Season two of “Succession” ended with favorite son Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) twisting a knife into the back of his father, media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox), who’d previously set his kid up to take the fall. Their on-screen rivalry could be mirrored in the equally cutthroat world of entertainment awards, as Strong could usurp Cox at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.
SEE Brian Cox Interview: ‘Succession’
According to our racetrack odds, both Cox and Strong are expected to crack the top five for Best TV Drama Actor at the Globes, with the former in second place with 9/2 odds and the latter in fourth with 7/1 odds as of this writing. It’s a rarity for two costars from the same show to contend alongside each other in that category (the last time was 19 years ago, when Rob Lowe and Martin Sheen scored back-to-back bids for “The West Wing”). But considering Globe voters were the first to throw “Succession” an acting nom (for Kieran Culkin‘s supporting role as Kendall’s brother Roman), it’s not such a far-fetched scenario.
The SAG Awards are a little trickier. Sure, costars get nominated all the time, but because these kudos don’t have any supporting categories for TV, Cox and Strong have to compete against every other dramatic male actor on television, not to mention the rest of their male costars — Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck and Nicholas Braun. So while Cox is widely predicted to enter the race, Strong may have a steeper hill to climb.
SEE Sarah Snook Interview: ‘Succession’
But if the season finale taught us anything, it’s that Kendall won’t just let his father walk all over him. Having agreed to take the blame for Logan’s rampant corporate corruption, the younger Roy pulled the rug out from under him and proved himself to be the shark his dad always hoped he would be. It’s the moment we’d all been waiting for since the very first episode. Logan initially refused to pass leadership of his company to his son, but Kendall showed he’s up to the challenge.
Like his character, Strong has proved his ability to go toe-to-toe with the formidable Cox. I’m guessing that in real life the two get along a lot more amicably than their onscreen counterparts, but when it comes to winning awards, there can be only one.
Be sure to make your Golden Globe predictions so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions until nominations are announced. And join in the fierce debate over the 2020 Golden Globes taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
