From Frat Baby to Kalispitron to The Biggest Turkey in the World, Waystar Studios is responsible for plenty of solid, mediocre entertainment in the Succession universe. Throughout the show’s four-season run, the writers of Succession prioritized the Shakespearean tragedy of the characters above all. But they also had a ton of fun with all the in-universe media pumped out by Logan Roy’s empire – particularly the mindless films produced by Waystar Studios. Waystar Studios is the only branch of the company that Roman felt comfortable working for, because it allowed him to flex his creative muscles (when he got his way, that is).
Every feather in the Waystar cap has a real-world parallel. ATN is Succession’s stand-in for Fox News; Brightstar Adventure Parks is its stand-in for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. But Waystar Studios isn’t based on any particular movie studio – it’s a parody of all of them. Waystar Studios is perhaps the division of Waystar Royco that the writers had the most fun with, because it presented an opportunity to poke fun at the world of Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. The fake movies in the world of Succession, like Robot Olympics, aren’t too far removed from the artless entertainment released by real Hollywood movie studios.
5 The Biggest Turkey In The World Parodies Holiday-Themed Movies
The first Waystar Studios production that played a major role in a Succession episode is the Thanksgiving-themed children’s movie The Biggest Turkey in the World. In season 1, episode 5, “I Went to Market,” the extended Roy family gathered at Logan’s lavish penthouse for Thanksgiving. When Roman caught his girlfriend Grace watching The Biggest Turkey in the World with Logan’s grandkids, laughing it up and enjoying the predictable plotline, he was furious. During Roman’s time in Tinseltown, he vehemently fought against greenlighting the movie and was overruled by the other executives. The success of The Biggest Turkey in the World represents Roman’s failure as a Hollywood power player.
There’s a hilarious irony in the title The Biggest Turkey in the World, because the film itself sounds like the biggest turkey in the world. It’s a bland, cheesy, formulaic family movie that appeals to the lowest common denominator. The movie may have been a creatively bankrupt endeavor, but The Biggest Turkey in the World was an ingenious business move on Waystar Studios’ part. Holiday-themed movies are a big seller because, when they catch on and kids like them, they warrant annual rewatches. There are plenty of Christmas movies, but not a lot of Thanksgiving movies, explaining why The Biggest Turkey in the World was a hit.
4 The Frat Baby Franchise Is A Satire Of Comedy Movie Titles
In season 2, episode 6, “Argestes,” when Logan was more concerned with the production of Waystar Studios’ summer tentpoles than the Brightstar Cruise Lines sexual abuse scandals, Shiv quipped, “People who are writing about cruise abuse scandals are not gonna be getting all kissy for a plot twist in Frat Baby 2.” This implies that Waystar Studios made a movie called Frat Baby that was so successful that it launched a franchise with at least one sequel. Frat Baby sounds like a fun-filled farce about the immature of a college fraternity trying to take care of a baby, or a baby somehow ing a fraternity.
The title Frat Baby is a hilarious satire of comedy movie titles that sum up the high-concept premise in two words and do what they say on the tin: Knocked Up, White Chicks, Ride Along, Tower Heist, Anger Management. The fact that Frat Baby got a sequel highlights how Waystar Studios favors commercialism over artistic integrity, since comedy sequels are almost always inferior: Zoolander 2, Wayne’s World 2, Dumb and Dumber To, The Hangover Part II, etc. Given Logan’s fondness for the franchise, if Frat Baby 2 did well at the box office, fans in the Succession universe could count on Frat Baby 3 getting made.
3 The Kalispitron Franchise Satirizes Transformers & The MCU Layout
Frat Baby isn’t the only franchise in the Waystar Studios library; the studio also produces the Kalispitron franchise. In season 2, episode 8, “Dundee,” when Ewan described his brother as a “morally bankrupt... nothing man” who is more “personally responsible for the death of this planet” than anyone else on Earth, Greg offered a weak counterargument in Logan’s defense: “He also makes the Kalispitron franchise, which is, uh, y’know, solid, mediocre entertainment.” A poster for Kalispitron: Destroyer of Moons is seen in Greg’s office in season 3, episode 4, “Lion in the Meadow,” and the troubled production of Kalispitron: Hibernation is mentioned in Succession season 4, episode 5, “Kill List.”
The Kalispitron series is a catch-all parody of movie franchises that regularly churn out big-budget sequels and spin-offs purely because audiences have proven that they’re willing to shell out to see them (like the live-action Transformers movies or the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Every couple of years, a new Kalispitron movie comes out with just enough spectacle to be worth the price of ission. Just like with a Transformers movie, audiences know what they’re getting into with a Kalispitron movie. It won’t be an inspired, heartfelt, life-changing movie, but it will provide standard-issue blockbuster escapism – or, as Greg puts it, “solid, mediocre entertainment” – for a couple of hours.
2 Robot Olympics Is A Parody Of Real Steel
Roman’s desire to be a movie mogul – and the fact that his terrible ideas hold him back – were introduced way back in season 1, episode 1, “Celebration.” As he was rounding out the characters in the pilot script, series creator Jesse Armstrong included a mention of a movie called Robot Olympics that Roman tried and failed to get made while he was working at Waystar Studios. The scene that best exemplifies who Roman is in the pilot is when he rips up a million-dollar check in front of a child, but Robot Olympics says a lot about his artistic sensibility.
Robot Olympics sounds like it could be a fun movie – certainly more fun than The Biggest Turkey in the World. It would take the familiar framework of a sports underdog story and add a sci-fi twist as all the athletes are robots. It’s reminiscent of the movie Real Steel, starring Hugh Jackman as a boxing trainer who tries to turn a janky old robot into a champion. However, the animatronics and/or CGI effects that would be required to bring a cast of robots to life might have required a big budget that the board considered too risky for a silly comedy.
1 Dr. Honk Is A Parody Of Dr. Dolittle
While Roman objected to greenlighting The Biggest Turkey in the World, Succession fans got a glimpse at the kind of movie that Roman would greenlight in season 3, episode 6, “What It Takes.” At a political conference, Shiv – in her signature back-stabbing manner – gently reminded Logan that the only worthwhile contribution that Roman made during his time at Waystar Studios was greenlighting the high-concept comedy Dr. Honk, which was apparently a big box office success. Dr. Honk is about a man who can talk to cars, a premise even more absurd than Dr. Dolittle’s story about a man who can talk to animals.
It’s no wonder that Roman became disillusioned with the film industry in his pre-Succession backstory if Dr. Honk is the only thing he got made during his tenure at the studio. Despite the ridiculousness of the concept, Dr. Honk could work with the right casting. Jim Carrey has managed to make hit movies playing a man who acquires the almighty powers of God, a man who can’t tell a lie for 24 hours, and a man who has been the unwitting star of a round-the-clock reality show since he was born. He could have a lot of scenery-chewing fun with the role of a man who can talk to cars.
