“Succession” tracks the evolving dynamics of the Roy family, fictional media moguls clearly inspired in part by the Murdochs of Fox News fame. The Roys are cutthroat in their competing quests for power, with the backstabbing prevalent among patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his three youngest children: Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Siobhan (Sarah Snook).
Armstrong, a British writer who co-created Channel 4’s “Peep Show” and landed an Oscar nomination for the film “In the Loop,” contributes a satirical edge to “Succession.” The comedic drama burned slowly at first but picked up with its second season, earning tens of Emmy nominations (and winning 13 total). Season 3 earned the show’s highest ratings to date, including more than 1.4 million viewers across all platforms for the premiere, according to Variety.
That season ended in December 2021 with a shocking betrayal; the fourth, which premieres March 26, picks up in the aftermath. HBO teased “existential angst and familial division” as the Roys get closer to selling their media conglomerate, Waystar Royco, to the tech billionaire played by Alexander Skarsgard.
While Armstrong was the first to officially confirm that “Succession” would end soon, Cox had already suggested as much. He told British newspaper the Times last year that “no one’s had their contracts renewed” and, in typical Logan fashion, tossed an insult in as well: “We don’t want it to overstay its welcome, like ‘Billions’; that’s past its sell-by date. That will not happen with our show,” the actor said.
Others will have a harder time saying goodbye. Strong, the Emmy winner whose deep commitment to playing the gloomy Kendall was immortalized in a viral New Yorker profile, told GQ in a recent interview that stepping away from the character “will feel like death, in a way.”
“When I was younger, I saw the future in the crosshairs. I don’t feel that anymore,” he said. “There is a feeling of ‘Now what?’ that I don’t have the answer to.”
Armstrong might find himself in a similar position. He told the New Yorker he feels “deeply conflicted” about the show ending and has “the circus-has-left-town feeling that everyone gets who works on a production that’s good, and this one particularly so.”
“I imagine I’ll be a little bit lonely, and wandering the streets of London in a funk, and wondering, What … did I do?” he said. “I’ll probably be calling you up in about six months asking if people are ready for a reboot.”