Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin to topline HBO family drama “Succession”

PanARMENIAN.Net - HBO has set up its primary family in drama pilot Succession, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

Set to star in the project from Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Nicholas Braun and Matthew Macfayden, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Succession follows the saga of the Roys, a fictional, American global-media family that is not only rich and powerful but also powerfully dysfunctional. The drama will explore family loyalty, international business and the perils of power in the 21st century.

Cox (Braveheart, The Bourne Supremacy) will topline the project and play Logan Roy, the tough, powerful and aging patriarch of the Roy clan and head of a family-controlled international media conglomerate. The actor is repped by Paradigm.

Strong (Zero Dark Thirty, Masters of Sex) is set to portray Kendall Roy, the eldest son from Logan's second marriage, who currently is a division president at the family firm and the heir apparent. The actor is with WME and Mosaic.

Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Igby Goes Down) will play Roman Roy, Logan's outspoken, fun-loving son and Kendall's younger brother. Although still on the board of directors at the firm, he no longer works there. The actor is repped by Paradigm.

Snook (Steve Jobs, Black Mirror) will co-star as Shiv (Sibohan) Roy, Logan's only daughter and younger sister to Kendall and Roman. Like Roman, she sits on the board of directors but does not work at the firm and has been pursuing a career in politics. The actress is with UTA.

Braun (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Friend Me) joins the drama as Greg, Logan's less-than-competent nephew and a management trainee at one of the firm’s theme parks. The actor is repped by UTA.

Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina, Ripper Street) rounds out the cast as Tom, Shiv’s ambitious partner/fiance and a senior executive at the firm. The actor is with UTA.

Jesse Armstrong will pen the script and executive produce the project. The Big Short's McKay will exec produce and direct the pilot. Ferrell, Kevin Messick, Frank Rich and Ilene S. Landress also will exec produce. Armstrong co-created and co-wrote nine seasons of BAFTA-winning U.K. comedy Peep Show. His credits also include Veep, Four Lions and episodes of Black Mirror. McKay is fresh off a best adapted screenplay Oscar win with co-writer Charles Randolph for The Big Short. Rich, meanwhile, is a creative consultant at HBO and exec produces Emmy darling Veep. Armstrong will serve as showrunner on Succession should the drama be picked up to series.