Riches, ITVX review — family feud drama is not quite the black British Succession

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The ITV series Riches — about siblings fighting to seize control of a lucrative family business — is not the “new Succession”. Nor is it the “British Succession” or the “black Succession”, despite what countless previews may be promising.

It’s fair to say that it doesn’t try to be. Yes, there are some obvious narrative overlaps with “the best show on TV” (© all reviewers), but if Jesse Armstrong’s series is frequently compared to a piece of theatre, then Abby Ajayi’s Riches knowingly delivers a diverting night at the soap opera.

We begin with the death of patriarch Stephen Richards (Hugh Quarshie), chief executive of a leading beauty company proudly run for, and by, black people. The expectation is that his son Gus (Ola Orebiyi) will now take charge and look after the interests of his mother and two younger sisters. But what Stephen bequeaths his next of kin is a serious shock. His business empire isn’t being left to the children he raised, but those he abandoned in the US 30 years earlier.

What follows is scene after scene of histrionics and hostilities: bowls are hurled, rooms are stormed out of, lawyers are wielded. For the New York-based marketing executive Nina (Deborah Ayorinde) and stylist brother Simon (Emmanuel Imani), this is an opportunity to reclaim a company co-founded by their mother. For Stephen’s “main” family, it’s an unpalatable humiliation and a threat to their cosseted lifestyles. “What am I supposed to do with £20k a month?” snaps wife Claudia (an enjoyably combustible Sarah Niles).

Running parallel to the melodramatic power struggles are moments that reflect on the precariousness of black privilege and the freedoms from prejudice that money can’t buy. Urgent observations though these are, it can be hard to reconcile the meaty topics with the hamminess of the execution.

Nuance is not a commodity readily found in Riches, and its soapy approach will turn off many viewers. But at least there’s enough family tension to sustain us here until a certain other show returns.

★★★☆☆

On ITVX in the UK from December 22. On Amazon Prime Video in the US now

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