How do you tend to decide when to give up on a TV show/series? I usually quit for typical reasons. For example, there’s an actor in the show that I find annoying; that’s a generally typical reason, right? Another would be if the story is silly and not in an enjoyable way. Or the writing is lacking, the location, music, plus the editing is uninspiring.

Additional explanations for why I’ve had to abort viewing sessions include the subject matter leaning too far into the dark side, and I’m neither in the state or mood to endure the onslaught.

I’ve even been known to watch and enjoy all of the first season of a series, only to realise that I must have been especially vulnerable and needy at the time. Because now that season two is here, I find the show thoroughly annoying, plus I’m having difficulty figuring out how I could have liked it so much the previous year. This latter predicament has occurred just once, and the unfortunate series in question was New Girl. (2011-2018) 

More recently, I’ve started watching a show I’ve heard so many people talk about positively. Succession is the name, and it’s an HBO drama series about a family known for controlling the largest media/entertainment company in the world. It’s specifically about how things change when their father steps down as the head of the company.

I’ve progressed as far as finishing episode one of the first season – and watched one-third of episode two.

Starring Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin, the talented cast is certainly more than capable. The writing is noticeably good, and the theme tune (which happens to be my favourite thing about the series so far) is just perfect. As such, my aversion to continuing with Succession might be that I do not want to see families in serious conflict right now. Especially considering how much the anxiety-inducing sibling relationships in Succession leave much to be desired.

I’d probably have relished the chance to watch all of Succession if I’d come across it at a time when I was still super curious about the dynamics of various kinds of families, particularly those that are different from my own. The truth could also be that I’m mistakenly feeling too well-versed in the ins and outs of the human condition, and too sure about how this story is going to turn out.

The other option is that perhaps I’m just not connecting well enough to any of the seemingly unsympathetic characters, yet, and I’m being judgmental. Whatever the truth may be, what I do not want is to quit Succession too early. Could I hold on for the corporate dramatics? Or have I seen a fair amount of that in other shows like Suits (2011-2019)?

Have you watched Succession? Is it worth continuing with the series? Which shows have you had to quit early recently and why?

Let me know in the comments. 

Happy Film Loving,

G