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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, October 15, 2021 4 By Sarah Passingham TV Media I n what has proven to be the most highly anticipated se- ries returning this fall, "Suc- cession" premieres its third season on Sunday, Oct. 17, on HBO. Fans and critics alike have been teetering on the edge of the cliff left by the drama in its Season 2 finale way back in October 2019. Now, two full years in the making, all eyes are on the Roys. For the uninitiated, Logan Roy is the ruthless CEO of the family media conglomerate, Waystar RoyCo. Portrayed by prolific Scottish TV and film ac- tor Brian Cox ("Shetland"), the patriarch rules over the wide- reaching company with an in- credibly strong grip. The series begins with Logan suffering a medical emergency and pro- ceeds through the personal and business fallout of his de- cline. Logan's shoes are sizable ones to fill, and though all four of his children believe they have been raised as the suc- cessor to his empire, Kendall, played by Jeremy Strong ("Masters of Sex"), is the one who negotiates himself into an acting CEO role while his fa- ther is recovering. (He wins out after a tense night in the hospi- tal where all of the children double-cross each other for dominance.) Connor Roy, portrayed by Alan Ruck ("The Exorcist"), is the oldest of Logan's children and clearly the furthest from the action. Whenever he throws his hat into the ring, it's often played for laughs. Siobhan, who subtly goes by "Shiv," is Logan's only daugh- ter and a cutthroat campaign manager in D.C. Played by Sar- ah Snook ("Predestination," 2014), Shiv appears to be Lo- gan's favorite, which becomes complicated when she takes a job working for a presidential hopeful who is vocally against Logan's business tactics. Finally, Roman, portrayed by Kieran Culkin ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," 2010), is the party boy no one takes serious- ly and who seems least likely to prove himself as necessary to the business. Put in a tight spot with ev- eryone worried about Logan and jumping ship on Waystar RoyCo, Kendall makes the wrong move and welcomes outside influence into the com- pany's highest office. That deci- sion sets off complications that plague the family and the com- pany throughout the first sea- son of "Succession." After a swift return to his CEO throne, Logan takes on the issues created in his ab- sence, inciting a rolling tumble for power between himself and Kendall. Logan repeatedly states — whether truthfully or not — that everything that he has done in his life while build- ing his empire has been for his children. That ambition is passed on to Kendall, who stages a coup of the board in the first season and, not to spoil anything about Season 2, manages to pull another public stunt that humiliates his father. While it is no surprise that a family of billionaires would be depicted as unlikable, selfish and bad people, "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong doesn't see the Roys that way. In an interview with Bradford William Davis for HBO's web- site, Armstrong said "the Roys do lots of bad in the world, but when we're creating these sto- ries, we're empathizing with them." Part of that empathy for the Roys is provided by two of the family's closest outsiders: cousin Greg Hirsch, played by Nicholas Braun ("Zola," 2020), and Tom Wambsgans, por- trayed by Matthew Macfadyen ("Ripper Street"). In his breakthrough role, Braun is the perfect bumbling fringe relative who has man- aged to squeeze himself into the family and Waystar RoyCo as Tom's executive assistant in the amusement parks and cruises division. Despite his un- mistakably tall presence, his unimportance within the com- pany made him invisible and put him within earshot of key moves that members of the Roy family would use against each other. Tom, meanwhile, is married to Logan's beloved Shiv and is given a high-ranking, surpris- ingly difficult position that forces him into orchestrating a coverup with Greg — one that comes back to bite everyone in the company. If that isn't enough pressure for one per- son, Tom is heartbreakingly in- formed on his wedding night that his marriage to Shiv is not what he thought it was, throw- ing him for a loop after every- thing he did for Waystar RoyCo. Frequent "Game of Thrones" director Mark Mylod came on board the "Succes- sion" mega yacht in Season 1 and has directed many of the drama's pivotal episodes, in- cluding the Season 2 finale. Slated as director of the Season 3 premiere, fans can expect some satisfying continuity fol- lowing Kendall's shocking news conference stunt. About constructing that scene, Mylod told Variety's Mi- chael Schneider that "it felt al- most like the whole season hinged on this one moment, which felt like a terrible kind of burden. But obviously massive- ly exciting as well." No one moves faster than the Roy family, so there is no telling who will come out on top when "Succession" re- turns. Logan has managed to stay not only alive but relevant thus far, but it seems likely one of his own children will have to deal him his final blow. Tune in to HBO on Sunday, Oct. 17, for the Season 3 pre- miere of "Succession" and find out who (if anyone) is most likely to succeed. coverstory Brian Cox from "Succession" Complete power: HBO premieres new season of 'Succession' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Has Vincent D'Onofrio done any voice work? A: He hasn't done much voice work, but unsurprisingly, given the rest of his career, what he's done has been un- conventional. No big Pixar productions or Disney prince roles for actor's actor Vincent D'Onofrio. The biggest chunk of D'Onofrio's voice-acting has been in video games — a realm that is somewhat looked down upon in the business. He's done three so far, including the video game adaptation of his most famous on-screen proj- ect, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (because there's a vid- eo game version of everything these days). His other favored voice-work genre has been documen- taries. Most notably, he narrated 2012's "Heroes Behind the Badge," a doc about police officers and the sacrifices they make, before returning for the sequel, "Heroes Be- hind the Badge: Sacrifice & Survival," the following year. Aside from his "Law & Order" role, D'Onofrio is best known for playing compelling villains, and he let that seep into his documentary work when he voiced "ruthless" ur- ban planner Robert Moses in 2016's "Citizen Jane: Battle for the City," a film about New York urban activist Jane Ja- cobs (voiced by "My Cousin Vinny's" [1992] Marisa To- mei). In terms of cinematic voice work, his only experience is typically weird for D'Onofrio — he did an uncredited voice role in the 2010 horror musical "Don't Go Into the Woods," which he also directed and co-wrote. And, of course, you know you've really arrived as a star when you're asked to play yourself in a grown-up cartoon — D'Onofrio got the chance in a 2017 episode of Netflix's "Bojack Horseman." Q: Did "Once Upon a Time in America" win any Os- cars? It's considered one of the great gangster films, isn't it? A: Whether 1984's "Once Upon a Time in America" was great depends on which cut you're talking about, but it's widely accepted that the version Oscars judges saw was terrible, and they didn't even give it a nomination. The story goes that director Sergio Leone ("A Fistful of Dollars," 1964), already a legend by that point thanks to his "spaghetti western" films with Clint Eastwood, origi- nally wanted to cut it into three two-hour films, but the studio said no. So he turned in a single, four-and-a-half- hour movie — and the studio said no again. He finally shortened it to three hours and 49 minutes, but the studio still wasn't happy, so they recut it to two hours and 20 minutes without Leone's input. That's the version that was released in theaters, and it was a flop. Leone was nonetheless nominated for a Golden Globe for directing but lost to "Amadeus" (1984) director Milos Forman (that's as close to real hardware as the film came). However, Leone's final version (the one just shy of four hours) was eventually released as well, and the critics who saw both realized the studio was at fault for the theatrical release. Leone's sterling reputation wasn't too tarnished by the debacle. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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