I’ve been in a little cabin outside New York with my wife and sons since March. I’m more of a townie, but it’s been great to watch the seasons. We’ve had snow. Now the sun is shining and woodpeckers, chipmunks and squirrels visit us.
I’ve really got into A French Village, a series about the German occupation of France during the second world war. It’s a bit melodramatic, but completely addictive. I’ve also been enjoying Rita, about this raunchy schoolteacher from Denmark. And I’m an old movie buff, so a whole season of Jean Arthur films on the Criterion Channel has been wonderful.
I’m also watching Reign, which is about Mary, Queen of Scots, but has no relation to Mary, Queen of Scots whatsoever. It’s more influenced by Game of Thrones. As a Scot, I thought it’d be interesting. It’s very kitsch and total nonsense, but absolutely compelling.
Succession is about the inadequacies of the Roy children because of what they’ve inherited and the process of entitlement, and we see that daily here in America. Families like the Kushners and the Trumps are not fitted to their posts but behave imperiously. We’re seeing it even more during this Covid crisis with the ridiculousness of Trump and his doppelganger in the UK. Succession really is a saga of our now. It’s a comment on how we’ve allowed people to earn power through wealth. Except that Logan Roy is far wiser than Boris Johnson or Donald Trump put together.
I’ve converted my cabin into a voiceover studio. I’m in the middle of recording an excellent documentary on the Catalan crisis that’s hopefully going out on the BBC. As a Scot, I’m very empathetic to the appalling way the Catalans were treated by the Spanish government. I’m dying to get back to work so I can get some rest.
There’s so much going on. Zoom meetings, endless podcasts: “Can you do this appeal or that appeal?” I’ve had charity work up to the wazoo. I long to get back to Succession just so I can go and sit in my trailer for half an hour for a bit of peace and quiet.
• Succession seasons one and two are available on Sky TV and NOW TV, and available to download.
