Full of despicable characters, HBO's adored 'Succession' is ending with only the occasional high point | TV commentary

May 26—It's hard to imagine a show more overrated than "Succession."

The hit HBO comedy-drama will conclude its four-season run with a highly anticipated finale debuting at 9 p.m. May 28 on the premium cable network at its newly rebranded and updated related streaming service, Max.

I'm pretty excited.

That it's ending.

Created by Jesse Armstrong ("Peep Show") and with producers including the often-brilliant Adam McKay ("The Big Short," "Vice"), "Succession" debuted almost exactly five years ago. Apparently, Armstrong originally wanted to do a feature film about the Murdoch family — controllers of the highly polarizing Fox News and other well-known media entities — but instead we got an episodic tale obviously inspired by the wealthy clan.

Over the course of about 40 roughly one-hour installments, we've followed the trials and tribulations of the Roy family — primarily patriarch Logan (Brian Cox); siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook), aka "Shiv," and Roman (Kieran Culkin); their half-brother, Connor (Cleveland native Alan Ruck); Shiv's husband, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen); and dopey-and-awkward hanger-on Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun), aka "Cousin Greg."

Loathsome, every one of them.

For many viewers, that's the appeal: These are largely rotten people, but they're (supposedly) fun to watch. And we certainly get to see them fail — especially Kendall — but mostly we watch them trade obscenity-laden insults.

Hey, it's not like I never go for that sort of thing. Another lauded HBO series, "Veep," which ran for most of the 2010s, was built on characters saying the most horrible things to each other, most of them colleagues. But, in contrast to the frequently lumbering "Succession," "Veep" was a fast-paced 30 minutes.

And, most damningly, I sometimes rooted for the "Veep" peeps, faults and all, in a way I have NEVER pulled for the Roys.

Ultimately, we're supposed to be invested in who takes over Logan's empire — the conglomerate Waystar RoyCo, the parent company of the Fox News-like American Television Network. This has been a paramount concern since the McKay-directed first episode, "Celebration," in which Logan pulled back from an agreement to cede control to Kendall. Since then, there have been various alliances and betrayals and a cruise ship full of scheming.

Oh, man. Who will get it? Kendall? Shiv? Connor? COUSIN GREG???

There are few things about which I care less.

Google "why 'Succession' is a great show," and the first result may be a piece touting its "whip-smart writing" (sure) and "detailed character studies," the writer lauding "a complicated cocktail of privilege and trauma keeping the protagonists entrenched in patterns of narcissistic self-sabotage." It's hard to argue with that part, so if that has engrossed you, more power to you.

Before I go any further, it's time to issue the requisite spoiler warning: If you're not caught up with this final season, it's time to hit the bricks or — as Logan might have said, "(expletive) off!"

What is easily the best episode of "Succession" — directed, as many have been, by Mark Mylod — came early this season. It delivered an event foreshadowed all the way back in "Celebration." Logan's death.

This was uncharacteristically riveting television, as the larger-than-life figure was taken from those who loved and, alternately, hated him with no immediate warning. Like those in his life, we the viewers weren't tipped off, either. We got only an ordinary scene with Logan aboard a private jet, and soon we and his children were being informed by Tom, also aboard the plane, that Logan had collapsed in the bathroom and may already be dead.

For the first time, I related to and empathized with Kendall, Shiv and Roman in a meaningful way. They were in shock. They were in denial. They were devastated.

Honestly, though, this, too, frustrated me. You wait until NOW to turn them into real people?

I also wish the show were a stronger critique of right-wing media entities such as Fox News and of the media in general. It's made some points along the way, though, and, admittedly, it's been at its most effective in this area in this final stretch of episodes, as ATN has helped put extreme-right-wing presidential candidate Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) on the cusp of becoming the leader of the free world.

Again, I'm in the minority in not loving "Succession." I realize the series has earned an impressive 13 Emmy Awards — from a total of 48 nominations.

And you'll note I called the show "overrated," not terrible.

I will acknowledge, for starters, that the acting often is topnotch. Look at the performances of Strong, Snook, Culkin and Macfadyen in the episode surrounding Logan's death.

Or those of Macfadyen and Snook in one of their brutal husband-and-wife arguments.

Or that of Cox, like, the whole time. (The veteran actor is so good.)

Also, I must cop to the fact that, after being bored by early episodes and falling whole seasons behind, I worked to catch up and have made the fourth-season episodes appointment viewing on Sunday nights.

Mostly, I chalk that up to long loving a water-cooler HBO series to watch at the end of the weekend. You will never sell me on "Succession" residing in the rarefied air of "The Sopranos," "The Wire," "Six Feet Under" and "Game of Thrones."

It's a pretender to the HBO throne, just as Kendall, Shiv and Roman are to Logan's.

Fans, Emmy voters, you're all nuts.

But, sigh, I'll be watching the finale along with you.

So, um, long live Cousin Greg, and may his reign as Waystar RoyCo CEO be incredibly profitable.

'Succession' finale

Where: HBO and Max.

When: 9 p.m. May 26.

Info: HBO.com.