Filmmaker and film production professor Alex Sherman joins Brendan for a discussion of the 2022 film Armageddon Time, starring Jeremy Strong, Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Chastain, John Diehl, Banks Repeta, and Jaylin Webb. Before getting to the film itself, Brendan and Alex dive deep into the career of writer-director James Gray, whose films address themes of family, legacy, inheritance, immigration, Judaism, assimilation, and transfers of power. 

Inspired by Gray's childhood experiences, the story follows a young Jewish-American boy who befriends an African-American classmate and begins to struggle with expectations from his family and growing up in a world of privilege, inequality and prejudice. 

This bonus episode was recorded a few days before Jesse Armstrong announced that Succession's fourth season would be its last, so the preamble features some outdated speculation about the future of the show.

Collin Brinkmann's blog The 15:17 to Cinema, featuring his critical biography of James Gray and Jordan Mintzer's report from the set of Armageddon Time: https://the1517tocinema.blogspot.com/

Bonus — Armageddon Time (2022), with Alex Sherman

The original and still independent Succession podcast. All seasons available widely.

TV & Film

We're at the movies again as Gabi and Brendan discuss each of the nominees for Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards, whether any of these films are any good, and what they say about the particular present anxieties of the American movie industry. We also recap the last hurrah of Succession's awards tour.

The 2024 RoyCast Oscars Special

Brendan, Gabi, and producer Dan reunite for a retrospective look at the complete run of Succession by attempting to rank every episode of the series. Discussion also covers the cast and crew's final tour of the awards circuit, the publication of the full shooting scripts, and unreconciled feelings about the series finale. 
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RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/
We thank everyone who has listened and supported us over the years.

Succession, Ranked

In the Succession series finale, "With Open Eyes", the closed-loop system begins another revolution as the Roys lose Waystar for good. Critic and author Adam Nayman returns to the RoyCast to discuss the anxieties and potential pitfalls of this final season, the insular quality of the ending, frustrated expectations, the uncertain fate of Mencken's Presidential bid, corporeal themes, eruptions of physical violence, hearty fare, meager rations, and the fates of the many lead and supporting characters we bid farewell to in this episode. We also offer some thoughts on Succession's legacy and the future of the podcast.
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RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/ 
We thank everyone who has listened and supported us over the years. 
~~~
Adam Nayman is a critic, lecturer and author whose writing has appeared in The Ringer, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. He is a contributing editor to Cinema Scope magazine and the author of several books, most recently David Fincher: Mind Games. Twitter: @brofromanother

Succession 4.10, "With Open Eyes" (Series Finale) with Adam Nayman

At Logan’s funeral mass, Kendall and Shiv eulogize their father while rallying their forces, and Roman goes to pieces. Number one boy Vikram Murthi returns to the RoyCast to talk about “Church and State” as a classic penultimate episode, the show’s signature blend of dry humor and pathos, the direction and staging of Logan's funeral, the decline and fall of Roman, Kendall's bitter goodbyes to Rava and Jess, the pending Shiv W, Mencken maneuvers, Ewan’s good hard take, a curious scene with Colin, the women in Logan's life, CEO odds, some light series finale speculation, and more. 
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RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/
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Vikram Murthi is a freelance writer and critic based in Brooklyn, NY. He's a contributing writer for The Nation, the editor of Downtime Magazine, and has contributed to publications such as The New Republic, Filmmaker Magazine, Criterion, Vulture, Vanity Fair, the old A.V. Club, among others. He tweets at @fauxbeatpoet.

Succession 4.9, "Church and State" with Vikram Murthi

It's election night in "America Decides", where the Roy family tragedy spills over into a national catastrophe of their own making. Brendan and Gabi sit down for a solo discussion that dives deep into the road to this inevitable outcome, the episode's atypical structure, the details of the show's electoral reality, lost votes in Milwaukee, Kendall's swing vote, Shiv's final humiliation, Roman's demonic energy, real life parallels for Mencken and Jimenez, Tom's election night diet, Greg's payback moment, a rare sign of agency from Jess, the ATN culture, director Andrij Parekh and his history with the series, ethical walls, bodega sushi, and more.
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RoyCast is a passion project and we incur minor ongoing expenses related to producing and hosting this independent podcast. The show will never be paywalled, but for those who would like to support you can do so here: roycast.square.site/

Bonus — Armageddon Time (2022), with Alex Sherman

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