‘I’d castrate you and marry you in a heartbeat’: Queerness, quality and classics in Succession

Abstract

Critically acclaimed transnational (United States/United Kingdom) drama Succession (2017–23) utilizes classical references combined (arguably juxtaposed) with queerness and insecurities about masculinity/-ties and orientation within its satirical representation of corporate culture. While connecting quality television to British period dramas and queerness, especially on HBO, is relatively common, the series uses phallic discourses not only to illustrate and satirize the toxic masculinity present in its pseudo-royal corporate culture but also to show the complexities of a queer ‘will-they/won’t-they’ couple – Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) and Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) – within this environment. This article will engage in a close reading of representative scenes from the first three series in order to analyse the variety of phallic and other gendered or sexualized discourses within the series which represent contemporary sociocultural anxieties over masculinity/-ties and power as connected with genitalia, castration and/or orientation. This will include discussion and historical contextualization of castration with regard to queerness and different modes of (non-procreative) power, the analogy made to Nero and his castrated slave/spouse Sporus in which the title quote appears in the series as a declaration of love, and discussion of transgression, power and the series’ pseudo-royal court/corporation. The article will illustrate how the series utilizes these discourses to acquire and express the distinction required for quality TV while simultaneously interrogating, satirizing and critiquing the toxicity of contemporary corporate culture with regard to gender and orientation.