As viewers await the latest chapter of HBO‘s familial drama Succession, they can also expect to bid the Roys farewell as Season 4 is poised to be the show’s last.
According to creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong, the fan-favorite Emmy darling will end its run with the highly-anticipated fourth season set to premiere Sunday, March 26. In an interview with the New Yorker, Armstrong seemingly confirms the show’s closing chapter.
In the profile, he says, “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 two, I’ve been trying to think: Is it the next one, or the one after that, or is it the one after that?”
“I got together with a few of my fellow-writers before we started the writing of season four, 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.”
No confirmation from HBO has been made at this time. Armstrong’s remarks puts to bed the speculation of whether or not the show would continue with a fifth season or not.
“I feel deeply conflicted. I quite enjoy this period when we’re editing — where the whole season is there — but we haven’t put it out yet. I like the interregnum,” Armstrong continued in the interview. “And I also quite liked the period where me and my close collaborators knew that this was probably it, or this was it, but hadn’t had to face up to it in the world. It’s been a difficult decision, because the collaborations — with the cast, with my fellow-writers, with Nick Britell and Mark Mylod and the other directors — they’ve just been so good. And I feel like I’ve done the best work I can do, working with them. And HBO has been generous and would probably have done more seasons, and they have been nice about saying, it’s your decision. That’s nice, but it’s also a responsibility in the end — it feels quite perverse to stop doing it.”
For those less familiar with the buzzy series, Succession follows the travails of the Roy family led by patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) and his underling kids Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck). Along with Cox, Strong, Snook, Culkin, and Ruck, the series features J. Smith-Cameron, Matthew MacFadyen, and Nicholas Braun among others.
Stay tuned for more on the show’s final season as we approach the premiere date this March on HBO and HBO Max.
Succession, Season 4 Premiere, Sunday, March 26, HBO and HBO Max