How do you even start to observe a triumph like “Succession”?
It’s the type of drawback that solely probably the most rarified group of showrunners have ever confronted, and just about none of them have discovered an excellent reply. For each “Higher Name Saul,” there are 5 misfires like “The Romanoffs,” and it typically appears like the neatest transfer is to tug a David Chase or Jerry Seinfeld and easily not attempt in any respect. Making a tv present that captures the zeitgeist the way in which “Succession” did requires limitless quantities of expertise and sources at each stage of the filmmaking course of — and also you nonetheless need to catch lightning in a bottle on high of that.
“Succession” Season 4 erased all doubts about Jesse Armstrong‘s writing skills (that’s, if anybody was inexplicably harboring any after watching Seasons 1-3), nevertheless it’s hardly affordable to count on him to snap his fingers and recreate the magical solid chemistry, iconic music, political timeliness, and limitless quotability that made his masterpiece such a cultural phenomenon.
So when “Mountainhead,” Armstrong’s first post-“Succession” challenge, debuts on HBO this weekend, followers around the globe will likely be asking it to reside as much as an not possible set of requirements. And it disappoints in a method that appears like future: it’s equally competent from a manufacturing standpoint, with an A-list solid as well, however far much less magical. The inevitable comparisons aren’t helped by the truth that it bombards us with “Succession”-like imagery from the get-go. We instantly see non-public jets, shiny black Escalades, and an opulent mansion with anonymous workers members laying out lavish spreads of meals that any Armstrong fan is aware of will go untouched. When a TV display screen exhibits a Fox Information chyron, it’s important to do double take to verify it’s not ATN.
In some ways, the premise of “Mountainhead,” which Armstrong writes and directs, may very well be ripped straight from a hypothetical “Succession” Season 5: A bunch of 4 billionaire manchildren collect for his or her annual poker retreat in a shocking alpine mansion whereas the skin world crumbles due largely to the dealings of their very own tech corporations. Venis (Cory Michael Smith) is the Zuckerberg-esque mogul behind Traam, a monopolistic social media firm that has simply rolled out a brand new generative AI mannequin that may produce deepfake photographs and movies with unprecedented accuracy. It’s so efficient that violent uprisings are breaking out around the globe due to an onslaught of doctored footage of leaders saying and doing evil issues. Seemingly each third world nation with out guardrails like robust legacy media retailers seems positioned to break down in a single day.
There’s just one particular person on the planet with a possible resolution, and he occurs to be one among Venis’ poker buddies. Fellow billionaire Jeff (Ramy Youseff) has his personal AI mannequin that’s the best bullshit detector the human race has ever seen. It could possibly scrub by means of limitless quantities of knowledge to separate deepfakes from actual pictures, and it’s subtle sufficient to detect sarcasm, so it may well flag really harmful feedback with out disrupting the person expertise for everybody else. It’s a panacea for the issue of content material moderation that ought to theoretically fulfill either side of the aisle, and each tech firm is dying to get its palms on it.
Buying Jeff’s mannequin would make all of Venis’ issues go away, however these poker video games have three ironclad guidelines: “No Offers, No Meals, and No Excessive Heels.” No one is allowed to conduct enterprise, there’s no meals that might require the presence of on-site kitchen workers killing the vibes (as a result of these guys cooking for themselves is out of the query), and ladies aren’t welcome. However at the same time as he tries to present the phantasm of compliance, Venis by no means stops interested by his dream merger.
He’s not the one one displaying up with a hidden agenda. Randal (Steve Carell), the elder statesman of the group, has been battling most cancers for years. The perfect medical doctors cash should purchase have advised him {that a} remedy is out of the query, advising him to give attention to remedies that would purchase him one other ten good years earlier than the illness wins. However such a blatant acknowledgement of mortality is an unreasonable ask to make of a person who at all times will get precisely what he desires. He’s already looking forward to a future the place Venis’ AI makes it attainable to add your consciousness to the cloud endlessly. Venis expects the know-how to be prepared in 15 years, however claims it may very well be performed in 5 if he’s capable of merge his personal mannequin with Jeff’s. He guarantees Randal that he could be the primary human being to attempt the process (as soon as they check it on “ten morons” to ensure it’s protected), which incentivizes the dying man to attempt and ensure the deal no one is allowed to speak about goes by means of.
The three males descend upon Mountainhead, the Ayn Rand-themed Utah mansion that Souper (Jason Schwartzman) not too long ago stretched his means to construct. Although his actual title is Hugo, their comparatively poor buddy received his nickname as a result of he can by no means fairly get his web value into the billions. With mere a whole lot of hundreds of thousands at his disposal, he’s pressured to put on a ladle round his neck in all of their group pictures as a result of he’s the almost definitely to finish up in a soup kitchen. Souper’s insecurity about his wealth is palpable, and he’s decided to validate his personal materials possessions by displaying his friends an excellent time. However as nations are overthrown and panicked calls from the White Home start to come back in, the weekend of partying succumbs to tense negotiations between males who clearly view your complete world as mere territories to be acquired in a large board recreation that they out of the blue have full management over.
“Mountainhead” is a transparent extension of a number of the themes Armstrong explored in “Succession,” particularly the concept our fates relaxation within the palms of damaged, narcissistic wealthy children who’re so shielded from actuality that they don’t have anything higher to do than play energy video games for their very own amusement. However it by no means comes near reaching the high-wire act that enshrined “Succession” within the pantheon of nice TV exhibits: making us like these characters.
The Roy kids and their orbiters had such compelling backstories and biting senses of humor that we frequently couldn’t assist however root for them earlier than remembering what they have been truly doing. Listening to somebody bemoan the noxious affect that Fox Information had on American democracy in a single sentence whereas explaining why they’re #TeamKendall or #TeamRoman within the subsequent was a superbly regular incidence throughout the present’s run. Maybe Armstrong thought that stage of nuance was obscuring his message and made a conscience alternative to interrupt from it, as “Mountainhead” does nothing to humanize its protagonists. These 4 poker buddies are so crude and callous that it’s laborious to think about any viewer succumbing to the temptation to root for one among them. They’re in all probability lots nearer to what actual tech billionaires act like behind closed doorways, however that makes them lots much less enjoyable to observe.
That is perhaps as a result of the world Armstrong sees round him is lots much less enjoyable than what he was coping with when “Succession” debuted in 2018. There’s a deeper sense of evil working by means of “Mountainhead” as these tech bros overtly take into account the opportunity of utilizing AI and social media to stage coups and shred the world order as we all know it. Whereas “Succession” was all about delusion, with the Roy kids cluelessly considering the household enterprise wanted them whereas everybody maneuvered round their infantile stunts, “Mountainhead” is all in regards to the merciless intentionality of males who actively select to burn down our world and simply might need the competence to do it.
For all its aforementioned faults — to not point out some outlandish twists which are too simply wrapped up — “Mountainhead” nonetheless left me feeling bullish about no matter Armstrong does subsequent. Directing a one-off HBO film is an efficient method of shedding the insurmountable expectations he positioned on himself after the sensible “Succession” finale, and this challenge will likely be lots simpler to observe. And the exterior similarities to “Succession” ought to train him that he can’t go house once more. There’s no enhancing on perfection, so right here’s hoping Armstrong’s subsequent huge challenge sees him take his skills in a wholly completely different route.
Grade: C+
“Mountainhead” premieres Saturday, Could 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and can stream on HBO Max.
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