How the sounds of 'Succession' shred the grandeur and respect the characters so desperately try to project

• The show tells the story of ailing media tycoon Logan Roy and his four horrid children who aim to inherit his empire.
• But as a music historian, I will miss the series’ use of music and sound the most.

Corrupting classical music

• Most contemporary political dramas are about corruption, and music is great at progressively turning something seemingly wholesome into something sour.
• It is the composer’s skill in layering the strangeness into the music that makes the difference.
• Britell has described being inspired by European late-18th century music.
• Throughout the show, there are a lot of reality-show-style pans to the faces of characters saying things like “I am excited.” This is their music.

Brood too much and the effect is lost

• Both theme songs make heavy use of the lower strings of violas, cellos and double basses, which further darken the sonic palette.
• At the end of the opening credits of “House of Cards,” you can hear it in the twang of the electric guitar.
• The scores for both “House of Cards” and “Yellowstone” are already dark and twisty to begin with, which makes the “staining” effect harder to pull off.
• This is where Britell’s astute ways of combining brightness and darkness in “Succession’s” music make all the difference.

Hearing what the characters hear

• Sound design indicates the ways in which all sounds, from noises to dialogue and music, are mixed into the soundtrack.
• In the pilot episode, viewers meet Kendall Roy, an eminently slappable finance bro and heir apparent to his father’s company.
• At first the Beastie Boys blare out on the soundtrack; seconds later, their music disappears into Kendall’s headphones, and viewers hear his whiny voice rapping the lyrics.
• The switch from non-diegetic to diegetic in Kendall’s entrance gives viewers a sense that they are spying on his fragile self-delusion.

Haunted by water

• The series that begins with Kendall fittingly ends with him, too, as he walks, in a daze, along the Hudson River.
• The moment Kendall hears the Hudson, everyone understands – first by ear, then by sight – that this story is over.