The end of Succession is finally upon us. The show’s fourth season marks the end of the Logan family saga, and it promises to be one for the history books, that will most certainly leave a hole in prestige TV for years to come. Succession’s legacy is still to be proven, shows like The Wire or The Sopranos were similarly praised during their run, but became the classics they are nowadays because of how they transcended the test of time. What's certain now, is that this massive show will leave a hole in prestige TV, and that fans will be hungry for something to fill in the gap.
Jesse Armstrong’s unique vision and approach, has set the show completely apart from the rest of contemporary television, and it can be kind of hard to think about any that resembles it, yet these do exist. If you are one of those seeking for something similar, worry not, as a lot of themes found in the show like family, intrigue, capitalism, class, and identity are present in a number of Netflix series.
While none of these manage to bring to life the powerful alchemy between, power, family while connecting to the world we live in, like Succession does, a lot of them stand on their own ground as they bring a fresh approach to humor (Family Business) and innovative plots and narratives (Arrested Development), or just a straight-up unromantic look at crime and modern America (Ozark). Whatever it is you may look for, one of these shows has it.
10 Dynasty
The '80s reboot Dynasty follows two superrich families, the Carringtons and the Colbys fighting over fortune and legacy. Much like Succession, this is a show about family, one that brings upon opulent looks to every scene, yet it’s a much more traditionally built show, where seemingly unexpected plot twists, love triangles, and betrayal are the everyday for its protagonists.
9 Family Business
The success of family-driven drama shows has led Netflix to generate iterations of this idea for different markets. One of the lesser known of these is Family Business, a French comedy following failed entrepreneur who upon knowing cannabis will be soon legalized, decides to turn the family’s kosher butcher shop into France’s first marijuana coffee shop.
8 Club of Crows
Another international Netflix production uses family as the conceptual anchor for a hilarious sports comedy. Club of Crows is another story of lineage and power but with a much softer approach than Succession, as it finds two immature siblings struggling over who will take over control of their deceased father’s ailing soccer club. This Mexican production builds over four seasons a tender and at times pathetic tale of duty and family.
7 House of Cards
House of Cards was Netflix’s flagship show for a few years, and it showed a lot of promise towards the future. This of course was cut short as its protagonist Kevin Spacey was accused of harassment, sexual abuse and assault after the show’s fifth season. This prompted Netflix to cut ties with Spacey and film one more season with Robin Wright in the titular role. Before this, the show was lauded for its unsentimental writing, grim tone and unique view into how power operates through politics.
6 King of Stonks
The on and offs of the financial world are seen through the satirical lens of this German miniseries. King of Stonks is a fictitious account of an extremely smart and cunning business person who relies on lies and fraud to build his way to the top of the financial world, after the company for which he works goes public and all of its inner scandals come to light. The series initial success has sparked the possibility of turning the miniseries into a full on show with a conceivable second season looming.
5 The House of Flowers
The House of Flowers is Netflix’s most well-known Mexican production to date. This dark comedy drama depicts the ups and downs of a dysfunctional upper-class Mexican family who owns a flower shop and failing cabaret. The show not only deals with family and capitalism in a modern light but also subverts a lot of aspects of the telenovela genre while maintaining aspects of it making for a modern twist on it.
4 Arrested Development
If there’s a family as ludicrous as the Roys, it’s definitely this one. This cult TV show revived by Netflix follows Michael Bluth as he takes over his family’s businesses as his father is imprisoned. At the same time, he must deal with his narcissistic family who only make all of his work way harder. Since its initial run, Arrested Development has proven to be quirky and unique, as its influence over how humor has been built on TV has been felt for the past decades.
3 The Crown
This epic quasi-realistic approach to British royals throughout history is as one could imagine, all about opulence. While there is a humanization of the figures behind the English crown, the show itself is almost a testament to symbolic power and tradition, in which The Crown itself, is the real character, as all the beings that are born into royalty must abide by a set of rules and traditions that transcend their mere existence.
2 Bloodline
Bloodline is one of TV’s modern era most underrated shows, and it definitely deserves as much praise and appreciation as others. This thrilling account of family turmoil is led by fantastic performances from Kyle Chandler and Ben Mendelsohn as two brothers who along their family must face their dark secrets and past as one of them comes back home.
This Florida-set thriller ran for three seasons and its benefited for its shortness, while others show wither away by forcing its story to be longer than it should, Bloodline keeps it short and (bitter)sweet making the most out every second of its length.
1 Ozark
Ozark stands in an opposite direction to Succession regarding tone, while the latter manages to fuse satire and drama in an almost Shakespearean way, Ozark is a pitch-dark drama that feels closer to mid-20th century film noir. The delicate and complicated performances from Jason Bateman, Laura Linney and Julia Garner lead this crime story of a family that enters the dark world of money laundering. The show’s four seasons have been critically acclaimed and earned Bateman and Garner numerous awards for their work.