Chiantishire (Succession)

The series filmed on location in Italy from June to August 2021, primarily in the Tuscan region of Val d'Orcia: for "Chiantishire", the villa La Foce served as the estate where Caroline's wedding guests stay,[2] while the villa Buonriposo was used as Kendall's vacation home – where both his conversation with Logan as well as the episode's ending were shot.[4] The scene where Shiv and Tom discuss childbirth was filmed at the village of Bagno Vignoni on the production's first day in Tuscany; Armstrong characterized the scene as a "successor" to the scene where Tom admits his dissatisfaction with his marriage to Shiv in the season 2 finale "This Is Not for Tears".[3] Additionally, Shiv and Caroline's conversation during the latter's bachelorette party was filmed in the town of Cortona, located in the province of Arezzo.[2]

Outside of Tuscany, the production filmed on location in Milan, where Waystar meets with bankers to discuss the GoJo acquisition,[2] while Villa La Cassinella in Lake Como served as Lukas Matsson's vacation home, standing in for Lake Maggiore.[1] The latter location was used for both "Chiantishire" and the season finale, "All the Bells Say".[5]

Upon airing, the episode was watched by 0.613 million viewers, with an 18-49 rating of 0.12.[6]

Critics praised Kieran Culkin's performance in the episode.

"Chiantishire" received widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Armstrong's writing, Mylod's direction, and the episode's performances and emotional stakes. Roxana Hadadi of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, describing it as "a true symphony of horrendous family dynamics, poisonous ambition, and people using and abusing each other over and over and over." Hadadi particularly praised the economy of Armstrong's script, writing, "you could argue any of these interactions was the most important to understanding where these characters are now and where they're going next."[7] Michael Hogan of The Guardian felt the episode was the series' "most horrifying" to date, praising the performances of both Harriet Walter – as "delightfully bitchy" – and Kieran Culkin, for depicting Roman's "cocky bravado [fall] away to reveal the little boy beneath."[8]

Noel Murray of The New York Times praised the "intense and emotional" dinner meeting between Kendall and Logan, and felt the episode illustrated how Logan's "combination of greed, envy and paranoia has been passed on to his children."[9] Ben Travers of IndieWire was slightly less positive: he praised Culkin's performance during the episode's comedic climax, writing that the actor's "burrowing-under-the-table mortification makes for an indelible image," but criticized the episode's pace for constraining too many narrative developments into a short timeframe. He wrote: "At 64 minutes, 'Chiantishire' is bulkier than your typically tight Succession entry. [...] It lumbers a bit, as it moves between emotionally weighty back-and-forths. In another season, any of the bombs being dropped may have been given a little more space to detonate."[10]

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote that the episode "crackles with tragicomic energy, featuring some of the funniest and saddest moments of the whole season." Sepinwall also singled out the scene between Logan and Kendall for praise, describing it as "on another level from everything else in the hour" and "one of the best [moments] of the whole series." He likened the episode overall to "a dry run for a version of Succession in which Kendall is no longer around."[11] Philippa Snow of The Independent gave the episode 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "delightfully peculiar" and suggesting that its heightened pace and location choices would satisfy viewers who felt that earlier episodes in the season "have felt circular or been confined to the boardroom."[12] Similarly, Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic, who had previously criticized the first seven episodes of the season for feeling "stuck" and lacking dramatic stakes,[13] wrote that the episode "finally [...] gave some texture to the characters after seven-plus hours of insults, sniping, marital froideur, and dick jokes." She concluded her review by writing, "'Chiantishire' was Succession at its best: savage, brutal, bleak."[14]

"Chiantishire" was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards at the 74th ceremony: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Sarah Snook's performance, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Harriet Walter's performance, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series.