Behind the scenes of ‘Succession’ election episode
On Sunday, HBO’s dark satire “Succession” aired an uncanny episode set inside a cable news network covering a close presidential election between a far-right Republican and a moderate Democrat. In it, international affairs expert Thomas M. Nichols played the role of a right-wing analyst who spins a conspiratorial narrative after a fire destroys 100,000 absentee ballots in a swing state. A professor emeritus of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, Nichols has taught at the Harvard Extension School and is a writer at The Atlantic. When he received the call to play a pundit on a fictional news channel inspired by Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire, he didn’t think twice. The Gazette asked Nichols about the lessons he learned from both watching the show and being on it. The interview has been edited for clarity and length. Spoiler alert: If you haven’t yet watched Episode 8 in the current...