Succession fans highlight the Peep Show references in HBO drama

Succession fans have been busy compiling the show’s several references to Peep Show.

Jesse Armstrong, who co-created the long-running sitcom, was also the genius behind Succession, which has cemented its status as one of HBO’s most acclaimed shows.

Succession tells the story of the Roy siblings as they lobby to become the successor to their father’s media empire, while the stakes of Peep Show are somewhat lower: it follows two dysfunctional flatmates, played by David Mitchell and Robert Webb, over the course of nine series.

Many US fans who are yet to watch Peep Show are now seeking out the series based on how much they enjoyed Succession.

When they do, they will notice several Easter eggs when they get around to re-watching Succession now the show has has come to an end.

A number of these have been highlighted by Twitter user @PodcastPharaohs.

In Succession season two, a character on the investigation committee is revealed to be called Stefan Strauss – he is played by Christopher Kelly. This is the same name of a character featured in Peep Show, who is a senior JLB Credit executive where Mark (Mitchell) works.

Logan (Brian Cox) is the source of a few nods: in season two episode nine, he says of Rhea (Holly Hunter) “she can’t hack the hate”, which is a line used by Super Hans (Matt King) in season seven episode “New Year’s Eve”.

Elsewhere, in season three, Logan describes a character as being “a seat sniffer”, which Mark said about his colleague Jeff (Neil Fitzmaurice) in Peep Show.

In Succession’s season one wedding episode, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) describes the actions of Greg (Nicholas Braun) has not being “very wedding-y”, which seems like a nod to the classic Peep Show’s line, spoken by Jeremy (Webb) after Mark loses his rag when he believes he’s forgotten to buy the Christmas turkey: “That wasn’t very Christmassy.”

Others have been drawing comparison between both shows. Another examples comes in season three of Succession, when Shiv (Sarah Snook) says she doesn’t “want to be buried like Miss Havisham with a f***ing bonnet full of clever stratagems,” which could very much be a nod to Mark’s line in Peep Show series nine: “I don’t want to end up on my own, like Miss Havisham, w***ing into a flannel.”

Meanwhile, another viewer noticed the similarity between the name of Lady Caroline’s husband Peter Munion (Pip Torrens) and Peter Mannion (Roger Allam) in The Thick of It, a sitcom which Armstrong wrote for.

Succession’s finale has been praised by critics and fans alike – and many are now analysing the episode’s many surprising moments, including Shiv’s hand-holding reunion with Tom.