Succession: Further Reviews

Indiewire:  

Come for the incisive takedown of white collar culture, stay for Matthew Macfadyen's brilliant (and bizarre) comic turn.

But the real scene-stealer is Tom, played by the always great Matthew Macfadyen. As Shiv’s longterm partner and an employee at the Roy family company, Macfadyen gets not only a comedic turn, but a bizarrecomedic turn. Tom is a different person to everyone. At work, he’s a people pleaser to his bosses, who are also his would-be father- and brothers-in-law. Macfadyen maintains a “I can take anything with a smile” look forsuchdismissive assaults it’s impressive he can make it convincing — but he does. With those underneath him, mainly a new-hire (and family cousin) named Greg (Nicholas Braun), he’s as cruel and rude as his bosses are to him (the “Chain of Screaming” from “How I Met Your Mother” comes to mind). With his girlfriend, he’s silly and romantic; he’s charming, even.

So, which one is the true Tom? Is he a company climber, only in his relationship for its connections? Or is he a St. Paul simpleton, in love with a woman but corrupted by her family?

Wall Street Journal:

Logan’s children don’t come without attachments. Shiv has her fiancé, Tom, hugely ambitious—he’s been given a job at Waystar—intelligent, and utterly craven in the presence of the illustrious Roy family, including his future wife. Matthew Macfadyen is impeccable as Tom—at once innocent and manipulative, pathetic and vindictive, and the source of some of the show’s most delectable humor as he grovels his way into the bosom of the family.

CNN:  

"Succession" has put together first-rate teams both in front of and behind the camera. The former includes Matthew Macfadyen, playing against type as Shiv's incredibly needy boyfriend, who works for Roy's company and is painfully desperate to earn his approval.

Vanity Fair: 

 Siobhan’s got a real weaselly goober of a fiancé, Tom, played with jumpy energy by a terrificMatthew Macfadyen.We may buy neither his nor Snook’s American accents, but their scenes have a layered, thoughtful charge nonetheless.

Philly Inquirer:

And Succession has its share of comedy, some supplied by Matthew Macfadyen, who plays Shiv’s boyfriend, Tom, who may be even stranger than the family he longs to marry into.

The Guardian:

There are noteworthy performances beyond the Roy bloodline, too. Matthew Macfadyen, as Shiv’s oafish husband Tom, is amusingly corny when he gifts his father-in-law a Patek Philippe watch: “It’s incredibly accurate,” he says. “Every time you look at it it tells you exactly how rich you are.”