoted so it isn't just targeting shippers.

(Also shout out to Kenstews, and Romangerris and Tomshivs, love u)

5. The reviews???? "Tomgreg is the emotional core of the show", "Tomgreg shippers won't be starved", etc etc. I also made a compilation of all mentions of Tomgreg in the reviews, naff said.

6. Also again, Matt Mac. 👀

"Lot of things down the road for both Tom and Greg and Tom and Shiv" 👀

So essentially, I feel like they're trying to foreshadow tomgreg instead of springing it up on us. Why? Idk. But the increased mentions of romantic Tomgreg have me on edge.

Let me know if I missed something y'all.

[frankendykes-monster]

Space Jam: A New Legacy is content to be content.

The original Space Jam was a calculated marketing exercise. Michael Jordan was the biggest sports star of the nineties, and Space Jam capitalised on Jordan’s brand potential while also allowing the athlete to refashion his own narrative into a family-friendly mythology. Space Jam packaged Jordan for a generation, smoothing the wrinkles out of his story by presenting a wholesome family man making an earnest transition from basketball to baseball.

It also helped Warner Bros. to figure out what to do with their Looney Tunes characters, which had largely laid dormant within the company’s intellectual property vaults. There had been a conscious effort to revitalised the company’s animation with shows like Tiny Toon Adventures and even Animaniacs, but those classic and beloved cartoons were a merchandising opportunity waiting to happen. So the logic of the original Space Jam was clear, it was an excuse to tie together two potentially profitable strands of intellectual property.

Space Jam itself was something of an afterthought. The movie struggles to reach its ninety-minute runtime. It often feels like the production team have to utilise every scrap of film to reach that target, with extended riffs focusing on Bill Murray and Michael Jordan on the golf course and with a lot of the improvisation from the voice cast included in the finished film. The movie’s ending comes out of nowhere, and Space Jam struggles to hit many of the basic plot beats of a scrappy sports movie.

The movie itself was immaterial to the success of Space Jam as a concept. After all, the film only grossed $250m at the global box office, enough to scrape into the end of year top ten behind The Nutty Professor and Jerry Maguire. However, the film’s real success lay in merchandising, with the film generating between $4bn and $6bn in licensing and merchandising. Key to this was the success of the six-time platinum-certified soundtrack which remains the ninth highest-grossing soundtrack of all-time.

In some to trace a lot of modern Hollywood back to the original Space Jam. So much of how companies package and release modern media feels like an extension of that approach, the reduction of the actual film itself to nothing more than “content” that exists as a larger pool of marketable material. After all, the unspoken assumption underlying AT&T’s disastrous decision to send all of their blockbusters to HBO Max was the understanding that HBO Max itself was often packaged free with company’s internet. Movies would no longer be their own things, but just perks to be packaged and sold as part of larger deals.

In the decades since the release of Space Jam, the industry has become increasingly focused on the idea of packaging and repackaging intellectual property. It has become increasingly common for films to showcase multiple intellectual properties housed at the same studios. Simple crossovers like Alien vs. Predators or The Avengers now seem positively humble when compared to the smorgasbord of brand synergy on display in projects like The Emoji Movie or Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Interestingly, as Disney have steadily securing their intellectual property portfolio with additions like Pixar and Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. have becoming increasingly bullish about showcasing the depth and breadth of their bench. The LEGO Movie imagines a wide range of properties consolidated under one brand. Ready Player One depicted a pop culture user space lost in nostalgia for properties and trinkets. However, those movies also managed to tell their own stories, even as they grappled with the weight of brand synergy pushing down on top of them.

Space Jam: A New Legacy has no such delusions. It understands that it does not exist as a story or as a feature film. Instead, it has distilled cinema down to a content-delivery mechanism. The plot of the movie finds basketball star LeBron James sucked into the “Serververse” and forced to ally with the Looney Tunes in order to play a basketball game with the fate of the world in the balance. However, while the original Space Jam ran a brisk and unfocused ninety minutes, A New Legacy extends itself to almost two hours. There is always more content to repackage and sell, after all.

A New Legacy slathers its cynicism in nostalgia, directly appealing to a generation of audiences who have convinced themselves that Space Jam was a good movie and a beloved childhood classic. A New Legacy is built around the understanding that the original Space Jam walked so that it might run, counting on the audience’s nostalgia for the original film to excuse a lot of its indulgences. After all, it would be a betrayal of the franchise if A New Legacy wasn’t a crash and vulgar cash-in. In many ways, A New Legacy does what most sequels aspire to do, scaling the original film’s ambitions aggressively upwards.

As with the original Space Jam, there is layer of irony to distract from the film’s clear purpose. In the original Space Jam, the villainous Swackhammer planned to abduct the Looney Tunes and force them to play at his themeparks. The implication was that the characters did not want to be sold into corporate servitude, stripped of their own identity and rendered as crass tools of unchecked capitalism. The irony of Space Jam lay in the fact that the entire movie was a variant on Swackhammer’s themepark and the Looney Tunes were dancing to that theme anyway as Daffy puckers up and kisses the Warner Bros. stamp on his own ass.

In A New Legacy, a sentient algorithm – Al G. Rhythm – is cast as the movie’s primary antagonist. The film gestures broadly at a satirical criticism of the modern film industry, with Al G. Rhythm shaping and warping the future of movie-making by suggesting things like computer-generating movie stars and producing a constant array of recycled intellectual property. A New Legacy recognises the machinations of Al G. Rhythm as unsettling and horrifying, with throwaway jokes about the theft of ideas and the violation of privacy, but the villain largely serves as a smokescreen to let the movie have its cake and eat it.

After all, A New Legacy revels in Al G. Rhythm’s plans. LeBron James is turned into an animated figure and dumped into classic Looney Tunes shorts like Rabbit Season and The Rabbit of Seville. The film understands that while the audience might be afraid of the algorithm, they also yearn for it. After all, it isn’t Al G. Rhythm who structures A New Legacy so that the film spends an extended sequence touring the company’s beloved intellectual properties.

A New Legacy is really just an investors’ day presentation that celebrates the sheer amount of content that Warner Bros. own. It’s not too difficult to imagine the film screened investors before the Discovery deal, as proof of just how many viable franchising opportunities existed within the copyright of the company itself. It’s a weird and unsettling showcase, in large part because it feels like that warning from Jurassic Park. The studio were so obsessed with whether they could do a thing that they never stopped to consider whether they should.

The film’s middle section includes a whirlwind tour of the properties owned by Warner Bros. After Bugs “plays the hits” with James, the two set off on an adventure to recover the other Looney Tunes from other beloved Warner Bros. properties. Some of these advertisements make sense: Daffy and Porky are living in the world of Superman: The Animated Series, while Lola seems to have found the Wonder Woman from the Bloodlines animated films. Others make much less sense in a movie aimed at kids, like the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote hiding in Mad Max: Fury Road or Yosemite Sam living in Casablanca.

Of course, it’s debatable how much of A New Legacy is aimed at kids, as compared to the kids of the nineties. Its target market seems to be kids in the late nineties who never grew up, because they never had to. Elmer Fudd and Sylvester are hiding out in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Granny and Speedy have taken refuge in the opening scenes of The Matrix. While the original Space Jam featured odd pop cultural shoutouts to things like Pulp Fiction, at least that was somewhat contemporaneous.

To be fair, there is no art driving these choices. Many of these references serve to point the audience towards established properties. It is a sentient recommendation algorithm for HBO Max and a handy way of stoking audience interest in upcoming projects like The Matrix 4 (December 2021) or Furiosa (June 2023). It is a helpful reminder that Superman: The Animated Series has been remastered in high definition to stream on HBO Max. Foghorn Leghorn even rides a dragon from Game of Thrones to remind viewers that the show is streaming on HBO Max and that there are prequels coming.

It’s all very bizarre, but also strangely lifeless. The climax of the film finds the inevitable basketball game played in front of a crowd of familiar pop culture icons drawn from a wide range of sources: King Kong, The Iron Giant, Batman ’66, The Wizard of Oz, The Mask and many more. It feels very much like a surreal power play, a company showcasing the depth of its own vaults at a turbulent time in the industry. It leads to weird moments, like Al G. Rhythm even quoting Training Day, perhaps the film’s most unlikely draw from the “Warner Bros. Intellectual Property Vault.”

The most revealing aspect of the movie is its central conflict, with Al G. Rhythm cynically manipulating LeBron’s son Dom. Dom is convinced that his father doesn’t understand him, that his father is unable to see that his skill lies in video game coding rather than old-fashioned basketball. Rhythm is able to create a schism between father and son, using Dom’s code and his anger to attack and undermine LeBron James and the Looney Tunes. It’s a very broad and very archetypal story. There are no points for realising that Dom eventually comes around to his father and accepts that Rhythm is a villain.

However, it signals an interesting shift in these sorts of narratives. Traditionally, these sorts of generational conflicts played out between fathers and sons, with fathers presented as antagonistic and sons presented as heroic. The original Star Wars saga is built around Luke Skywalker trying to wrestle and grapple with his father Darth Vader. In Superman II, the eponymous superhero is forced to confront Zod, a representative of his father’s generation and the old world. Even in Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne is set against his surrogate father figure Ra’s Al Ghul.

The metaphor driving these sorts of stories was fairly simple and straightforward. Every generation needs to come into their own and take control of their own agency within the world. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ends with Darth Vader dead and Luke staring out into the wider universe. Times change, and each generation has an obligation to try to create a better world than the one left to them by their parents. In the conflict between parents and children, it has generally been children who have prevailed.

However, in recent years, the trend has swung back sharply. It’s notable that the villain in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens is an errant child who doesn’t properly respect his parents, and that Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker ends with order restored when the protagonist takes the name of the beloved heroes of the older films. Shows like Star Trek: Picard are built around the idea that kids need their older generation of parents to swoop in and tell them how to properly live their lives.

A New Legacy is an interesting illustration of this trend. The movie ends with a reconciliation between LeBron and Dom, but it is very clearly on LeBron’s terms. Dom is manipulated and misled by sinister forces, and his father has to save him while realigning his moral compass. Father knows best. It demonstrates how the underlying logic of these stories has shifted in recent years, perhaps reflecting the understanding that perhaps the older generation won’t surrender the floor gracefully.

As with Ready Player One, there’s a monstrous Peter Pan quality to A New Legacy. It is a film about how the culture doesn’t have to change. It can be recycled and repurposed forever and ever and ever. At the end of Space Jam, Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny parted ways. There was an understanding that the two worlds existed apart from one another. However, A New Legacy ends with the collapse of these worlds into one another; the “Serververse” manifesting itself in the real world. As LeBron walks home, Bugs asks if he can move in.

Of course, with HBO Max subscription, the audience can take Bugs home anytime they want

[joelarsonsblog]

The TV show Winning Time, which premiered this year, is a 10 part drama series about the Los Angeles Lakers, a basketball franchise that dominated the 1980’s. In previous decades in the NBA, there were tremendous amounts of racism when it came to selecting players through the NBA Draft. Although that came to somewhat of an end during the ‘70s, racism was still definitely prevalent for selecting staff and management for teams. 

This TV series primarily highlights events on and off the court that led to the team's successes, glory, and occasional setbacks, but I decided to use it as one of my multimedia journals for the dealings with race that often came up. The show often incorporates flashbacks to give the audience an understanding of the tough experiences of some of the main characters, to show what events have shaped them into who they are currently in the show. Like many people we have discovered and discussed in this course, tough times often make tough people. Examples of these flashbacks are included in a primetime review of the show where writer Norman Weiss wrote, “West’s tough childhood in West Virginia, or how the activist Abdul-Jabbar feuded with his New York transit cop father.”

The show occasionally discusses racism when the NBA advertised the most famous rivalry of the ‘80s and arguably all time, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Magic was the best black player in the league at the time, versus Larry, the best white player (arguably all time). This duel was a massive promotion that often segregated fans all over the nation, as white fans almost always cheered on Larry and Celtics, while most black fans cheered on Magic and the Lakers. 

On top of the way these matchups were promoted, which you can debate whether or not there was actual racism enforced, there was a different form of racism which later proved to be clear as day. Former NBA executives and different management people have confirmed that there were coded words and other phrases to single out and describe both white and black players. This shows how much of a step the NBA has taken today as this would definitely not be acceptable or tolerated in 2022, but there still are recent forms of racism in recent years. An example of this was Donald Sterling, Los Angeles Clippers owner, who was heard making racist comments. It didn’t take much time for the league to permanently ban Sterling from ever being associated with the NBA again. I believe that today, the NBA is a prime example of upholding racial equality unlike the time period in which Winning Time is based around.

References:

Posted by Norman WeissSaturday 3/05/22 at 4:01AM EST. (n.d.). HBO's winning time: The rise of the lakers dynasty is clearly the work of people who know and Love basketball history. primetimer.com. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.primetimer.com/item/HBOs-Winning-Time-The-Rise-Of-The-Lakers-Dynasty-is-clearly-the-work-of-people-who-know-and-love-basketball-history-RBSnxa

Bianculli, D. (2022, March 4). Like the '80s Lakers, 'Winning time' scores with an unconventional playbook. NPR. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/03/04/1084161115/winning-time-review-los-angeles-lakers-basketball

James, D. (2022, March 8). HBO's 'Winning time' scores disappointing viewing figures. We Got This Covered. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/hbos-winning-time-scores-disappointing-viewing-figures/

Smith, T. (2022, April 18). Fact VS fiction: Winning time season 1 episode 7 - did Larry Bird Trash Talk players? whattowatch.com. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.whattowatch.com/features/fact-vs-fiction-winning-time-season-1-episode-7-did-larry-bird-trash-talk-players

Schager, N. (2022, March 7). 'Winning time' is as disastrous as the Lakers' season. The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.thedailybeast.com/hbos-winning-time-is-as-disastrous-as-the-lakers-season

[ericdeggans]

My Top 12 TV shows of 2021 with a Bonus: A Great Year for TV Which Went Beyond Entertaining Us

Some critics really hate the end of the year.

That is because there is so much pressure to condense 12 months of often incredible media experiences into clickable, online-friendly top-10, top 20 or top 100 lists that so often fail to communicate the depth and breadth of what we have seen.

How do you find a list that sums up how the media industry keeps turning toward streaming – often at the expense of theatrical releases? Especially when the streaming stuff so often corrects the weaknesses of theatrical stuff – more diversity, better parts for older female performers, more adventurous storytelling, friendlier atmosphere for production from other countries, etc.?

How do you sum up a year that saw one of the most incisive comedic voices on race and society release one of the most damaging and divisive screeds on gay and transgender people? Or a year that saw the country’s most popular cable TV news personality release a “documentary” on the Jan. 6 insurrection that was so filled with misinformation two contributors on the same channel quit?

Yeah, it’s impossible to contain all the craziness from 2021 in TV on one list. But that won’t stop me from trying. Because I kinda love this stuff.

NPR has an amazing best of list that encompasses both TV and film featuring my analyses, along with Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Glen Weldon and Bob Mondello. But there’s nowhere you can see my full-on, top 12 list anywhere but here.

You’ll note that two high-profile releases, HBO’s Mare of Easttown and The White Lotus didn’t make my cut. Easttown, I felt wasn’t that remarkable outside of Kate Winslet’s amazing performance and the environment felt more like a parody of a working class Pennsylvania town than authentic reality.

I always hated the ultimate message of Lotus -- which seemed, to me, to say that rich white people are gonna be terrible and the best the rest of us can do is learn to live with it. Which I didn’t need eight episodes of bizarrely contrived storylines to absorb. Feel free to argue with me on social media about either, but I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind.

Anyways, here’s my Top 12 of the year – with a bonus at the end -- based mostly on my estimation of what moved me and had the most impact in the world.    

1. Dopesick (hulu) – Ambitious, compelling story depicting how corporate greed and family agita helped bamboozle doctors into over prescribing OxyContin, kicking off an addiction crisis which decimated small, rural towns across America. Review here.  2. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) – Impressive second season which deepened the stories of several supporting characters and suggested a dark original to Ted Lasso’s relentless optimism. Review here.  3. WandaVision (Disney+) – The first and best Marvel series done for streaming; explores the grief that led Wanda Maximoff to turn a small town into a fantasy world where her romantic partner was still alive, developing a character underused in the movies into one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most compelling antiheroes. Review here. 4. Summer of Soul (Hulu) – First-time director Questlove turned largely unseen footage of a landmark 1969 cultural festival in Harlem into a potent treatise on a pivotal time for Black people, Black music and America itself. Review here. 

5. Squid Game (Netflix) – The international hit, centered on a statement about inequality and the bruising victims of capitalism, married to a visually stylish and often jarring narrative. Proof that TV which captivates the world can now come from anywhere.

6. Succession (HBO) – A dark comedy about a family at the head of a sprawling entertainment company that serves as a distillation of the forces inside any typically dysfunctional American family and a searing indictment of powerful clans like the Trumps and the Murdochs, all at once. 7. NYTimes Britney Spears docs (Framing Britney Spears and Controlling Britney Spears, on FX) – Among a surge of documentaries urging us to see old pop culture scandals with fresh eyes, this one was the most impactful – pushing media outlets to reconsider how Spears was treated by journalists in her heyday and helping fuel public outrage which led to the dissolution of her conservancy earlier this year. 8. The Underground Railroad (Amazon) – Berry Jenkins’ visually stunning, yet often brutal realization of Colson Whitehead’s award-winning novel, which wraps the horrific journey of an enslaved woman toward freedom in a potent dose of magical realism that often resonated with Black people’s experience in contemporary America. 9. Maid (Netflix) – Real life daughter and mom Margaret Qualley and Andie MacDowell shine in this drama, which shows the struggle a young single mom with no money faces in trying to leave an emotionally abusive partner while caring for an unpredictable, mentally unstable mother. Ultimately, a horrific picture of how easy it is to tumble into poverty in America and how unforgiving everyone is for those who take a fall. 10. The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+) – Peter Jackson distills 60 hours of footage and 150 hours of audio – which was first enhanced and cleaned up by digital processes – into a near-eight-hour docu-series that redefines the end of rock ‘n’ roll’s most impactful and successful band. 11. Loki (Disney+) - The next best Marvel series on streaming, which explains the multiverse concept sure to fuel the next generation of blockbuster movie storylines, sets up the MCU’s next Big Bad, Kang the Conqueror, and provides an alluring new life to a character we thought was killed off two Avengers movies ago. 12. Hacks (HBO Max) – The best vehicle for the Jean Smart-issance, giving Smart loads of juicy moments as a fading superstar standup comic who hires a fumbling new writer to help boost her act. I’m hoping the next season finds a way to make Smart’s character funnier onstage; in this first season, the zingers she tosses offstage are where the comedy gold lies.

BONUS: Insecure (HBO) – Star/co-creator Issa Rae often said that she felt producing a comedy about “basic” Black millennials trying to find their way in life was a revolutionary act. In the show’s final season this year, she made good on her word, allowing lead character Issa Dee to find growth, rebuild her relationship with her best friend and develop a romantic relationship worthy of her awesomeness. Besides capping a groundbreaking series with an excellent finale, Rae embodies the achievement possible when a talented person of color gets the agency to tell her story her way.