Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy in Succession
(HBO)

Riverdale Invoked the Name of Succession’s Kendall Roy and My Soul Left My Body

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Imagine my shock when suddenly Kevin Keller on Riverdale started to talk about Succession. Riverdale is a show that somehow exists and continues to exist, and we just let it happen. I don’t know why we let it happen but it is a show that certainly keeps existing. With each new season, I fall more in love with all the nonsense that the kids (now adults?) of Riverdale bring to me.

Succession is an acclaimed HBO drama series that follows the Roy family and is filled with betrayal, too much money, and extremely weird family antics like Boar On The Floor. It has won Emmys, it is one of the best shows on television currently, and the fact that Riverdale is bringing it up is both baffling and seems like a cry for help. I hope the Riverdale writer who wrote these references gets to write for Succession one day. You deserve it.

This Succession shout-out came out of nowhere and left me screaming. Kevin Keller randomly mentions Succession when they’re talking about the town of Riverdale losing its township. How does that relate to Succession? I truly have no idea. It had nothing to do with the show at all but Kevin Keller is a Succession stan so I have no choice but to respect him.

From there, they go to a town hall meeting where Toni Topaz gets up and explains that Riverdale High was going to become a private school because of a donation from Cheryl Blossom and basically tells Hiram Lodge that he wasn’t going to take Riverdale High away from the town.

It was a fine moment. It’s Riverdale. Nothing is award-worthy here. But Kevin, who I thought was on my side, mentioned Succession yet again. He compared Toni Topaz telling the town of Riverdale that a high school was going private to Kendall Roy’s press conference at the end of season 2 of Succession. 

I just …

What’s fascinating to me is that Riverdale (which jumped seven years from its last season and is somehow in 2021 so … we were just watching a show set in 2013 without any information that it was 2013 these last few years) decided that out of all the shows it could reference, it was going to shout out the Emmy-award winning Succession

cousin greg

Of all the shows that actually could connect with Riverdale, they said “Succession rights!” But it does make me wonder what other shows Kevin Keller is watching in his free time. Is he binge-watching The Queen’s Gambit? I’m positive he has thoughts on Emily In Paris. He probably was tweeting about I May Destroy You rights and I love that for Kevin Keller.

Anyway, Kevin Keller perform Kendall Roy’s entire rap challenge.

(image: HBO)

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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.