More Than Just a Theme Song
When we talk about a show’s musical identity, we’re not just talking about the 60-second banger that opens each episode. It’s the entire sonic palette—the collection of sounds, instruments, and melodic fragments that define the emotional landscape of the series.
Think of it as the show's subconscious. It’s the unsettling tribal chants of “The White Lotus” that scream “tropical anxiety,” or the mournful, minimalist guitar of “The Last of Us” that captures the desolation and fragile hope of its world. A great score doesn't just accompany the action; it provides a 'musical fingerprint' that is wholly unique to the project, as Emmy-winning composer Nicholas Britell has described his own process. This identity is built from the ground up, often starting with deep conversations between the composer and the showrunner long before the cameras even roll.
Finding the Sonic Blueprint
The process begins with a search for a core sound. For Gustavo Santaolalla, scoring “The Last of Us,” this meant finding instruments that felt organic and intimate, reflecting the story's focus on character relationships over pure horror. He famously used a ronroco, a small South American stringed instrument, to create the main theme, giving the series a sound that was both melancholic and unique. For “Succession,” composer Nicholas Britell blended the gravitas of 18th-century classical music with the brashness of hip-hop beats, creating a sound that is both elegant and off-kilter. This juxtaposition perfectly mirrors the Roy family's dynastic ambitions and their deeply dysfunctional reality. Britell noted that this sound came from experimentation and conversations with the show's creators, aiming for a score that felt as broken as the family it portrayed. The goal is to find a palette that feels specific and not redundant, absorbing the show's color, pace, and dialogue to figure out what the music can add.
Character and Conflict in Melody
Once a sonic world is established, composers weave specific melodies, or leitmotifs, for characters, relationships, and ideas. However, top composers often avoid a one-to-one character-to-theme ratio. Nicholas Britell explains that for “Succession,” themes are relational—they represent Kendall’s feelings about his father, or Shiv's dynamic with her brothers, rather than just one person. This allows the music to evolve. For instance, a theme might sound grand and powerful in one scene but broken and discordant in another, reflecting a character’s shifting fortunes. This evolution is key. Britell approached each season of “Succession” as a different movement in a classical symphony, with season two becoming a slower, more introspective adagio to mirror Kendall Roy's dark emotional state after the first season's dramatic conclusion. The music develops with the story, ensuring it never feels static or predictable.
Making the Score 'Breathe'
A hallmark of an Emmy-worthy score is often its restraint. Knowing when not to play music is as important as knowing what to play. Composer Gustavo Santaolalla is known for his minimalist approach, which gives the story and characters room to breathe. In “The Last of Us,” the quiet, sparse score amplifies the sense of loneliness and allows the emotional weight of a scene to land without being dictated by overwhelming music. For “The White Lotus,” composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer used a unique blend of human voices, animal sounds, and nervous percussion to create a sense of unease that bubbles just beneath the surface of the idyllic resort. He aimed for a “Tropical Hitchcock” vibe that was both aggressive and funny, keeping the audience on edge without explicitly signaling that something bad was about to happen. This ability to shape the emotional tone subtly is what separates a good score from a truly great one.
Standing Out to Emmy Voters
In a television landscape saturated with high-quality productions, a score needs to be bold and distinctive to capture the attention of Emmy voters. Categories like Outstanding Music Composition for a Series and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music are fiercely competitive. Winning often comes down to creating a sound that is not only emotionally effective but also inextricably linked to the show's identity. The chaotic, anachronistic hip-hop and classical fusion of “Succession” is a prime example. It's a sound that is so specific it became a cultural phenomenon in its own right, spawning remixes and memes. Similarly, the haunting, primal score of “The White Lotus” won Cristobal Tapia de Veer two Primetime Emmy Awards because it was unlike anything else on television, perfectly capturing the show's satirical and sinister tone. Ultimately, a memorable, innovative, and perfectly integrated score becomes a character in itself, one that is impossible for audiences—and Emmy voters—to ignore.
