Dear Gossips,   

Duana sent me a tweet this morning that made me laugh but also made me mad. It’s about Succession. And it’s a little inside baseball for screenwriters but …I dunno, LOL, isn’t everyone an aspiring screenwriter these days? 

 
 

Exactly everything. Like perfect. It’s perfect. Especially this one: 

 

Because that’s happening all the time right now. Experienced female writers who can do the job, and have been doing the job, are told constantly that they’re not at the showrunner level yet. I know several of them! It’s outrageous. And it’s the same in other industries too – women who are trying to get to management level after doing management level work without credit, when they go for the promotion are told they’re not ready. I don’t have a closing thought for this, I just want to yell about it. Although it does track with Gerri’s character and last week’s episode of Succession, what she was arguing about doing the job in the interim. Gerri isn’t an entirely sympathetic character but there is truth to what Succession has to say about her role and how Logan didn’t appreciate her. 

One more thought on Succession – did you see the swag they’re selling? 

 

Aside from the fact that the show’s name is on the merch, this too is very, very accurate. It’s about as corporate and unattractive as it gets. Someone in the mentions asked for a “Disgusting Brothers” t-shirt, which made me laugh, but producing one would actually be counter to the spirit of Succession. As if Waystar/Royco would ever. They know their brand – which is exactly why Succession works. 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey