Yahoo News Brian Cox Blames Bad Cable for ‘Doing TV Wrong’ as DirecTV’s ‘Overly Direct Spokesman’ — Watch
Brian Cox is telling unreliable cable providers to “fuck off.”
The “Succession” Emmy winner debuted his latest role as the “Overly Direct Spokesman” for DirecTV. The persona is part of the new campaign around the Android TV-powered Gemini wireless option.
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“Let me be direct: You’re doing TV wrong!” Cox bellows in the hilarious commercial, directed by Jody Hill.
The tagline for the campaign is: “Stop compromising, start watching.”
“I thoroughly enjoy being the Overly Direct Spokesperson,” Cox said in a press statement. “The main broadcast spot is truly an ode to all that DirecTV is doing to simplify their TV watching experience.”
Cox’s DirecTV deal mirrors his “Succession” role as media conglomerate Waystar Royco head. Cox’s iconic turn as Logan Roy caught the eye of TBWA\Chiat\Day executive director Jason Karley, who told Muse by Clio that Cox was the first choice for the campaign.
“We had backups of course,” Karley said. “But he was the prototype and the dream. He has the unique ability to sound both sincere and caring, yet critical and unfiltered in the same sentence.”
“Succession” is set to conclude with its current fourth season. Cox admitted that he will miss the cast, adding, “I’ll miss the atmosphere, I’ll miss the bonhomie. [My character] Logan, probably, I’ll miss a bit. But upward and onwards.”
Cox continued to Entertainment Tonight, “In a good way, I’m happy it’s over. I think we’ve, you know, got to the point where the show has reached its natural closure.”
Cox cited series creator Jesse Armstrong for wrapping up the viral show at the right time.
“Jesse won’t let anything go on further than it needs to,” Cox said. “A lot of shows outstay their welcome, and I think our show is perfect, and neat, in the way it is.”
Armstrong announced in February 2023 that “Succession” would bow this year.
“The word that comes to mind for me is ‘natural,” Armstrong said of the ending. “I hope people, when they see this season, will feel that it has a natural shape to it. That’s how I pitched it to my writers’ room, kind of hoping I’d get argued out of it so we’d see a way to do more seasons, because I love working with these people. I think there’s a feeling of completeness and rightness to the shape of the show.”
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