If there’s one thing HBO is going to do, it’s give us a show about rich, white people. Brave. Jesse Armstrong’s Succession is no exception, but at least the main takeaway from this prestige drama is that the excessively wealthy are extremely annoying at best and absolute monsters at worst. Or, more accurately, they’re a nauseating combination of the two. As a sex worker, I’m very familiar with the insufferable qualities of people with money, and I appreciate how Succession accurately depicts how morally bankrupt they are. Even more impressive is the show’s commentary on sex workers, which avoids stereotypes of victimhood and even makes the case that sex workers are much more honest and ethical than the power-hungry tycoons that run society.
Succession centers on the Roy family whose patriarch, Logan Roy, owns and runs Waystar Royco, a massive news media conglomerate. Fans have compared the Roys to the Murdochs, the Trumps, and even the fictional characters of Arrested Development. To me, they could be based on any of these people, as they are all essentially the same. They have an insane amount of money and they need the world to know how powerful that makes them. They are the worst people you’ve ever met. And they are someone sex workers know intimately, because they are our clients.
Connor Roy, the eldest Roy sibling is, in fact, a client of a sex worker. Art imitates life. He is in a mutually beneficial relationship with Willa, an escort/sugar baby who we’re introduced to in the first episode. Throughout the pilot episode, various comments are made about Willa and her profession, clearly to the wealthy’s amusement. A standout moment is when Tom, the partner of Shiv Roy, attempts to demean Willa to her face with a snarky comment about her job. Without missing a beat, Willa replies, “Hey, at least I’m only getting fucked by one member of this family.” Beyond absolutely eviscerating Tom in the most satisfying way, this line also bluntly lays out how Willa’s role as a sugarbaby/sex worker is more honest and less “dirty” than those the others play.

Every relationship between these characters is defined and dictated by money. Money is all that the Roy siblings know. They were born into it and while their father was never around, the millions he hoarded was. Money is family to the Roys. These people are willing to stab each other in the back over deals and promotions because fighting for money and power comes more naturally to them than loving and caring for their own family members. Meanwhile, Willa is simply getting paid to do her job, which happens to be spending time with a really annoying, rich guy. Sure, her relationship with Connor is based on money, but at least she’s upfront about it. She’s not the one playing dirty, sneaky games here.
Admittedly, I have no idea what the hell is happening half of the time when I’m watching Succession because there’s so much talk about “business” and “deals” and “the markets.” As a sex worker, the only deal I am familiar with is the one where I am sexy and charming and you pay me for it. A simple transaction that one would think would make perfect sense to people who are seemingly obsessed with making deals. It’s interesting, then, that the people who value money and business over everything else are so quick to judge and guffaw at the exchange of intimacy and sex for money. It’s hypocritical, even.
Each episode is packed with evidence that the Roys are not good people, both through dialogue and action. They say and do horrible things to each other on a regular basis. It’s their love language. Perhaps one of the most insidious examples of how running big business leads to unethical choices and corruption, is when a secret scandal at Waystar Royco comes to light. Hidden documents reveal that the company spent millions of dollars covering up sexual abuse and possibly murder, all of which has been classified as “NRPI,” (No Real Person Involved). This acronym is based on NHI (No Human Involved), which is unfortunately a very real thing and is used by law enforcement to describe crimes that are committed against those they, and society, deem undesirable: people with criminal records, people who use drugs, and sex workers. The uncovering of this scandal and the use of “NRPI” bluntly displays the way rich, powerful people see the world and the people who live “below” them in it. Their view is completely void of empathy and humanity. They are willing to pay to erase a human being’s death, and by extension, life. And yet, somehow they see sex workers as subhuman and immoral.
Not only does Succession show us that the rich are inherently morally corrupt, it also gives us a success story for a sex worker that avoids tired stereotypes and tropes. Willa comes out on top, and she and Connor’s relationship is arguably the most genuine in the show. They have an understanding of what each needs from the other, and there’s something rather wholesome about that. The two end up married with plans to live in different homes and do long distance. Willa has secured the bag and gets to live in peace. Being a sex worker pays off for her, which is more than any of the Roy siblings can say at the end of the series. It’s nice to see sex workers win. More of that in television, please.
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