Why “Succession” Succceeds

The HBO show is driven by great writing -- yes, even without the riveting Brian Cox. So as the 11,000-members strong Writers Guild of America gets ready to go on strike against Hollywood producers on Tuesday, let's hear it for the writers of film and TV. As Gore Vidal once observed, the auteur theory of filmmaking -- which gave the director all the creative credit --is a lot of hooey. Without well-written scripts, even the most talented directors -- and actors -- would be lost.

Of course, I'm biased. I'm a book author who just wrote my first screenplay -- and soon will write a fictional serial that was commissioned by a magazine (and I hope will become a movie). Even though I'm not a member of the WGA, I was paid union rates for the script -- and I'm being well paid by the magazine too. I wouldn't be able to keep a roof over my wife's and my head -- or help pay for our younger son's college expenses -- without this money.

Can the streaming giants afford to pay their writers a long-overdue raise? Of course they can. Netflix is now paying its co-chief executive Ted Sarandos over $50 million a year -- a leap of more than 30 percent over his compensation last year.

But I'm also writing this as an avid fan. I watch a lot of movies and TV. And, by the way, I led you astray on the Netflix show The Diplomat -- after a relatively strong beginning, the series has jumped several sharks. Never mind that Keri Russell -- playing the U.S. ambassador to England -- uttered the unforgivably stupid line, "The CIA did not kill Kennedy," the show has veered wildly off-course in a number of ways. And no, Netflix (and Amazon) didn't kill the espionage thriller. But they sure have tried.

Yes, most of what Hollywood (even the UK) churns out each year is brain-dead -- and for that you can partly blame the mediocre or bad screenwriting. But there is recent TV like Succession, C B Strike, Detectorists, W1A, White Lotus, Slow Horses etc --- and all the classic movies you can think of, even a few of the newer ones.

(Btw, if you're looking for a somber UK police procedural, I recommend the new season of Dalgliesh, starrIng the wonderful Bertie Carvel. Streaming on Brit Box/Prime Video.)

Those shows and movies all began with good -- or great -- writing. Share the wealth, Hollywood.

The Roy siblings confer on Succession