Caught in Scandal: ‘Succession’ Season 2 Review (2/2)

A SUPER EDITOR’S CHOICE

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Following up on our previous review of Succession Season 2 (1/2), we're now unveiling the third plotline that deserves our attention.

In November 2017, Saudi Arabia set off an "anti-corruption storm." On the night of November 4, 11 princes, 4 ministers, and 11 former ministers were arrested on charges of corruption, including members of the Saudi royal family, cabinet ministers, titans of media and industry, and former officials. In the following few days, hundreds of people were arrested, detained, or investigated.

These people were temporarily detained in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Saudi capital, and their basic needs were met, but their personal freedom was restricted. Eventually, these businessmen were released through negotiations, exchanging money for their freedom.

4. In order to win the proxy war, Logan Roy in the show is willing to acquire another media giant, Pierce, for a high price of 22.5 billion dollars. If they acquire Pierce, the news conglomerate will become a behemoth that no one can compete with. Thus, the company will be safe.

In a similar vein, on July 16, 2014, the Murdoch media empire's 21st Century Fox planned to offer $80 billion to acquire media giant Time Warner. However, on the 18th, both companies released statements confirming that Time Warner had rejected 21st Century Fox's plan, which also echoed the show's storyline.

5. In real life, Murdoch's three adult children closely resemble the characters in the show.

The heir to Murdoch's empire is chosen from among his three adult children, as the two daughters born to Wendi Deng are still underage and therefore not considered. Daughter Elisabeth Murdoch has long been independent and not very interested in the family business. The main candidates for succession are eldest son Lachlan and second son James.

Lachlan was once recognized by his father as the unquestionable heir, but Murdoch wavered and exiled him to Australia, paving the way for James to enter the upper echelons of the company.

After a dispute with his father in 2005, Lachlan left for Australia. In contrast, James has always had a rebellious, troublesome image, but has demonstrated exceptional managerial talent after entering the company's management. However, after 2016, due to his father's excessive intervention in the management of Fox News and his reluctance to relinquish control, the entire company was still under Murdoch's grip. Finally, after experiencing the "phone hacking scandal" and being forced to leave and then return, James once again had a dispute with his father and left again.

Once again, Murdoch has turned his attention back to eldest son Lachlan, publicly stating that he hopes Lachlan will become the CEO.

Both old Logan and Murdoch are so indecisive about their successors because the industry has undergone huge changes. The family's original advantages are no longer there, and the rise of the internet is penetrating and changing every aspect of the industry chain.

The rise of social media and streaming media inevitably leads to the decline of print and television media. Just as Murdoch once tried to acquire Time Warner with 21st Century Fox, and Logan wanted to acquire Pierce with Waystar RoyCo, they thought that by swallowing their former rivals, they could become industry giants. But they didn't know that their most formidable opponent in the future is not Time Warner, not Pierce, not MGM, not Paramount, but a group of internet companies that are deeply involved, such as Apple, Amazon, and NETFLIX.

Apple has been digging people around for its own streaming media center for several years, and announced in March this year that it will establish Apple TV Plus, which will provide subscription services for TV and movies.

The development speed of NETFLIX in recent years is even more impressive. Due to the deep involvement of the internet and big data, NETFLIX has opened a very large gap with traditional film and television production in topic selection, creation, investment, directors, promotion, and broadcast channels. The internet has deeply changed every aspect.

Take House of Cards (2013-2018), the breakout drama that put Netflix on the map, for example. Its genesis came from analyzing viewing habits of 30 million paying subscribers, and creating content based on precise user preferences. The House of Cards database contained the viewing choices of 30 million users, 4 million comments, and 3 million searches for themes. Ultimately, what to shoot, who would shoot it, who would act in it, and how it would be broadcast was all determined by statistical analysis of millions of viewers' objective preferences.

From audience insights, audience targeting, audience engagement to audience conversion, every step was guided by precise, meticulous, efficient, and cost-effective data, so that content production was driven by user demand. Netflix now boasts over 100 million subscribers, and 92% of American college students have a Netflix account. According to Netflix CEO, traditional TV programming will disappear from history just like landlines.

Another rising star is Amazon Prime. In just a few years, Amazon has amassed 85 million paying subscribers and can produce 16 films per year. At the 2017 Oscars, Manchester by the Sea (2016), which Amazon participated in distributing, won two Oscars. And the hit TV series of the past two years, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, also came from Amazon Prime.

On December 14, 2017, Disney announced its acquisition of a portion of 21st Century Fox's assets for $52.4 billion. Shareholders of 21st Century Fox would receive 0.2745 shares of Disney stock for each share of Fox stock they held. In comparison to the business maps and ambitions of Apple, Netflix, and Amazon, the Disney-Fox merger is quite intriguing.

Netflix and Amazon were originally Disney's partners and distribution channels. However, these companies have huge user bases, and they focus only on the core, ignoring boundaries, continuously expanding into new territories like a black hole, swallowing one traditional industry after another. With more and more technology companies entering the film and television industry, the boundaries between film and television companies and internet technology companies have begun to blur.

Disney cannot afford to sit back and wait for death, it must defend and counterattack. Therefore, it has also started a series of acquisitions to consolidate its own territory and prepare for attack.

With the acquisitions of Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm, Disney has become an entertainment conglomerate that integrates movies, theme parks, and consumer products. After acquiring most of 21st Century Fox's industries, it will become an out-and-out entertainment industry giant, capable of competing with Silicon Valley's big companies. At that time, the Murdoch family will be Disney's largest non-institutional shareholder and will benefit from it.

So why do the rich heirs in Succession walk as if they are in purgatory, never experiencing a moment of inner peace even when vacationing on a luxurious yacht?

Times are changing, but owning channels and users is an unchanging truth. And from a capital perspective, mergers and acquisitions are indeed the fastest option to achieve this.

Therefore, Succession is not just a drama about a family's struggle for control, but also a deep industry drama and a portrait of the times. Jesse Armstrong, the show's golden writer, deeply understands the changes that the internet has brought to the film and television industry.

What are your thoughts on the second season of Succession? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know your opinion on the show. Stay tuned for reviews of the upcoming third and fourth seasons.