Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Succession Seasons 1-3.Last winter, the Season 3 finale of the critically acclaimed HBO series Succession left viewers stunned for several reasons. The tension and resentment that was simmering all season long among the entire family and their financiers finally reached a boiling point which culminated in a betrayal that no one saw coming. After that jaw-dropping final scene, it’s hard to even fathom where the show could (or should) go next. There are so many questions we need answering, and at the same time, it weirdly felt like a proper series ending. Thankfully, Succession isn’t ending quite yet and so, the Roy saga rages on.
Created by British writer Jesse Armstrong, who’s also known for The Thick of It, Peep Show, and In the Loop, Succession is a darkly comic drama series that follows media and entertainment mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the patriarch of the wealthy and powerful Roy family and head of the massive conglomerate known as Waystar RoyCo as he runs his worldwide empire. The constant thorns in his side are his self-obsessed and uniquely needy children Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck), all of whom not-so-subtly suggest that they want to be the heir to his throne. Every episode is a constant game of mental chess, and though the Roy kids might think they can outsmart their aging father, Logan is always thinking one—or three—moves ahead.
The ultimate check-mate, as alluded to earlier, happened in the tense and unpredictable moments of the Season 3 finale, when the entire family was together in Italy for Logan’s ex-wife Caroline’s (Harriet Walter) wedding. Kendall, fresh off of an overdose, was plotting some revealing Instagram posts about Waystar RoyCo and his father’s business dealings, Connor was desperately trying to hold onto Willa (Justine Lupe), his perpetually uncomfortable girlfriend, and Roman and Shiv were trying to prove themselves as legitimate business forces to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), Shiv’s hapless husband, was off doing the “silly Forbes profile piece.” That, however, would be the last of Tom's silly behavior.
Season 3 Ended With a Big Loss and Big Betrayal For the Roy Kids
The umbrella threat to the Roy kids is Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård), tech CEO of GoJo. Logan waffles from scene to scene about whether or not he should sell his company to the Swedish streaming giant, which not only terrifies his children but swiftly reminds them that they are, in the grand scheme of things, incredibly unimportant. Watching Kendall, Roman, Shiv, and (sometimes) Connor try to talk and bond like mature adult siblings and concoct a plan to overthrow their dad is like watching a sad bunch of corrupt Avengers’ feeble attempts to assemble.
While the kids try to solidify a plan and play telephone with a number of people in Logan’s circle, Logan is secretly finalizing his succession plans rather smoothly. On the way to confronting Logan once and for all about his exclusive business dealings, Kendall, Shiv, and a reluctant Roman discuss the best ways to verbally attack. Shiv of course wants to go in with more bark than bite, Kendall is somewhat out of it, and Roman wants to take the lead carefully. Roman might be a screwball, but he seems to be the only one willing to admit their harsh reality when he asks, “We don’t know how this is going to play out just yet…I mean, can we even actually stop him?” But, Kendall is adamant that, because of a holding company deal that came out of Logan and Caroline’s divorce, Logan legally can’t sell the company without his children’s input. Right?
It turns out, Logan finds unlikely allies in his ex-wife and bumbling son-in-law, Tom. Shiv, Roman, and Kendall are fairly certain that they have their father tied up, but Logan actually breaks the news to them that he and Caroline decided that the holding deal was a bit “antiquated” and that they reworked it so that Logan has the final and only say in what happens to his company. In short, Logan can sell his company and his children will—gasp—have to actually earn their keep? But how did Logan even know that this failed coup was going to happen? When Shiv told Tom on the way to the sneak attack, Tom tipped off Logan. Now who’s number one in daddy’s eyes?
Succession Season 4 Reminds Us Logan Roy Is Still In Charge
The Season 4 teaser trailer lives up to its title and only hints at the chaos to come. Nevertheless, there is a lot to decipher. Accompanying composer Nicholas Britell’s mystifying score is the roaring sound of helicopters (a Roy staple) and the voiceover of a calm yet bitter Logan speaking about how everyone tries to turn against him, no matter the circumstances. He looks out his window to the city—his city—and reminds us that he is the true skyscraper. Everyone else is merely taking up space and too drunk on their made-up power to see who is really in charge. “I’m a hundred feet tall. These people are pygmies.”
There are several snapshots of all our favorite characters. In one scene, we see the aftermath of what was surely a tense conversation between Logan and his current inner circle that consists of Tom, Greg (Nicholas Braun), Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), Frank (Peter Friedman), Karl (David Rasche), and Kerry (Zoe Winters). Logan leaves the room in an “I’m surrounded by toddlers” sort of way and is likely questioning yet again who he should trust. Despite feeling excluded and belittled in the Season 3 finale, the newly-engaged Connor seems quite high on the inclusion by his distraught siblings. He even mimes shooting an arrow and hitting a bulls-eye. (Wait, does he actually think they are the Avengers?) Connor quips that they are the Rebel Alliance and a stoic Kendall dubs them the “New Gen Roys.” Perhaps if the whole succession thing doesn’t work out, they can form a band and go by that cringey title.
Before leaving us too soon, the trailer does acknowledge the 800-pound betrayal in the room: Tom. The son-in-law is usually quite jittery and performative around Shiv, though those days might be over. Ever since he decided to take matters into his own hands and put himself (and not Shiv) first, he seems weirdly comfortable in his own skin. He calmly asks Shiv, “Do you want to talk about what happened?” Shiv’s death stare and the hand on the hip indicate that she is a bit too heated to even go there.
Season 4 of the Emmy-winning series, which was filmed in Norway, is slated to premiere in the Spring of 2023. Several guest stars and supporting characters were confirmed to return, including Dagmara Domińczyk, Alexander Skarsgård, Arian Moayed, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Justin Kirk, Cherry Jones, Hope Davis, Juliana Canfield, and Stephen Root.