HBO Review: ‘Mountainhead’ is a Familiar if Not Quite as Fulfilling Return to the Same World as ‘Succession’

There are few television series in recent years that have felt like nearly as much a part of the cultural zeitgeist as Succession, which wrapped its four-season run with a staggering Emmy haul almost exactly two years ago. It’s fair to assume that the follow-up project from series creator Jesse Armstrong would be highly anticipated. Mountainhead arrives in much the same manner as that show, featuring unimaginably wealthy people with extremely questionable morals contemplating how to pull the strings of those less fortunate in an intriguing but not quite as fulfilling thought experiment stuffed with rich, pretentious conversation.

Souper (Jason Schwartzman) is preparing to host three of his old friends at his lavish abode that’s dripping in excess, contemplating power dynamics and opting to abandon the master bedroom so that Randall (Steve Carell) can have the most luxurious accommodations. It’s apparently awkward that both Venis (Cory Michael Smith) and Jeff (Ramy Youssef) will be in attendance given the former’s harsh words for the latter on a recent podcast, but the history is so deep with these four that it feels like they’re used to stabbing each other in the back and then just moving past it, since their profit-fueled lives depend so much on riding the most desirable trends at any given moment.

There’s something very recognizable about the world that these men inhabit that will be entirely familiar to fans of Succession, since any of the Roy siblings could easily have been present at this kind of summit on a number of occasions. Yet the difference here is that, without four seasons of hourlong episodes to delve into their backstories and see how they act in different situations, these characters exist in just under two hours of screen time, making reference to past moments and more detail about what it is that they do but without the benefit of being able to truly get to know how any of them operate when they’re not in the presence of such soulless kindred spirits.

Whether or not audiences are meant to have any sort of empathy for these four is up for debate. Randall is told early on that his medical prognosis is quite poor, but he doesn’t reveal the severity of his condition to his friends for fear of seeming weak. Souper’s nickname isn’t terribly complimentary, and he’s trying so hard to make sure everyone is impressed with his hosting abilities while they all treat money as if it’s disposable and immediately replenishable. Jeff feels like he has a moral compass but only in comparison to his buddies since he still does much of what they all do, while Venis doesn’t even pretend to have a heart, focused only on forging ahead and leaving behind anyone who threatens to slow him down.

Watching people like this on screen might feel like a decent type of escape, not quite comedy given the brutality they reference and callously dismiss with ease, caring little for the masses, but it could also be coming at exactly the wrong time when popular opinion has turned against the idea of the rich having enjoyed comfortable lives without consequences for far too long. These four don’t squirm nearly enough to deliver a satisfying takedown of their lifestyles, and there’s only so much delight that can be taken in watching those typically used to commanding trades and ordering around minions having to resort to getting things done themselves with their bare hands. Armstrong’s writing is still quick, sharp, and undeniably inviting, and it’s particularly compelling to watch Smith and Youssef deliver layered interpretations of these characters. With such talent involved, however, it might have felt more worthwhile to flesh out these men and their world, offering a sequel of sorts to Succession that didn’t feel quite as rushed or constrained by the nature of its format.

Movie Rating: 6/10