Diving Into Succession

Photo: HBO

For years, HBO has been synonymous with “prestige TV,” a term coined to describe the host of highbrow dramas that found their footing in the early 2000s. Series like The Sopranos, Deadwood, and The Wire garnered the premium cable channel a huge audience of viewers seeking alternatives to Survivor and American Idol. Competitors like AMC and Showtime created prestige hits of their own, but HBO remained the preeminent source of sophisticated entertainment well into the streaming era thanks to hits like True Detective, Chernobyl, and Succession.

But right now, the future is uncertain for HBO. Creator Jesse Armstrong has said the upcoming fourth season of Succession will be the series’ final installment. HBO has plenty of big-name titles, like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, but with the possible exception of miniseries-turned-anthology The White Lotus, none really encapsulates the kind of cerebral quality that set HBO apart in its heyday like Succession does. Streaming platform HBO Max is at pains to save on costs, slowing the development of new content. Succession’s resolution could therefore prompt a new question: who will succeed HBO as the standard bearer of prestige in the streaming era? 

That question is too large for us to answer in this short blog post, but what we can do is look at the audience for Succession to see what it is they enjoy about that show, as well as what other programming they tend to enjoy. The platform that’s best able to fill the void left by Succession could inherit its audience, and with it, a reputation for high-quality programming.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story premieres May 4 on HBO

Photo: HBO

What Do Fans Love About Succession?

Ranker data tells us that although Succession is a well-liked and well-reviewed show, it doesn’t exactly have mass appeal. Despite winning the Emmy for outstanding drama series two of the four years it’s been eligible, Succession barely cracks the Top 40 on our list of The Best Shows Currently On The Air (1 million votes), caught at #37 between MasterChef and NCIS: Los Angeles. Even on The Best-Written Current TV Shows (39K votes), a list with criteria that favor the shows’ realistic dialogue and complex storytelling, Succession is at #8 behind The Mandalorian and Stranger Things. 

That’s not to say Succession doesn’t hold high rankings on popular lists: the comedy/drama about a fight for control over a media empire boasts an impressive #12 spot on The Greatest TV Dramas Of All Time, ahead of Deadwood and The West Wing. Succession is #2 on our list of Current TV Shows With The Best Overall Acting (20K votes), thanks to the high-profile work of performers like Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, and Sarah Snook. It’s also #2 on the list of Best Current HBO Shows, indicating just how big a void Succession will leave once it goes off the air this year. 

Perhaps the best summation of Succession’s strong, but somewhat narrow appeal is its #3 spot on the list of TV Shows With No Likable Characters. Like the characters, the show isn’t easy for everyone to love, but those who stick with it develop a passion for it that easily rivals the fervor felt by fans of shows like Stranger Things. Succession’s value has always been less in attracting a massive audience and more in furthering HBO’s reputation, which leads prestige TV viewers to trust the network’s programming. Practically every streaming service has a popular, big-budget hit, but few can boast the kind of intellectual pedigree that Succession represents.

Who’s Reaching Succession Fans?

Succession may be poised to leave the air, but fans of the show are statistically likely to enjoy plenty of other, currently ongoing shows on other networks. These networks have an opportunity to grab Succession’s viewers and, if they make the most of it, HBO’s larger audience of prestige TV fans.

APPLE TV+

While Netflix and HBO Max work to slash budgets, one streaming network is still spending on edgy new series like it’s 2019. Apple’s willingness to give a chance to daring dramas like Severance makes it a great candidate to take on the prestige TV mantle from HBO, which is producing less and less of it. According to Ranker Insights, Apple’s most appealing asset for Succession fans is The Morning Show, the ripped-from-the-headlines drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon that Succession fans are 5X more likely to love. Succession fans are also 4X more likely to enjoy heartwarming comedy Ted Lasso and 2X more likely to watch space-race alternative history drama For All Mankind.

These viewers love Succession and… The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, For All Mankind

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Amazon seems to be moving away from prestige TV and toward action thrillers that are a little easier on the brain (with explosions that are harder on the ears). But older entries in the streamer’s catalog like the Emmy-winning Marvelous Mrs. Maisel capture the interest of Succession fans, indicating that the streamer could still make a play for wayward HBO subscribers following Succession’s series finale. Succession fans are 5X more likely to enjoy Maisel and 4X more likely to love both acclaimed detective drama Bosch and the Billy Bob Thornton-fronted legal thriller Goliath.

These viewers love Succession and… The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Bosch, Goliath

SHOWTIME

Showtime has been HBO’s competition since the outset of prestige TV, and they still do battle today — many people find points of comparison between Succession and the slightly older Showtime drama Billions. Though Showtime has since been subsumed by Paramount+, that doesn’t mean it can’t still eat its rival’s lunch. Fans of Succession are 8X more likely to love Billions, the strongest affinity of any show we’ve covered here. They’re also 2X more likely to love Showtime’s Your Honor with Bryan Cranston, as well as The Loudest Voice, a miniseries that stars Russell Crowe as Rupert Murdoch, a figure on whom Succession character Logan Roy was clearly modeled. 

These viewers love Succession and… Billions, Your Honor, The Loudest Voice.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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