The Nietzschean Nostalgia of Logan Roy

Rob joins me to discuss Succession, Season 4: Episode 1.

Click here for our previous conversation about the first three seasons of the show.

One thing I like about the show is how it straddles differences in class, aesthetics, and politics. The producers are really walking a tightrope, and it’s very easy to make a show like this too preachy and on-the-nose, or what the kids call “cringe.” The series fails in a few places, but overall it does a good job of navigating what are clearly some very treacherous waters.

Topics we discuss include

* Greg as the “everyman” and the corruption of his character

* How business leaders interact with more ideological actors, and the masses

* Conservative and liberal differences, following up on our previous conversation

* Logan Roy’s synthesis of nostalgia politics and Nietzsche

* Whether liberals or conservatives are more likely to watch the show

I explain my prediction that, by the end of the series, reality will intrude upon the Roy family and ATN in ways that it hadn’t before. Up until now, it has been mainly a show about characters, with social commentary thrown in, but the latter will become more prominent as the series reaches its end. Another possibility is that we get a complete victory for Logan, in a result that would bring joy to Marc Andreessen’s heart.

Listen here, or watch the video on YouTube.

Links

Me and Rob on Succession, Seasons 1-3

Marc Andreessen on the role of the Nietzschean superman in art, in discussions of The Shield, the Breaking Bad universe, Better Call Saul, and Deadwood

Richard Hanania, “Why is Everything Liberal?” and “Liberals Read, Conservatives Watch TV”

Sophie Gilbert, “The Real Succession Endgame” (The Atlantic)

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