Another Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for “Succession,” another opportunity for “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong to express his displeasure with a major world leader.
While accepting the prize for the show, Armstrong quipped that it had been a big week for successions, in reference to the passing of long-time U.K. ruler Queen Elizabeth II and the subsequent promotion of her eldest son, now known as King Charles III.
“New king in the UK. This, for us, evidently there’s a little bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles,” the British creator said of the “Succession” Emmy win.
In response, Scottish actor Brian Cox playfully advised Armstrong to, “Keep it royalist, keep it royalist!” with regards to the monarchy, but his boss would not be swayed.
“I’m not saying we’re more legitimate in our position than he is,” Armstrong said. “We’ll leave that to other people.”
When the second season of “Succession” won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 2020 in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, Armstrong took time out of his acceptance speech to offer an “un-thank you” to certain deserving parties, including the virus itself, as well as then-President Donald Trump for his “crummy and uncoordinated response” and, further, to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his equally inept response to the global health crisis.
But Armstrong didn’t stop there, going on to “un-thank you” nationalist and quasi-nationalist governments around the world and the media moguls who work overtime to keep them in power.
In retrospect, it seems unsurprising that the creator of the most acidic, satirical series currently airing on TV might have a thing or two to say about powerful institutions that might not have the best interests of the little people at heart.
At the very least, it’s unsurprising that he has thoughts on a literal line of succession.
