Everyone loves the Succession theme song

Though many of us struggle to click “skip intro” when streaming a TV show, there’s a quiet community of people who actually enjoy watching the intro. I stand proudly with my brothers who, united, recline, recline on the couch and puff up “ahh” content noises while watching TV. Interviews set the tone and heightened that sense of escapism, which is what I want from a show: please take my mind off life, and especially this madman “ahh” noise I just made.

In an age of skipping past tracks and binge-watching episodes, I’m thrilled that networks are still making opening theme songs. One is particularly popular: the booming track for prestige dramas successor. That discordant piano riff and foreboding chord progression? Okay great sure whatever. But here’s the thing… lyrics are missing.

successor is an immersive show. You don’t turn it on in the background while you’re banging around the house, half watching, half listening, half completing chores, half Googling how many halves make a whole. While my rewinding, rewatching, and “What is Event??” Murmurs have informed me one must be careful. So what better way to help the audience than to begin the episode with a lyrical overview? Opening with instrumental, moody music robs the audience of an opportunity to engage in one of life’s simple pleasures: a sing-along.

There are countless examples of when TV shows got it right. The Brady Bund The theme is a classic for a reason. It gets the job done: explains the characters, summarizes the narrative, gives everyone a chance to sing a little song. A poet can only dream of writing a line as effective as, “They were four men, all living together… but they were all alone.”

Theme songs just got better and better over the years. Check out the incredible 90’s animated tour de force that was the theme The nanny. I genuinely believe this is an overlooked masterpiece that not only immerses you in the show’s universe, but lets you belt out the word “tan” to your heart’s content. And we can’t forget a theme song that will live forever in the brain of every millennium, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. successor‘s slow-burning piano tinkle doesn’t seem so great now, does it?

successor is just one in a long list of HBO’s prestige dramas. Don’t get me wrong, the network is great, and we all love following the silly little jokes of Logan Roy and his ragtag team of sociopathic kids. But as viewers, we learn pretty quickly that this show is “watchable” because of the pacing, the writing, and the themes. Starting a show with slow motion montages and somber instrumentals feels like they’re hitting us over the head with the message that this show is SERIOUS and CINEMATIC and HIGH-BROW. It feels almost desperate. For a show steeped in satire and obvious tongue-in-cheek fun at the rich and powerful, they could have chosen to take the theme song the other way and be tongue-in-cheek Brady Bunch-like sing-along. What a wasted opportunity!

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As we get older, we put aside old notions of what is “cool” and “uncool” in terms of our tastes in film and television. As someone who’s never been cool, I want to tell you something I’ve learned: More people like to sing along than they care to admit. The world is full of “I don’t like musicals but-” stories from people who go to great lengths to explain why musicals are cheesy and sickly, but just LOVE them [insert musical here].