13 shows like Succession: What to watch if you loved the HBO drama

Succession has been building massive buzz since it premiered on HBO in 2018. The show is appointment viewing, and for good reason. It’s one of the best series on TV. And you can stream it on Max. But if you’re looking for shows like Succession since its series finale, it can be hard to match.

Succession follows the Roy clan, a family of spoiled rich kids vying to take over the family media conglomerate from their stern father. The show feels like it captures everything that’s wrong with the world, all condensed into one over-privileged family. And somehow it’s still tremendous (pitch black) fun to watch.

So what are some shows like Succession you can stream? Between family infighting, rich people misbehaving, and power struggles, you do have a few to choose from across US streaming services. Read on for our top 13 picks.

Shows like Succession

Yellowstone (2018-ongoing)

• Rating: 15+
• Seasons: 5
• Creator: John Linson, Taylor Sheridan
• Main cast: Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Cole Hauser
• Genre: Drama, Western
• IMDB rating: 8.7

Described as a red-state Succession by Vox, Yellowstone certainly has some major points of overlap with the HBO series. Emily Van Der Werff points to some notable plot similarities (but the shows premiered simultaneously, so no one’s ripping anyone off). These include a gruff patriarch to a moneyed dynasty, his bickering brood of potential heirs, and even some supporting players with conspicuous similarities to Succession’s Tom and cousin Greg.

There are just as many major differences though. Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton, a sixth-generation homesteader who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. With that responsibility comes crooked politicians, dangerous rivals, and more than a few murders of convenience.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Peacock.

Billions (2016-ongoing)

• Rating: 14+
• Seasons: 6
• Creator: Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Andrew Ross Sorkin
• Main cast: Paul Giamatti, Maggie Siff, David Costabile, Condola Rashad, Damian Lewis, Toby Leonard Moore, Daniel K. Isaac
• Genre: Drama
• IMDB rating: 8.4

Probably the most oft-cited show like Succession, Billions is certainly playing in the same ballpark of awful rich people behaving badly. While Succession is very much a family drama though, Billions focuses more on legal intrigue. US Attorney Chuck Rhoades works slowly and tirelessly to build an insider trading case against hedge fund celebrity billionaire Bobby Axelrod. The two men play an elaborate game of cat and mouse, seeking to outmaneuver each other at every turn.

There’s certainly some family strife thrown in too, most notably as Rhoades’ wife works for Axelrod’s company and has no plans of torpedoing her own career in the name of her husband’s crusade.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Showtime.

The Righteous Gemstones (2019-ongoing)

• Rating: 15+
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Danny McBride
• Main cast: John Goodman, Danny McBride, Walton Goggins, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, Cassidy Freeman, Valyn Hall
• Genre: Comedy
• IMDB rating: 8.1

An HBO show about an aging father whose kids want to take over the wildly successful family business? Sounds like Succession. It’s also the plot of the wildly funny The Righteous Gemstones, which premiered in 2019 and returned for a second season in January.

Created by funnyman Danny McBride, the show follows a family of televangelists who run successful megachurches and live lavish lifestyles. For all its success though, the family is absurdly dysfunctional, with each of the adult children vying for the love and respect of their father.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on HBO Max.

The White Lotus (2021-ongoing)

• Rating: 16+
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Mike White
• Main cast: Jennifer Coolidge, Jon Gries, Theo James, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Meghann Fahy, Beatrice Grannò
• Genre: Comedy, Drama
• IMDB rating: 7.9

If you watch Succession for the pleasure of seeing miserable rich people behaving badly, then The White Lotus may be right up your alley.

The HBO miniseries follows various guests at an all-inclusive Hawaiian resort over a few days. What we know at the outset is that their week in paradise will end in tragedy, with an unknown character dying by the finale. That puts a dark cloud over a show already brimming with pitch-black comedy, awkward interactions, and class disparity on full display.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on HBO Max.

Arrested Development (2003-2019)

• Rating: 12+
• Seasons: 5
• Creator: Mitchell Hurwitz
• Main cast: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross
• Genre: Comedy
• IMDB rating: 8.7

Arrested Development may not be immediately obvious among shows like Succession, but the canceled and Netflix-revived comedy checks quite a few similar boxes.

We follow a (formerly) wealthy family of dysfunctional adults who have never really had to work in their lives outside the family mini-mansion business. Now, with the BLUth patriarch in prison awaiting trial for fraud, his children have to step up to look after family affairs. The problem is, they’re inept and can’t get along as they try to decide who can run things in their father’s absence.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Netflix.

Industry (2020-ongoing)

• Rating: 17+
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Mickey Down, Konrad Kay
• Main cast: Myha’la Herrold, Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey, David Jonsson, Conor MacNeill, Ken Leung, Sagar Radia
• Genre: Drama
• IMDB rating: 7.2

There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. Of course, the healthy part sometimes falls by the wayside, which is as true of the Roy family in Succession as it is of the protagonists in another HBO drama, Industry.

In Industry, a group of young graduates, hungry for career success, all compete for permanent spots at London’s Pierpoint & Co., a leading bank that deals in international finance and hires only the best.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on HBO Max.

Six Feet Under (2001-2005)

• Rating: 15+
• Seasons: 5
• Creator: Alan Ball
• Main cast: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodríguez, Mathew St. Patrick, Rachel Griffiths
• Genre: Drama
• IMDB rating: 8.7

One of HBO’s early prestige dramas, Six Feet Under certainly doesn’t seem at first like it’s a show like Succession. On closer look though, both shows explore how families deal with inheritance and legacy, and both focus largely on a trio of siblings.

When Nathanial Fisher, a career funeral director, dies suddenly, his wife and children are left to grapple with the immense loss while deciding how to carry on the family business.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on HBO Max.

Empire (2015-2020)

• Rating: 14+
• Seasons: 6
• Creator: Lee Daniels, Danny Strong
• Main cast: Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Trai Byers, Gabourey Sidibe, Jussie Smollett, Ta’Rhonda Jones
• Genre: Drama, Music
• IMDB rating: 7.4

Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Empire sees a father pitting his kids against each other to prove themselves as the rightful heirs to his business empire, making it an obvious choice among shows like Succession.

Lucious Lyon has made a name for himself as the CEO of Empire Entertainment, a successful hip-hop record label. When he learns that he’s dying, he tries to groom his three sons to take over after he’s gone, which puts them in direct competition with each other. Added to the drama and conflict is Lucious’ ex-wife, who also feels entitled to a piece of the action.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Hulu.

Dynasty (2017-2022)

• Rating: 12+
• Seasons: 5
• Creator: Sallie Patrick, Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz
• Main cast: Elizabeth Gillies, Grant Show, Rafael de la Fuente, Robert Christopher Riley, Sam Adegoke, Sam Underwood, Maddison Brown
• Genre: Drama
• IMDB rating: 7.2

Succession is a show about dynasties, and it resonates today because we are surrounded by talk of dynasties. That goes for politics, business, and even entertainment itself. We’re culturally obsessed with family ties and passing on power from generation to generation.

That’s largely why Dynasty earns its place on this list. While it’s firmly on the guilty pleasure end of the entertainment spectrum, unlike the prestige of Succession, Dynasty covers some familiar ground. A reboot of the 80s prime-time soap opera, Dynasty follows different heirs and heiresses fighting for control of various fortunes, making unlikely alliances, and playing dangerous games of betrayal.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Netflix.

Queen Sugar (2016-2022)

• Rating: 16+
• Seasons: 7
• Creator: Ava DuVernay
• Main cast: Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, Nicholas L. Ashe, Dondre Whitfield, Omar Dorsey, Greg Vaughan
• Genre: Drama
• IMDB rating: 7.8

Taking a more positive look at family legacies and succession of power is Queen Sugar, Ava DuVernay’s drama about an estranged family reconnecting when their father dies, leaving his 800-acre sugarcane farm to his three children in equal measure.

The three siblings, who have very much gone their separate ways, come together at their Louisiana family home to find a way forward, healing old wounds while working as a unit to honor their birthright and their father’s legacy and final wishes. If shows like Succession can include shows addressing similar themes in wildly different ways, then Queen Sugar certainly belongs here.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Hulu.

The Great (2020-ongoing)

• Rating: 17+
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Tony McNamara
• Main cast: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Belinda Bromilow
• Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
• IMDB rating: 8.2

Succession dips into politics from time to time, whether characters are testifying before Congress or, in one embarrassing case, running for president. But it’s really a show about business. Most of its themes, however, are entirely in line with political dramas. That’s why it intersects so well with Hulu’s The Great.

The Great offers a fictionalized take (or “occasionally true story” as stated in the opening) of Catherine the Great’s arrival in Russia, where she would eventually go on to be the nation’s longest-reigning female monarch. But her early days are rocky as she acclimates to her new surroundings and her boorish, inept new husband Peter. Much like Succession, a big part of the fun of The Great is watching truly irredeemable people fight for power none of them deserve.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Hulu.

House of the Dragon (2022-ongoing)

• Rating: 17+
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: George R. R. Martin, Ryan Condal
• Main cast: Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Graham McTavish, Jefferson Hall
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
• IMDB rating: 8.5

HBO seems to have a lot of shows about toxic families fighting for power. Game of Thrones can certainly be counted among shows like Succession on that level alone — though it gives Succession a run for its money in the swearing department too. Even more like Succession is Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.

While Game of Thrones included numerous parties fighting for the Iron Throne, House of the Dragon is more focused on the Targaryen family and fights over the strict rules of succession when an obvious heir like a first son is not identified. It’s a terrific addition to the Thrones world and a great choice for Succession fans.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on HBO Max.

Loot (2022-ongoing)

• Rating: 15+
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Alan Yang, Matt Hubbard
• Main cast: Maya Rudolph, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster, Nat Faxon, Ron Funches, Meagen Fay, Stephanie Styles
• Genre: Comedy
• IMDB rating: 6.7

When billionaire Molly Novak goes through a messy and public divorce, she commits herself to philanthropy, investing in the charity she didn’t even know she had.

Loot is a show like Succession in that it looks at how rich people use their power and influence. While satirical and absurd, Loot offers a glimpse at the other side of the coin. What if a fabulously wealthy but out-of-touch person decided to use their money for something other than accumulating more power.

Ready to watch? You can find the show right here on Apple TV Plus.

Those are our picks of the best shows like Succession that you can watch now.

Which one will you check out while you wait for season four?