Why Succession fans are so obsessed with Gerri and Roman

Paste Magazine

"A May-December pairing that’s wrong in all the right ways, Gerri and Roman are the definition of unconventional," says Lacy Baugher Milas of the long relationship between J. Smith-Cameron and Kieran Culkin's characters, dating back to the second episode of Season 1. "She’s older than he is. Technically, he outranks her at the company they both work for (at least until his father names her his of-the-moment successor as CEO). She’s his younger sister’s godmother, and pretty much the only person in the world of the show—or at least at Waystar Royco—who doesn’t take any of his crap. Plus, Roman literally gets off on Gerri humiliating him, which is pretty much exactly the sort of twisted fairytale relationship take that a show like Succession would embrace. But the thing is, as fun and transgressive as Roman and Gerri’s connection is, it also just kind of works. Sure, the sexual tension between them is permanently set to eleven. And, yes, Gerri satisfies Roman’s more offbeat urges in a way that he can’t seem to manage with his actual girlfriend Tabitha (Caitlin Fitzgerald). But she also takes him seriously in a way that almost no one else on the show bothers to do, recognizing his potential to be something more than the family court jester. Gerri actually listens to Roman and treats his ideas—no matter how outlandish they might be—as something other than a running gag to sneer at over dinner."

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• Adrien Brody says he would've loved to have joined Succession "from its inception, to be brutally honest": The Oscar-winning actor was preparing to play iconic coach Pat Riley on Adam McKay's HBO untitled 1980s Los Angeles Lakers drama when McKay and Jesse Armstrong offered him a guest role on Succession. "I just love it," Brody says of joining with this week's episode. "It is so sharp and so full of richness and depth and nuance and beautiful acting and incredible writing. And so funny and dark and telling of the world around us. It’s just amazing. They really nailed it. So I’m really honored that they’ve asked me to be a part of it. It was really fortuitous that they came to me, and I’m very happy for all of them. It’s really wonderful to see people do great work I’m thrilled for all the accolades that they’ve received. They were wonderful to work with and I have nothing but but respect and enthusiasm for the project." Brody adds: "It’s such a thrill to work with talented people and it elevates you because they’re so good. We all do our thing. And I’ve been doing this for a lifetime. Even if there is pressure, I’m so used to having to handle my responsibilities that it kind of just fuels that interaction. It’s what we do, but it sure is exciting. They gave me such wonderful material. It wasn’t like I came in with a meaningless bit and they got to walk all over me, it was a chance for us to really go head-to-head and swim with two very big sharks that knew that body of water. I was new in the neighborhood and they’re gonna have to get used to me."
• In joining Succession, Brody had to navigate Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong's different acting styles: "It was really wonderful and fascinating," the Oscar-winning actor says of their different approaches to the craft of acting. "Brian has a wonderful stillness and strength that is very accessible to him and Jeremy is much more Method and approaches things in a way to really make sure that he is suffering through it or in the zone, so to speak. And I relate to both approaches. It was really interesting to me because at times I have been much more like Jeremy and for other roles, I'm more similar to Brian's way of working. In this case, I was kind of in the middle, so it was really interesting."
• Who were some of the people Adrien Brody based Josh on?: "I’m not one to name names, but it was an amalgamation of a number of people I’ve encountered," says Brody. "It bleeds into some very strong people that I’ve known — a personality that I’ve felt is both disarming and dangerous. Whether it’s metaphorically implied or physically dangerous or a combination, the threat is real. Josh is in a rare position to genuinely hold a level of authority and exude strength that is superior to Logan. He’s able to ascertain the fragility between the relationship of father and son and to put that to the test in this elaborate meeting that he’s constructed. Even though there’s a lot of levity in the depiction of it all, it’s a really deep and and well-thought game that Josh is embarking on."
• Nicholas Braun on Greg's "weird energy" with Tom: "We tried to bring all the context the relationship has into that scene. It’s really layered at this point."