While not entirely unexpected considering both the earlier rumblings of this very possibility and, you know, the name of the series itself, learning that Succession will end its run with season 4 has been a tough pill to swallow nonetheless.
Our worst fears were realised during series creator Jesse Armstrong’s recent interview with The New Yorker.
“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,” explained Jesse Armstrong.
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“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.”
When prompted about why he decided this was the right moment to exit stage left, Jesse Armstrong added: “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?”
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“I got together with a few of my fellow writers before we started the writing of season 4, in about November-December, 2021, and I sort of said, “Look, I think this maybe should be it. But what do you think?” 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. Or we could do something a bit more muscular and complete, and go out sort of strong. And that was definitely always my preference.”
“I went into the writing room for season 4 sort of saying, “I think this is what we’re doing, but let’s also keep it open.” I like operating the writing room by coming in with a sort of proposition, and then being genuinely open to alternative ways of going. And the decision to end solidified through the writing and even when we started filming: I said to the cast, “I’m not 100% sure, but I think this is it.” Because I didn’t want to bullshit them, either.”
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“There is an endgame. Whether it comes this next season or whether it comes the season after that, we’ll find out. It’s also up to [show creator Jesse Armstrong], Jesse’s energy, and if he can keep it up – and the energy of his writers,” Brian Cox, who portrays billionaire patriarch Logan Roy, previously told Collider ahead of season 3’s release.
“We’re actors. We’ll go on forever. We can be a bit mindless like that. I won’t go on forever. I think there’s a natural end to the show and it will come. It will be sad to see the end of it, but it will also be well achieved, I hope.”
Executive producer Georgia Pritchett, on the other hand, has fanned the flames of hope by hinting at the possibility of a fifth season, citing the phenomenon wherein series creators walk back on their decision at the finish line, which apparently “happens every time.” Pritchett also teased a “good end in sight,” meaning we won’t be speculating about multiple interpretations – unlike other HBO properties.
Succession season 4, the end of the award-winning HBO black comedy as we know it, has set a release date: March 27th, 2023 (Australia).
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