This has serious, serious potential.
In terms of bold career moves, directors are just as likely as actors to move out of their comfort zones and Adam McKay is the perfect example of this.
After grabbing the world’s attention with the triple whammy- WHAMMY! – of Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, we’d forgive you for thinking that the talented director was purely going to focus on slapstick comedies.
This being said, he threw us a curveball because his next film – while having moments of comedic brilliance – also showed an understanding of politics and corruption. In The Other Guys, it’s clear that McKay is very aware of the lies, scams and unspeakable damage that Wall Street bankers have done to the global economy. On that note, the subject matter of The Big Short didn’t exactly come as a surprise and McKay’s film about a group of investors that bet against the US mortgage market was brilliant.
In fact, it even won him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
On that note, the director has teamed up with HBO (home of The Wire, The Sopranos, The Night Of and Game of Thrones) for his new TV project, Succession.
Executive produced by McKay, who also directed the series premiere, the New York-set drama follows the Roy family, which controls one of the biggest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world but can they stay on top as ambition, power, politics, and money begin to exert their corrupting influence?
Succession is also executive produced by Will Ferrell, Jane Tranter (The Night Of), and Mark Mylod (Entourage). It stars Brian Cox, Hiam Abbass, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Braun, Matthew Macfadyen, Natalie Gold, Peter Friedman, and Rob Yang.
The 10-episode first season begins in June on HBO and you can take a look at what’s in store below.
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