Nicholas Britell, the composer for HBO's Succession, reveals his approach to creating the musical soundscape for the final season.
Speaking to Variety Britell reveals he knew early on that Brian Cox's character, Logan Roy, would meet his demise, and he aimed to capture the impact of the titan's passing on all the characters of Succession.
“I thought about Logan’s death and what that might feel like,” he says. “This is the death of a very complicated person. It’s going to leave a huge hole in everyone’s life, for better or worse. I was thinking about how that would impact the family.”
He collaborated closely with showrunner Jesse Armstrong to develop the music for pivotal scenes, such as Logan's death on a flight to Stockholm. Britell crafted music that delved into the emotional states of characters like Kendall and Roman during this moment.
“I’m usually writing pieces that are fully defined in their way, and almost, at times, can speak for themselves as much as for the characters,” says Britell.
Throughout the season, the composer explored the complex relationships and evolving dynamics with unique musical expressions.
“I think ‘Succession’ has provided this venue for us to feel things about the world today, perhaps collectively, about what’s going on in the world socioeconomically and with concentrations of power, but then also within families and how all families are complicated,” he says.
“‘Succession’ is just a very complicated version of complicated.”