Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
When you’re the CEO of the fifth-largest media conglomerate in the world, you’ve got to make sacrifices. Sometimes, it’s missing your son’s baseball game to solidify a deal. In other instances, it requires sacrificing your family and your entire moral compass.
Unfortunately, there’s a Proverb that’ll come back to bite Logan Roy, CEO of Waystar Royco: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Take Kendall Roy, the son promised to be Logan’s successor before Logan systematically snatched that promise away, citing Kendall’s passivity and unwillingness to sacrifice. Well, the somewhat mentally ill Kendall has since gone on to attempt to steal the company from under Logan’s nose, whether it be through votes of no confidence, hostile takeovers or even destroying Logan’s reputation.
Or perhaps you’re more interested in Roman, the “sexual pervert” of the family who turns everything into a foul sarcastic joke and can’t be bothered to take things seriously. He’s got the experience to run the company, but his constant clashing with other people and his addiction to sex is sure to destroy the family business.
Maybe you want Siobhan—Shiv, for short—to take over as CEO? Well, she’d be a good fit, if it weren’t for the fact that she has no experience working at the company. In fact, she once worked assisting a politician who actively opposed Waystar Royco. And if her nickname is indicative of anything, she’s got her own cutthroat attitude that she isn’t afraid to reveal.
In fact, the only child not interested in Waystar Royco is Connor, the eldest son who has a taste for the libertine lifestyle and a desire to run for president. Oh, he’s also paying a woman to be his girlfriend, and his delusions of grandeur only set him up for a longer fall to the ground.
The family dynamic is … broken, to say the least. Each member is a snake fighting for domination in the snake pit—and Logan’s the snakiest of them all. So if one of Logan’s children wants to become CEO, they’ll need to learn how to slither and strike at just the right times—lest Logan simply give up on them all and sell the company away.
Watching Succession is similar to a watching a game of chess where one side is played simultaneously by half a dozen second-graders. There’s a bunch of pieces, some more valuable than others, each with its own optimal strategy. Their goal: take down the opponent king. Their problem: they refuse to work together to take him down.
That’s kind of the problem with CEOs: Under normal circumstances, there can only be one of them. And unfortunately for Logan Roy, three of his four kids want the throne. Unfortunately for those kiddos, Logan has a white-knuckle grip on the armrests, and he’s not keen to let go—not until one of his children shines with every quality he’s looking for in a successor: experienced, innovative, utterly merciless.
But being merciless comes with a price. By the start of the show’s fourth season, Kendall, Shiv and Roman are all a bit Logan’d out. They’re tired of his manipulation, and with Logan set on selling the company away, they’ve decided to finally band together in an alliance shakier than if the Montagues and Capulets tried to sing “Kumbaya” around the campfire. The only thing holding them together? A complete and utter disdain for their father. And as for Logan, with the aches and pains of another birthday weighing heavier on him, he’s wondering if there might be more to life than pursuing money.
Some might say that it’s too late—he’s taught his children that all can be used for gain. Even love itself can be manipulated in order to slingshot yourself ahead. They might even consider killing each other once they research the legality of listing it as a business write-off.
Though the family is at one another’s metaphorical throats, there’s actually very little violence onscreen. Instead, what fills it is all of the sexual content: full-on male nudity, masturbation and sex are less cameos and more main characters on the show (and that doesn’t include all the sex jokes frequently made). Hardcore drug use is also present.
We’ll also become well-accustomed to foul language as we spend our time following a family whose only knowledge of an adjective is placing the f-word in front of every noun they use. The supply of swears is frequent, including heavier instances such as “g-dd–n.”
And behind all of that objectively immoral content is the constant reminder that we’re watching what a broken family does when their god is fame, power and money.
Sure, it’s entertaining to watch this chess game unfold in all of its clever strategy and magnificent blunders, as perhaps to which its 25 Emmy nominations in 2022 attest. But chess is only fun when people win by staying within the rules of the game. It’s a bit harder to enjoy the game when someone irreparably chainsaws the board in half.
Kendall, Shiv and Roman, looking to bruise their father’s ego, put in a counterbid for a prominent media group Logan hopes to buy.
We hear many references to masturbation using crude language. Other people reference their genitals. Someone else compares a person’s loyalty to a crude sexual act. One character claims to have had sex with his girlfriend, and he discusses the act with a friend. People talk about ejaculation, and Shiv tells her husband, Tom, to have sex with someone else, making crude remarks about the deed. A statue of a naked man is visible, and we see the rear of it.
Logan asks a man about his belief in an afterlife. He is disappointed when a Catholic cardinal fails to arrive at his birthday. Tom asks if someone wants a “deal with the devil,” prompting the reply, “What am I going to do with a soul anyway?”
Kendall references doing heroin. A man says his girlfriend is crazy due to her use of drugs. People drink alcohol.
The f-word is used nearly 90 times, including one instance that is preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used 15 times, and the c-word is used once. We also hear vulgar language for male and female genitalia. “A–,” “b–ch,” “d–n” and “b–tard” are also all used. God’s name is used in vain four times. Jesus’ name is abused three times, including one instance which is combined with the f-word.
Following Kendall’s shocking reveal about his father, a lawsuit is imminent, and the two race to secure a famous lawyer to represent their respective sides before the other can.
The episode focuses on allegations of sexual assault committed on a Waystar Royco cruise line, and in particular, Logan’s active knowledge of the fact combined with the company’s minimal action against it. Therefore, viewers should be aware that this storyline (which spans over more than just this episode) will be actively referenced many times.
Logan threatens to grind Kendall’s teeth down. Logan also makes a lewd insult to son Roman regarding oral sex, who comments on the irony of the sentence whilst Logan is being investigated regarding sexual assault allegations. Roman simulates a sexual act, and he references sex multiple times to an uninterested woman. Roman drinks alcohol.
A man references suicide. Connor refers to cruel hate reviews of a play, one of which tells people to kill themselves if they have a ticket to it. People fight about a bottle of wine.
The f-word is used almost 75 times, and two of those are preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used 14 times. We also hear “c-nt,” “d-ck” and “p-ssy” on a few instances. Additionally, “a–,” “b–ch, “h—,” “wh-re” and “b–tard are all used. God’s name is misused four times. Kendall calls Logan “the devil.”
It’s Logan Roy’s 80th birthday, and his son Kendall is scheduled to succeed him as Waystar Royco’s new CEO. However, Logan shocks all friends and family with a sudden declaration.
Kendall smokes and litters, and in anger, he trashes a bathroom and breaks glass. Kendall makes a reference to a sex toy. Kendall’s ex-wife mentions that Kendall had done cocaine years ago. Logan urinates on the floor, and we see the yellow stain. Logan makes crude sexual innuendos about his son and another businessman.
Logan’s grandnephew Greg smokes marijuana, and he lies that a kid smoked it in his car after Greg gave the kid a ride because he “didn’t want him to get sexually assaulted.” Children at a theme park harass Greg, causing him to vomit onscreen out of the eyes of his mascot costume. Greg is slammed against a wall when a bodyguard falsely believes him to be a security threat. Shiv calls a cologne “Date Rape by Calvin Klein.”
A man explains that he won’t allow another company’s “Neanderthals in to rape” his company. Businessmen joke about oral sex. People drink alcohol at a birthday party, and a story being told centers on an inebriated woman.
The f-word is used nearly 65 times, and it is once preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used 11 times. We also hear “c-ck,” “d-ck” and “p-ssy” on a few instances. “A–,” “d–n,” “b–tard” and “pr-ck” are all also used. God’s name is misused three times, and Jesus’ name is misused four times.
[Spoiler Warning] Logan faints from a brain hemorrhage and is taken to the hospital.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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