When we think of the precursors of HBO’s masterful political satire Successionthe cult British sitcom Peep show is not something that naturally comes to mind. In fact, this would be one of the last TV series we could compare to Succession. Yet both shows somehow come from the same creator, 15 years apart.
There aren’t many TV shows like Successionwhich combines sharp wit and breathtaking twists and turns to tell the cataclysmic story of a business empire in free fall. The same could be said of Peep showwhich presents the story of two single men in their thirties who fail in life through the lens of a first-person camera.
Earlier in 2025, the film by Jesse Armstrong Mountain Head turned out to be quite similar to Successionas the multi-talented writer, director and producer decided to continue in the same vein as his award-winning TV show. Nevertheless, Armstrong’s first screenwriting creation in the early 2000s is so radically different from Succession that their connection is still mind-boggling.
Peep show is the ultimate anti-sitcom, focusing on the situationless ordinariness of Mark Corrigan and Jeremy “Jez” Usbourne living together in a south London apartment, via an innovative first-person camera format and desperate interior monologues. Jesse Armstrong created the show for Britain’s Channel 4 with his long-time writing partner Sam Bain, alongside television producer Andrew O’Connor.
15 years later, Armstrong’s big-budget American creation Successiona satire about a billionaire media mogul’s family nearing the end of his life as his company is beset by scandal after scandal, has debuted on HBO. At least at first glance, this series has nothing to do with Peep showand you would never imagine that they share a creator.
Succession and Peep Show couldn’t be more different from TV comedies
Peep show And Succession on the surface, nothing resembles television series. One is an anarchic, wickedly self-deprecating sitcom about two ordinary men living unfulfilled lives, which thrives on the mundane and minimal while adopting a brilliantly inventive filming format.
The other is a larger-than-life, but very accurate, political drama about a billionaire’s family jostling for office. Besides their thematic, visual, stylistic and tonal differences, the two shows are polar opposites. You have to look very, very closely to see that in reality, they share certain characteristics of the work of Jesse Armstrong.
Both series have a cynical, almost nihilistic view of society, expressed in the callous thoughts and actions of their characters. Succession begins with Roman Roy’s hideous baseball game prank on a little boy, while Peep showThe first episode sees Mark and Jez each use underhanded methods to try to woo their married neighbor.
These examples also highlight the quick one-liners and heartbreaking cringe moments that the series has in common. Beyond these comedic elements, however, there’s not much else to tie them together.
Armstrong’s work on Veep and the bulk of it clearly informed the estate
Despite the world of difference between Peep show And Successionthere are other projects that Jesse Armstrong worked on in the meantime that explain how he moved from one to the other. With two members of its editorial team, the Succession the creator was involved in the show Veepanother acclaimed political satire created by his longtime collaborator Armando Iannucci.
Veep is actually an American approximation of Ianucci’s British sitcom The thickness of itwhich counted Jesse Armstrong among its main authors. Both shows have obvious similarities to Succession.
It is the same Babylona comedy-drama about the London police that Armstrong co-created with Danny Boyle and his Peep show collaborator Sam Bain. Yet there is no doubt that his versatility as a series developer, from his first British sitcom to Successionis almost unrivaled in modern television.
