Succession referenced Peep Show a lot – did you spot any of them? (Pictures: HBO/Channel 4/Netflix)
*Warning: Contains spoilers for Succession and Peep Show.*
Succession, one of the great TV dramas of recent times, came to an end on Monday (May 29) with a shocking final episode to rival any big finale.
The series followed the lives of the Roy family, father and patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) and his four children, Kendall, Siobhan, Roman, and Connor.
Kendall, played by Jeremy Strong, thought he’d finally seized the chance to run his father’s company, Waystar Royco, only for his bid to collapse at the very end.
It was a thrilling conclusion to the American satirical drama-comedy series, which has been helmed since day one by its creator, British TV writer Jesse Armstrong.
TV enthusiasts from the UK recognised Armstrong, 52, from his days working alongside David Mitchell and Robert Webb on beloved cult comedy Peep Show.
And eagle-eyed Peep Show fans noticed that Succession frequently made references to the first show Armstrong ever created. Did you spot them all?
Stefan Strauss
‘Stefan Strauss’ causes problems for the main characters in Succession and Peep Show (Picture: Channel 4/Netflix/HBO)
Stefan Strauss is introduced during season six of Peep Show when JLB Credit – the company Mark works for – is facing severe financial difficulties.
Strauss, who runs JLB’s office in Frankfurt, Germany, arrives to shut down the Croydon branch of the company and offers Mark a share in the profits.
In season two of Succession, a character with a very, very familiar name then shows up at a Waystar boardroom meeting – that’s right, Stefan Strauss.
Both Stefans are two different people and are not meant to be the same person, but a well-placed callback to JLB wasn’t going to get past Peep Show experts.
Techno Gandhi / Techno Gatsby
Kendall took the ‘Techno Gatsby’ cue from Jeremy – do we think he watched Peep Show? (Picture: HBO)
If you listen closely at a lone spoken during season two of Succession by Kendall Roy, you’ll hear that takes great inspiration from Peep Show’s Jeremy.
During a party at Greg’s apartment, Ken is asked how he’s doing and responds in typically witty fashion: ‘I’m looking for p***y, like a f*****g Techno Gatsby.’
This is a reference to Jeremy’s description of himself as a ‘Techno Gandhi’ when he allows his young friend Ben to have a bite of a poppadum ‘with a bit of chutney’.
Jaws the Shark
Was the shark in Jaws really called Jaws? Greg and Jeremy think so (Picture: Creative Commons)
We didn’t think we’d ever be discussing Jeremy Usbourne from Peep Show and Greg Hirsch from Succession in the same sentence, but here we are.
It turns out, both of them seem to think that the shark in Steven Spielberg’s classic 1975 film Jaws is literally called… Jaws.
In Peep Show’s season six finale, Mark and Jeremy wake up on the morning of Elena’s wedding. Jeremy drinks whiskey to numb the pain of getting over her.
He insists that he’s going to stay on the sofa, drinking heavily, watching Spielberg’s legendary blockbuster ‘until they catch Jaws the shark’.
When Mark challenges Jeremy on his naming of the shark, Jeremy replies: ‘Of course he’s called Jaws. Here comes Jaws. Jaws the Shark. Mind he doesn’t eat you with his enormous Jaws.’
Earlier in season four of Succession, Greg describes working at Logan Roy’s ATN as ‘like Jaws, if everyone in Jaws worked for Jaws’.
‘Seat-sniffer‘
Mark’s rather cruel nickname for Jeff made it into Succession (Picture: GifGlobe/Channel 4/Netflix)
When referring to his ex-wife’s new husband in season three, Logan calls him ‘the seat-sniffer’ – a derogatory nickname intended to make Caroline’s husband sound like a creep.
But way, way, way, way back in the very earliest days of Peep Show, ‘seat-sniffer’ was the cruel nickname given by Mark to Jeff Heaney, Mark’s main love rival in his attempts to date Olivia Colman’s Sophie.
Angus Wright
Angus played Angus in Peep Show and doubled as a Succession shareholder (Picture: Channel 4)
Peep Show fans will remember Angus Wright’s face incredibly fondly. Introduced very late on – in the ninth and final season, in fact – Angus plays, well… Angus.
Angus is boyfriend to April, a woman Mark spent one night with back in season two before bumping into her again several years later.
After Mark attempts to date her, he finds out she’s already seeing Angus, a history scholar. Cue Peep Show hijinks, as Jeremy and Super Hans attempt to kidnap Angus.
It all works out okay in the end, as April and Angus continue their relationship despite Mark and Jeremy’s interference – the show ends on that note.
Angus (the actor) wasn’t done with Jesse Armstrong there, however. Angus turns up as Phillipe Layton in the season two finale of Succession, This Is Not for Tears.
Layton is one of Waystar Royco’s biggest shareholders and encourages Logan to take the fall for Waystar’s numerous corporate misdeeds – advice Logan rejects.
Peter Munion and Peter Mannion
Peter Munion, meet Peter Mannion! (Picture: HBO/BBC)
Now, this technically isn’t a Peep Show reference, but it is a moment Jesse Armstrong took out of Succession to pay tribute to another British comedy.
Between 2005 and 2009, Armstrong worked alongside Armando Iannucci on the first three seasons of political satire The Thick of It.
Set in the halls of Westminster and other government offices, one of the show’s main characters is Peter Mannion, a cabinet minister for The Opposition.
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The Thick of It fans would have been doing the Leonardo DiCaprio point at their TV screens when Peter Munion, new step-dad to the Roy siblings, appeared.
Watch Succession on Sky. Watch Peep Show on Netflix.
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There were callbacks to JLB Credit and popular characters.
