Succession is a television show that premiered in 2018 on HBO. It follows the fictional Roy family, a wealthy and powerful media conglomerate family, as they navigate the complexities of family dynamics and corporate power struggles. The patriarch of the family, Logan Roy, is the CEO of the company and is faced with the decision of who will succeed him as leader.

It's a long-long way from flying nun to matriarch of a powerhouse television family. Sally Field has landed in a very good place, anchoring a powerful cast on ABC's award-winning "Brothers and Sisters." The "Brothers and Sisters" plot undoubtedly fits together for viewers who have remained faithful from the very first episode, in which William Walker, pater familiae and founder of Ojai Foods, drops dead. Kitty, his wife, mourns properly and just as properly takes charge as her grown children and their families gather around her. Mourning grows complicated as William Walker's deep-dark secrets come to life, and family life heats up as different family members cope with different secrets in different ways. From five family members come forty possible combinations and recombinations, and from those possibilities spring infinite plots"”even before writers and producers add significant others and children. "Brothers and Sisters" can hold its exalted Sunday night place indefinitely. Unlike some riveting family dramas, "Brothers and Sisters" does not show bitter, fierce, destructive sibling rivalry. For the most part, these big kids like one another, and their mother loves them all. Of course, one is an Afghan war veteran with a drug problem, and another is a gay lawyer, the favourite son and heir has both financial and marital difficulties, but the real odd-ball is the daughter who breaks the family's liberal tradition and takes-up with the likes of Ann Coulter and Mike Huckabee. Did we mention that "Brothers and Sisters" has the stuff to go on indefinitely?

"Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" - different gladiator, same sex and violence. Starz' deliciously decadent"”salacious, violent, often flat-out brutal"”"Spartacus: Blood and Sand" recently went on extended hiatus, leaving its legions of loyal fans "jonesing" for their weekly doses of decapitation and bare breasts. The Spartacus team satisfied fans' craving with "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," a six-episode prequel to the continuing saga of Batiatus and Associates. Starting with a flashback montage of "Blood and Sand's" greatest hits, more precisely Batiatus's life flashing before his eyes in the moment before his death, "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" shows Batiatus's rise to prominence and power with the assistance and support of his all-pro gladiator Gannicus. Because these stories represent "a more ruthless time"¦where honor was just finding its way into the arena," the writers and producers feel free to elaborate and experiment with their already-established characters, and they feel similar artistic license with super-slow-motion gore and fun-fantasy sex. They clearly are perfecting their craft. One particularly insightful viewer concluded his review of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" with a sage observation: "I think that's one of the smart decisions putting it on a Friday night since it's an ideal end of the work week thing to watch."

Fiercely reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and at least as complicated, HBO's "Game of Thrones'" chronicles the genuinely epic story of seven noble families' struggles over control of Westeros, their mythical homeland. Observing all the properly epic conventions, and developing truly epic heroes and villains, "The Game of Thrones" was adapted for television from George Martin's fantasy novel, Song of Ice and Fire. The ten-episode series weaves together seventeen major characters' political and sexual schemes, mixing-in plenty of knightly sword-play and lots of nightly trysts. Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Iain Glen, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey, and Sean Bean lead a powerful cast. Shot entirely on location in Ireland, "Game of the Thrones" is as beautiful as it is complex and treacherous, and the landscape lends itself to The Game's mystic and horrible undertones. While the Lannister and Stark families challenge the Baratheon family's rule, "an ancient evil awakes," and only a band of renegade knights errant stands between Westeros and "the horrors beyond the realms of men." Somehow, in "Game of Thrones'" far away medieval realm, civil war and imminent apocalypse look a lot more noble, sexy, and glamorous than they appear in the post-modern world.

Emma Becker (Alexandra Chando from Medium, As The World Turns) is a big hearted girl who grew up in foster homes and has nearly always had bad luck. When she finds out she has a sister that is her identical twin (Sutton Mercer also played by Chando) she must meet her and when she does discovers her sister was adopted and the parents are wealthy so her life must be ideal, right? After getting acquainted the two sisters decide to swap lives for a time and soon we see Sutton pursuing leads to find her birth mother. But when Sutton turns up missing Emma needs to find her and there comes the dilemma, whether or not to tell her folks she's been deceiving them by portraying her sister. Through the twists and turns that follow her Lying Games she and her sister will discover the truth leading up to why the had originally become separated at birth. Also starring Andy Buckley (The Other Guys, The Office) as Ted Mercer adoptive father of Sutton) and Helen Slater (City Slickers, Ruthless People) portrays Kristin Mercer, Suttons adoptive mom.

Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer knows there is little funny about the subject. And to be a young suburban housewife and a mother as well is, well let's say downright depressing to talk about such a burden. But Cathy Jamison manages to bring a lighter aspect to the Big C even as she deals with her immature husband. Laura Linney (Mystic River, Love Actually) plays Catherine Jamison who is a high school teacher diagnosed with melanoma. Not one to simply lie down and die Cathy infuses plenty of humor, sometimes dark humor, into her life and bolsters her family's outlook as well. Her husband Paul, played by Oliver Platt (Year One, Frost/Nixon) apparently has a child like vision of his life and approaches the situation with his wife as if it simply does not exist. Cathy also has a son and a brother with whom she tries to improve relationships with, not knowing if she will be around much longer. Humor is found in the rocky relationships between family and friends who handle her serious illness in different manners and the last thing Cathy needs is squabbling relatives when she has her own worries. It's all handled with a lightness that the writers find even in trying times.