Succession creator Jesse Armstrong says he struggles with impostor syndrome

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 2 min read 100% complete by Nadeem BadshahJanuary 11, 2026 at 01:01 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the hit HBO drama *Succession*, has spoken about his experiences with impostor syndrome despite his success. Armstrong, who also co-wrote *In The Loop* and worked on *Peep Show*, described the collaborative nature of a writers' room as a magical experience when it works well. However, he admitted to feeling self-doubt and uncertainty about his work, even after winning multiple Emmys and Golden Globes for *Succession*, which concluded in 2023. Armstrong shared his thoughts on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, explaining that many successful writers he knows also struggle with self-doubt. He believes a degree of confidence is needed to strive for the best version of a story.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Peep Show 30% UK 30% Simon Blackwell 40% Armando Iannucci 40% Tony Roche 40% Lauren Laverne 40% HBO 50% Brian Cox ×260% Logan Roy ×270% Succession ×380% Jesse Armstrong ×490%

Keywords

impostor syndrome 100% jesse armstrong 90% succession 80% writers' room 70% screenwriter 70% writing process 60% self-doubt 60% creative process 50% hbo drama 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

United Kingdom

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

impostor syndrome jesse armstrong succession writers' room screenwriter writing process self-doubt creative process hbo drama

Explore Full Topic Graph