There are so many things that fascinate me about the opening credits to HBOs Succession. The fact that it changes from season to season, slowly ditching home footage that looks 70s-esque in favor of more VHS-style treatments. That incredible shot of children being thrown about on the back of an elephant that's such a good visual metaphor for the series. But most interesting to me is how it seemingly wears its influence on its sleeve. It's a lot like the opening credits to the 1997 David Fincher movie The Game.

Let's compare!

There's the opening shot, which is virtually identical for both the show and the movie. (although Succession changed this shot in later seasons to one that shows all four of Logan's kids.)

There's mom watching her distant husband wander off from the family.

There are the servants bringing trays of food out to tents in the lawn.

There's dads silhouette peering through the curtains of a brightly lit window.

There are the kids playing in the grass, all wearing white, and Dad walking through the large green yard surrounded by tall trees.

There are siblings in their Sunday best posing for the camera in the garden.

And then, both sequences end by returning to the opening shot and having dad walk off, leaving the son alone in the frame.

Considering all of that, I thought I'd see if I could re-create the opening titles of Succession using nothing but footage from The Game.

The Succession credits change slightly from season to season, mostly adding footage. So I went with Season 4s credits as it seemed like a more fun challenge. For footage that I couldn't match, I tried to find something with a similar feel. Failing that, I went with whatever I could find in The Game that wouldn't feel too out of place in the HBO show. Luckily, there's plenty of rich stuff in both.

This was a fantastically fun way to spend the afternoon.

My Recreation

Side-by-Side Comparison

You know what? I still love the elephant, but four clowns falling all over each other isn't a bad visual metaphor for Sucesssion either.