I’m still in denial.
Season 4 of Succession is going to be the show’s last (cue the internal meltdown). Now, once you’ve made it through denial, anger, and whatever other stages of grief you’re going through upon hearing that news, please meet me over here where we’re very calmly, very maturely asking “But WHYYYY?!”
Creator Jesse Armstrong confirmed his choice to end the show in an interview with the New Yorker, saying of the decision, “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?”
But if it makes you feel any better, the final season of the show was just nominated for, like, a billion Emmys. JK, not a billion, but 27, which is the most of any show at the Emmys this year. The nominated actors include: Jeremy Strong, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook, Hiam Abass, Alexander Skarsgård, J. Smith-Cameron, James Cromwell, Arian Moayed, Cherry Jones, and Harriet Walter. And that doesn’t even touch on all the awards for writing, editing, directing, etc.
But back to the decision to end the show, before the writers of season 4 started working on a script, Armstrong said he raised the idea of making season 4 the final part of the Roy family’s story. “And we played out various scenarios: We could do a couple of short seasons, or two more seasons. Or we could go on for ages and turn the show into something rather different, and be a more rangy, freewheeling kind of fun show, where there would be good weeks and bad weeks,” Armstrong told the New Yorker. “Or we could do something a bit more muscular and complete, and go out sort of strong. And that was definitely always my preference.”
Going out strong hasn’t always been the way for HBO shows (I’m looking at you Game of Thrones and Entourage) so even though it’s sad that we won’t be getting more seasons of Succession, the reasoning is respectable.
There is one teeny tiny glimmer of hope for those of us wanting more, though. Armstrong said he has a strong feeling that “there could be something else in an allied world, or allied characters, or some of the same characters.” If you’re telling me there’s a chance of a Greg spinoff, then I will start clearing my schedule immediately to make sure I can watch it the second it comes out. But until then, we’ll just have to sit back and savor season 4, which premieres Sunday, March 26, at 9 pm ET.
Season 3 ended on a real tense note after the Roy siblings teamed up to overpower their father, but Logan, thanks to a helpful lil’ tip from Tom, was able to outmaneuver his kids. Tensions are high all around, but especially for Shiv since she’s now been betrayed by pretty much everyone in her life. As for what we can expect in season 4, it looks like the sale of Waystar Royco is moving full steam ahead as divisions in the family continue to get deeper (who knew that was even possible?!). With so much thought having gone into making this a banger of a final season, I’m beyond excited to see exactly how it ends.
