In an age where news media is more contentious than ever before, it’s no surprise that “Succession” has grown into the hit that it has, writes “Streaming” columnist NICK OVERALL.

FOR those not in the know, the satirical drama series “Succession” comes from TV production powerhouse HBO and this week is streaming its fourth and final season on Binge.

It follows the trials and tribulations of the Roy family, a smarmy and cunning ménage who fight for the inheritance of their father’s monolithic news and entertainment company.

Ring any bells? It just so happens “Succession” was originally planned as a feature film about the Murdochs. Go figure.

Complete with one of those opening credits sequences that are visually stunning and always just slightly too long, “Succession” represents some of HBO’s finest work.

The show kicks along at a breakneck speed thanks to director and producer Adam McKay who audiences may know to be behind “Don’t Look Up” (Netflix) and his oscar-winning take-down of Dick Cheney, “Vice”.

McKay’s style features zooms and quick pans on top of snappy and often vulgar dialogue. It can make the corporate world feel like it’s going to give one whiplash. In “Succession” it’s as if the camera is swinging off a hinge. Stylistically it’s almost like a slicker, richer and more cynical version of “The Office”.

Those who have little patience for annoying characters probably won’t have gelled with “Succession” thus far.

The Roys are like a pack of feral lions. A thin veneer of majesty struggles to hide their killer instincts. On the exterior these siblings pretend they’re a family, but in reality they’d kick each other down the stairs if it meant they got their head on the cover of “Forbes” magazine.

As the show goes on their depravity has only got worse, making for some truly addictive telly that’s been described as “exquisite agony”.

The most compelling part of “Succession” is Logan Roy, the head of this dysfunctional family and owner of Waystar RoyCo.

All of his offspring are constantly scrimmaging to get in his good books. In the show’s excellent first episode, they vie to buy him the perfect birthday gift. 

“It needs to say that I respect you but I’m not awed by you and that I like you but I need you to like me before I can love you,” says one of his eldest in search for a watch that’s worth twice that of a four-seater sedan.

It’s a funny and almost tragic introduction to Logan Roy and the relationship with his children. Make no mistake though. There’s nobody to like here. Where the Logan family go, non-disclosure agreements follow, funded by the pile of money that’s as tall as the skyscrapers that make up their wheedling world.

Over its three seasons thus far, “Succession” has done a fine job in making its plot more twisted and its characters more insane but what will really secure its legacy is its decision to call it quits now.

Since 2018 when the show first aired, it’s rapidly grown in popularity. In 2021, season three racked up almost seven million viewers, many of whom from Australia.

All this is to say that it would be easy to pad the show out for more seasons.

It could have been a long-winded series that tracks the dynasty of the Roys, but by dropping the curtain now “Succession” has proven it has confidence in its 39 tightly written episodes that don’t stretch out the story longer than it needs to be.

This week it culminates in an ending that has fans eager to see which of the Roys is going to come out on top.

This family’s devious battle for the throne gives even the Targaryens a run for their money.