《继承之战》为何如此受追捧？
随着《权力的游戏》结束，我们不断地问：接下来还能看什么呢？
虽然新的美剧和英剧不断地涌现，其中也不乏精彩之作，但有一些过于短小，比如只有6集。另一些，则显然不太可能达到《权游》的热度。
而评论界最近则开始垂青一部同样出自HBO的大作，目前才只播了一季。
但奇怪的是，它的豆瓣评分只有7.9，在国外的反响也远没有《权游》那么热烈。
它就是《继承之战》Succession
这样一部剧为什么会受到评论界的追捧？它的魅力到底在哪？
Why HBO’s Succession will be the new Game of Thrones
为什么说HBO推出的《继承之战》会取代《权力的游戏》？
The darkly funny family drama has plenty in common with Game of Thrones without feeling like an exact copy.
这部充满黑色幽默的家庭剧与《权力的游戏》有诸多共同点，却不会让人觉得这是一部《权力的游戏》的翻版。
If it has a second season as good as or better than its first, HBO’s Succession seems likely to become our next TV obsession
如果HBO电视网的《继承之战》有第二季，而且像第一季那样精彩，或是比第一季更精彩，那这部剧似乎有可能成为下一部令我们着迷的电视剧。
Most predictions of “the next big show” tend to look at series that resemble the last big show. So in this case, we might look to Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings adaptation and suggest the Game of Thrones magic will be recaptured there.
多数对“下一部大作”的预测往往都是与前一部大作相似的作品，因此我们也许会倾向于亚马逊即将推出的剧版《指环王》，并在这部剧中重温《权力的游戏》的魔力。
Similarly, HBO is clearly betting at least a little bit on Westworld, which inherits Game of Thrones’ late spring premiere and timeslot next year. Both of these genre series have numerous obvious similarities to Game of Thrones.
同样地，HBO显然有点押注于《西部世界》，这部剧也像《权力的游戏》一样在春末首映，第二年播完。这两部剧都与《权力的游戏》有明显的相似性。
But reconsider the shows Game of Thrones replaced - Breaking Bad and Mad Men. Neither series has many superficial similarities to Game of Thrones.
但也可以重新考虑一下让《绝命毒师》和《广告狂人》接替《权力的游戏》，这两部剧表面上与《权力的游戏》都没有什么相似性。
But if you look a little deeper, both have elements in common with Game of Thrones that may suggest why each led to the other.
但如果你深入了解一下，两部剧都有与《权力的游戏》相同的元素，这些元素也许可以说明每部剧可以取代另一部的原因。
Breaking Bad’s willingness to plot a psychologically rich portrayal of one man’s descent into darkness against a pulp fiction background, for instance, has plenty in common with how Game of Thrones tells stories, while Mad Men also offered an alternate world to get lost in.
例如，《绝命毒师》虽然设计了一个庸俗小说式的虚构背景，但从心理上细致地刻画了一名堕入黑暗的男子，这与《权力的游戏》展开故事的方式有很多共同点，而《广告狂人》也展示了一个会迷失自我的另类世界。
This is why I submit that HBO’s Succession - a twisted and incredibly funny family drama about a clan of media moguls who are jostling for position to take over the family empire - has what it takes to fill Game of Thrones’ shoes.
这也是我选择HBO《继承之战》代替《权力的游戏》的原因，这是一部古怪又搞笑的家庭剧，它讲述了一个媒体巨头家族中的成员争夺家族集团掌控权的故事。
For one thing, it’s already a show plenty of people are deeply obsessed with.
首先，很多人已经沉迷于这部剧。
For another, it has plenty in common with Game of Thrones (this is another battle for a different throne, with twisted family dynamics to rival those of Westeros), while not feeling too similar to it.
其次，这部剧与《权力的游戏》有诸多共同点（这是争夺一个不同王座的另一场战争，其家族中纠结的人物关系堪比维斯特洛大陆上众多家族复杂的关系），但却不会使观众觉得这两部剧太相似。
What’s more, the series’ portrayal of the absurd, obscene divide between those with wealth and those without feels incredibly timely in 2019, in the same way that Game of Thrones’ existential battle against a bunch of ice-cold invaders who were trying to get past a giant wall could stand in for whatever political problem you wanted them to.
更重要的是，这部剧刻画了那些富人和穷人之间众多不合理的分歧，这在2019年让人觉得特别应景。同样地，《权力的游戏》也展现了人类与试图翻过长城的冷漠无情的异鬼大军之间的生存之战，这也可以算是你想要看到的政治斗争了吧。
In fact, if Succession takes the crown, it might be in line with some earlier dramas that became big hits in the ’80s: Dallas and Dynasty.
事实上，如果《继承之战》夺冠，它也许会像早期80年代的热门剧《豪门恩怨》（Dallas和Dynasty的中译名都是《豪门恩怨》）一般。
Those shows started out feinting toward being critiques of American excess, but they were all too happy to become lolls in a giant money pit.
这些剧作最初伪装成对美国过度消费的批判，但之后的剧情太欢乐而成为陷在钱堆里的寻欢作乐。
So far, Succession seems sharper and more acidic, less likely to bring in Joan Collins (or whoever her 2019 equivalent would be) just to goose the drama. But my larger point - that the divide between haves and have-nots can make for a hit TV show that appeals to just about everybody - remains.
到目前为止，《继承之战》似乎更尖锐，而且不太可能邀请琼·科林斯（或2019年与她旗鼓相当的人）来只是为了宣传这部剧。但我认为，富人和穷人之间的分歧会使这部剧成为热门，因为这会引起所有人的兴趣。
Now, the biggest obstacle standing in Succession’s way is that its second season (debuting in August) has to be fantastic to take off in the way I think it could. But even there, the show is promising.
如今，《继承之战》最大的障碍就是其第二季（于八月首映）必须要像我所想的那样精彩，不过这是有希望实现的。
It’s made by experienced TV hands (Jesse Armstrong of Peep Show fame), and its first season very much displayed a learning curve that was going in the right direction.
这部剧是由经验丰富的电视剧制片人（曾拍摄过著名的《窥视秀》的杰西·阿姆斯特朗）制作的，而且这部剧第一季展现了其方向正确的学习过程。
The series could fall flat on its face, but I’m betting it won’t.
这部剧也许会惨败，但我相信它不会。
Succession is on HBO’s streaming platforms. Season two debuts in August. Don’t you want to be able to sound cooler than your friends?
《继承之战》在HBO电视网的流媒体平台上播出，第二季将于八月首映。你难道不想比朋友们显得更酷吗？
