By Naomi Alemayehu

“Succession” is a roller coaster. The show covers the ups and downs of the Roys, a wealthy family that owned an international media company based in New York. The comedy-drama that started in 2018 is one of the best shows I have ever watched. With over 70 Emmy nominations in the past three years, the show has been broadly defined as a gold standard of television writing. 

On the other side of the television world lives “Arrested Development”. The show was a 2003 sitcom and currently consists of 5 seasons ( the first 3 are the best before Netflix decided to buy and ruin the show.) “AD” is all about the Bluth family, and how the eldest son, Micheal Bluth,  has to take over the family’s real estate business after his father, George Bluth Sr., is sent to prison for committing a white-collar crime.

Both “Succession” and “AD” get completely different reactions from their audiences yet their characters are so similar in numerous ways. 

Let’s start with the eldest sons in the shows. Not including their half-brother, politician Connor, Kendall Roy is the eldest son of the Roys. Kendall has been his father’s successor since he was a child, doing anything to achieve the validation he needs from his father so that he can be the next CEO of WaystarRoyco. 

In “AD”, the second oldest son Michael is very similar to Kendall. Along with Kendall, Micheal has only ever tried to achieve validation from his father to become president of The Bluth Company ( the opportunity eventually landed in his lap during the first season). Both Michael and Kendall are the leaders of their family, taking action for their siblings in good and bad ways. They are more similar than many may think. Both are what would be known as self-appointed heirs to the throne with a side of close yet venomous relationships with their fathers.

 Their fathers being similar as well just adds to the comparison. Kendall’s father is Logan Roy and Micheal’s father is George Micheal Bluth, both successful businessmen. Logan is a toxic and manipulative boss and father to his kids while George is a scheming and sneaky person hiding from the police here and then for his numerous crimes. Known as rich businessmen, the two are terrible fathers and husbands, willing to break any rules for what they want.

 Along with a herd of sons, both George and Logan have daughters. Georges’s daughter is named Lindsay and Logans is Shiv. Lindsay is a very independent woman, her husband being the least important to her. This is the same for Shiv, she also has a husband with not much importance in her life along with being a very independent woman, her choice to be a Democrat when the rest of her family is Republican showcases her independence. 

 As the only girls in their family, they are very entitled disruptors who push around their male siblings and spouses along with being known as the boss’s only daughter. Because of who they are, people don’t like being around them. 

With the similarities between the two, there is even more comparability between their husbands, Tom and Tobias. Both Tom and Tobias are married to women who quite literally don’t love them. Tom is the oddball of the Roy family, being one of the most vulnerable people in the family. Tom thinks of himself as a large figure in the company but at the end of the day, he doesn’t have that much of a role at Waystar or in the family. When it comes to Tobias, he is also one of the weaker people in the Bluth/Funke family. His on-and-off job search made him an unreliable person and a joke of sorts. Lindsay (Tobias’s wife) married Tobias as a form of protest against her parents making him a joke to his wife and the rest of his family. 

Yes, the characters named above are vastly similar to each other in many ways. Yet, I haven’t mentioned the important supporting characters that are also connected. Both the mother of the Roys ( Caroline) and the mother of the Bluths (Lucille) are very similar. The two are known as horrific mothers, creating their children’s insecurities and flaws. Caroline is not in Succession as much as Lucille is in “Arrested Development”, but she is still able to be a bad mother. Lucille is quite the manipulative character in “Arrested Development”, using her children for money and lying to them in nearly every episode of the show. Along with the mothers, our last pair of highly similar characters I recognized would be Roman Roy (“Succession”) and Gob Bluth (“Arrested Development”). The most unique of the boss’s kids. Both with intensely reserved brothers, they enjoy bullying and annoying them brutally whenever they can. Roman is a daddy’s boy, always sucking up to his dad, Gob being the same. They both are always willing to do anything for their father while their dads continue to create deep insecurities for them. Along with their special love for their fathers, both are always rude and snarky (especially Roman), making them unlikeable just like their sisters. And like Gob, Roman thinks of himself as a rebel and an independent person. Both are similarly miserable characters in their shows in many, many ways. 

For “Succession” or “AD” lovers, it is clear that there are uncanny similarities that build a connection between the two shows. Both iconic shows are based around a wealthy family and their scheming within their business with a side of funny jokes and fighting. If you enjoy one you will love the other. The sarcasm and drama from “Succession” can be found in “Arrested Development” in countless ways making the shows overall very similar. If you haven’t watched either then you’re missing out but if you have watched one of them and not the other then you’re truly missing out!