‘Succession’ to End with Season 4

The squabbling Roy family will have one last chance to scheme, swear and swap insults this spring as the HBO series prepares to say goodbye.

Brian Cox in season 4 of HBO's 'Succession.' Photograph by David Russell/HBO.

If you’re a fan of the squabbling siblings and cranky patriarch of the Roy family –– AKA the main characters of successful HBO series ‘Succession’, then bad news is on the way.

Creator/showrunner Jesse Armstrong has told The New Yorker that the show will end with the incoming fourth season.

Commenting on the reasons for the end, Armstrong said the following,

“Who knows about the psychological reasons, but the creative ones were that it felt really useful to not make the final, final decision for ages. You know, there’s a promise in the title of ‘Succession.’ I’ve never thought this could go on forever. The end has always been kind of present in my mind. From Season 2, I’ve been trying to think: Is it the next one, or the one after that, or is it the one after that?”

And as for his decision to tip viewers off about the end of the show, Armstrong said,

“There are a few different aspects. One, we could have said it as soon as I sort of decided, almost when we were writing it, which I think would be weird and perverse. We could have said it at the end of the season. I quite like that idea, creatively, because then the audience is just able to enjoy everything as it comes, without trying to figure things out, or perceiving things in a certain way once they know it’s the final season. But, also, the countervailing thought is that we don’t hide the ball very much on the show. I feel a responsibility to the viewership, and I personally wouldn’t like the feeling of, ‘Oh, that’s it, guys. That was the end.’ I wouldn’t like that in a show. I think I would like to know it is coming to an end. And, also, there’s a bunch of prosaic things, like it might be weird for me and the cast as we do interviews. It’s pretty definitively the end, so then it just might be uncomfortable having to sort of dissemble like a politician for ages about it. Hopefully, the show is against bullshit, and I wouldn’t like to be bullshitting anyone when I was talking about it.”

(L to R) Jeremy Strong, Alan Ruck, Kieran Culkin, Brian Cox, and Sarah Snook in HBO's 'Succession.'

Who stars in ‘Succession’?

‘Succession’ is the story of the Roy family, headed by Logan Roy (Brian Cox), an elderly but stubborn patriarch and billionaire who is deciding which of his children to hand his giant Waystar Royco business off to. Or whether he wants to at all…

The competition between the siblings is strong –– there’s driven Kendall (Jeremy Strong), who is plotting to overthrow his father, ambitious Shiv (Sarah Snook) who wants to succeed him, snarky Roman (Kieran Culkin) who is more about having a good time than business but thinks he could do the job. Oldest son Connor, meanwhile, is focused on politics over profits.

Around this core orbits a group of related family members, staff and advisors, including Shiv’s nervy husband Tom (Matthew MacFadyen), Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), and dedicated Roy employee Gerri Kellerman.

(L to R) Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin in season 4 of HBO's 'Succession.' Photograph by Claudette Barius/HBO.

What happens in ‘Succession’ Season 4?

In Season 4, the sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) moves ever closer. The prospect of this seismic sale provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys as they anticipate what their lives will look like once the deal is complete. A power struggle ensues as the family weighs up a future where their cultural and political weight is severely curtailed.

‘Succession’ Season 4 will start on HBO on Sunday, March 26th.