A 'Succession' Trailer Shows The Allure Of Returning

Plus: 'The White Lotus,' Songs of The Summer, and, of course, What's Making Us Happy

View this email online by Linda Holmes Welcome! It was the week when the Cannes Film Festival brought red carpets and awards conversations to life. It was the week when Shonda Rhimes extended her Netflix deal. And it was the week when the Olympics continued to approach, but under increasingly difficult circumstances. Opening Argument: A Succession Trailer Shows The Allure Of Returning The second season of HBO's Succession, a show I love in spite of the fact that it's not the kind of show I usually love, aired in the second half of 2019. The story of the wealthy and powerful Roy family, it ended with a bang when the dynamic of the family seemed to ... well, explode. There were theories that it hadn't really exploded, that maybe things weren't as they appeared. But if you took the thing at face value, everything had abruptly changed.  And then: a global pandemic.  It's self-evident, I hope, that delayed seasons of television are far, far, far down the list of consequences of said global pandemic. Nevertheless, they happened, and they were quite disruptive. Shows -- Succession included -- that should have returned last year simply didn't, as a result of which it's been almost two years since that explosive finale. Years ago, audiences waited only a few months for season-ending cliffhangers to be resolved. Now, they routinely wait a year. But this time, it was two. Graeme Hunter/HBO Shooting on the third season started earlier this year, but we didn't know what that season might bring. And then this week, a trailer showed up. (Spoiler alert, I guess?) In that trailer, there are tantalizing glimpses of sibling rivalries, near fistfights, declarations of dangerous intentions, and the dark comedy that runs through the Roys' story, always.  Even though I knew the show had a devoted following, I was impressed by the vigor with which the trailer was welcomed. You would think people were welcoming back a person who had been backpacking around the world for years, out of reach of phones.  I would not have chosen to wait two years for the return of one of my very favorite shows; I would not have chosen for the people who make it to be out of work for a year unexpectedly. But now that we are here, I am giving myself just a bit of permission to enjoy the pent-up enthusiasm in myself and other people. At this point, it's more like having waited for the sequel to a movie than for another season of television -- this is twice as long as we waited between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame!  Even if this show is not your show -- as I said, I wouldn't expect it to be mine if I heard someone describe it -- I hope you are relishing the moments when the things that you find diverting or fascinating return to your calendar. I won't go so far as to call it a silver lining by any means, but at this point, I think we can all take what we can get.  Newsletter continues after sponsor message We Recommend: Sometimes you have to dig deep into the archives and admit that while you’re getting to something (very) late, you still want to make sure you recommend it. Karina Longworth’s Hollywood history podcast You Must Remember This featured it's Charles Manson season all the way back in 2015 (it begins at episode 44), but there’s no wrong time to catch up. I found the season absolutely fascinating in its examination not only of Manson as a figure, but the way his crimes wove into the movie scene at the time.  E. Alex Jung (whom you’ve heard a few times on PCHH) wrote a profile of Jennifer Coolidge as she prepares for a stupendous turn on the new HBO series The White Lotus, and it’s absolutely enchanting.  Speaking of which: We’ll be talking about The White Lotus on the show in a bit, but I can tell you I highly recommend it and think you should absolutely check it out on HBO this weekend if you can.  And in other celebrity profile news, Jazmine Hughes wrote a fabulous piece about Lil Nas X that I found marvelously personal and lively.  What We Did This Week: Jamal Peters/Courtesy of the artist Before we get underway with the week in review, a reminder: We're going to be covering Happy Endings on an upcoming episode. We're taking your questions that you'd like to hear answered, so we need your help. Send us a voice memo with your question to pchh@npr.org, and perhaps we'll tackle it on the show! After the holiday weekend, Tuesday brought Aisha and Roxana Hadadi together to chat about HBO's Betty.  On Wednesday, I talked to Ronald Young, Jr. about the HBO MAX romantic comedy Starstruck.  On Thursday, Stephen was joined by a team of NPR Music contributors to offer up some Songs of the Summer.  And on Friday, Glen and I got to talk about Black Widow with Vincent Schilling and Chris Klimek. At that same link, you can read Glen's smart and thoughtful full review of the film.  On last weekend's All Things Considered, Aisha spoke to Sarah McCammon about Zola.  I wrote about the new Gossip Girl on HBO MAX, which wasn't as good as I hoped, and you can listen at that link to my chat about it with Audie Cornish on All Things Considered.  Glen wrote about the second season of I Think You Should Leave, which he and a lot of other people believe should ... not leave.  And Stephen wrote about the new Courtney Barnett album over at NPR Music. What's Making Us Happy! Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: What's making Chris happy: The Criterion Channel's Neo-Noir Month What's making Glen happy: Hot White Heist podcast What's making Linda happy: The Plot Thickens podcast What's making Vincent happy: The movie Nobody Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: pchh@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy