Succession Season 4 - Everything You Need To Know
Part hilarious black comedy, part Shakespearean tragedy, "Succession" is one of the very best shows in HBO history. A tale of power plays, backstabbing, and twisted rivalries, the series follows the exploits of the Roy family, who run a massive yet financially troubled media conglomerate. Each season, we watch as foul-mouthed patriarch Logan Roy battles his adult children, all eager to sell their dad out for the company throne while also desperate for their father's approval.
Season 3 left off with a major cliffhanger — one of major betrayal — and now, Season 4 is almost here, setting up a showdown for the ages: Logan vs. the united power of his ambitious kids. The stakes have never been higher for Kendall, Shiv, and Roman Roy, but as we get closer to a new episode, we have a lot of questions. When exactly will Season 4 premiere? Is the original cast coming back, and what new faces might be joining them? If you want to learn more, then it's time to play boar on the floor — okay, not really. It's time to read on for what we know so far about "Succession" Season 4.
When will Succession Season 4 be released?
Here's the deal — people like "Succession." They like it a lot. The first episode of Season 3 attracted 1.4 million viewers across all of HBO's platforms. In fact, it was the very best premiere night in HBO Max history (via Variety). Season 3 only grew in momentum as it sped for the climax, with the finale attracting a whopping 1.7 million views (via Deadline). So yeah, pretty popular stuff.
In other words, HBO knew almost immediately they'd be giving Season 4 the greenlight — in fact, they renewed the series just two episodes into the third season. Since then, "Succession" cleaned up at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, with the show winning the prize for outstanding drama series, Matthew Macfadyen winning the award for outstanding supporting actor in a drama, and the Season 3 finale winning for its writing. It all just further justifies HBO's decision to give us more time with those rotten Roys.
But when exactly can we expect to see Season 4 hit HBO and HBO Max? Well, we'll get to watch the Roys duke it out while Tom and Greg pick each other to pieces on Sunday, March 26 (via Variety), and the fourth season will run for 10 episodes.
What is the plot of Succession Season 4?
Season 3 didn't end well for the Roy children. As their father planned on selling his media empire to tech magnate Lukas Matsson, Kendall, Shiv, and Roman came together to confront their father, planning to use their supermajority powers to halt the deal. Too bad Logan was warned ahead of time by — genuine shocker — Shiv's husband, Tom Wambsgans. With the heads-up, the Waystar patriarch did what he does best — maneuver, manipulate, and take control of the situation, cutting his children out of the loop completely.
And that's where we left off, with Kendall in shock, Roman groveling on the floor, and Shiv realizing her husband has stabbed her in the back. So where will the show go from here? Well, according to the official series logline, the sale of Waystar Royco is getting closer by the day. As the plot summary explains, "The prospect of this seismic sale provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys as they anticipate what their lives will look like once the deal is complete."
Needless to say, the younger Roys are not going to take this sitting down, and they plan on fighting back, with whatever diminished power and influence they have left. It will also be fascinating to see several dynamics play out — especially the incredibly fractured relationship between Shiv and Tom. On that note, is Tom truly in Logan's good graces? Will Kendall find any sort of redemption? What will happen to Roman's relationship with Gerri Kellman, who sold him out in the finale?
And of course, we all want answers to the most important question in the series: Will Cousin Greg become the Grand Duke of Luxembourg?
Who is starring in Succession Season 4?
All the major stars are coming back for Season 4. Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, and Nicholas Braun are all returning to play the most delightfully horrible people on TV. They'll be accompanied by Alan Ruck as the delusional Connor Roy and Justin Lupe as Connor's escort turned girlfriend Willa Ferreyra, as well as Hiam Abbass, Harriet Walter, Natalie Gold, and James Cromwell as the various members of the scheming Roy family.
Obviously, Alexander Skarsgård will be a major force to be reckoned with as techy antagonist Lukas Matsson. Plus, the Roy family confidantes and yes men are all coming back, with J. Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, Fisher Stevens, Schott Nicholson, Juliana Canfield, Dagmara Domińczyk, and Zoë Winters as the usual suspects (via Deadline). We can also expect to see Arian Moayed and Larry Piner as the double threat of Stewy Hosseini and Sandy Furness, along with the likes of Tabitha Hayes, Ashley Zukerman, Pip Torrens, Justin Kirk, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, and Jeannie Berlin.
We'll also see some of the bigger names who've graced "Succession" in the past, such as Mark Linn-Baker, Cherry Jones, Hope Davis, and Stephen Root. On the newcomer side of things, we'll be introduced to Annabeth Gish ("Midnight Mass"), Adam Godley ("Breaking Bad"), Eili Harboe ("Thelma"), and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson ("Vikings: Valhalla").
Who is the showrunner of Succession Season 4?
We all know Waystar Royco is run by the iron fist of Logan Roy, but who runs "Succession" itself? Well, those duties fall to Jesse Armstrong, the series' creator. Before coming aboard "Succession," Armstrong made his name by writing for "Peep Show" — a pretty big deal over in the U.K. He also earned an Oscar nod for co-writing "In the Loop," a savage political satire with enough creative cursing to make even the likes of Logan and Tom Wambsgans blush. And he's done pretty well for himself with "Succession," winning a whopping five Primetime Emmys. In fact, he won three of those Emmys for writing some of the show's very best episodes: "Nobody Is Ever Missing," "This Is Not for Tears," and "All the Bells Say," all finales of their respective seasons. He also serves as executive producer alongside a group of talented people such as Adam McKay and Will Ferrell (via Deadline).
Is there a trailer for Succession Season 4?
If you haven't watched Episode 3 of "Succession" Season 4 — titled "Connor's Wedding" — do not read about the mid-season trailer.
Massive spoilers incoming.
There's no denying it — "Connor's Wedding" is one of the greatest episodes of TV and the most important episode of "Succession" to date. We watched as Kendall, Shiv, and Roman grappled with the shocking loss of their father, Logan Roy, and now, we have no idea what's going to happen next.
Well, we do have some idea, thanks to the mid-season trailer for "Succession" Season 4. The king is dead, and the empire is up for grabs. As they struggle with the loss of their father, we watch as the three main Roy children plot their way to throne. Of course, they aren't the only ones hoping to fill the power vacuum. On the other side, the old guard has their own plans, and Tom Wambsgans looks to be making serious moves. In fact, he might be a real threat — despite what those darn naysayers might think.
Shockingly, it also looks like Connor's presidential bid might have actual political implications. We know the Roys are publicly backing controversial right-winger Jeryd Mencken, but at one point in the trailer, we see Roman approaching his half-brother and actually asking him to back out of the race so they can secure a Menken win. Connor has never had this much power in his life, and due to his strained relationship with his siblings, we doubt he's going to acquiesce to Roman.
The trailer also gives us a shot of Greg trying to worm his way into job security, and the drama between Tom and Shiv only looks to be heating up. Roman also looks to be in a bad place emotionally, and we wonder what will happen to the youngest Roy child in the wake of his father's death. And that's not even counting the Lukas Matsson of it all. As the trailer ends, we hear Kendall shout, "Let the games begin!" and we can't wait to see how this epic battle for Waystar plays out.
Is this the last season of Succession?
For the longest time, people were being pretty coy when asked if "Succession" Season 4 was the last one. They weren't saying "yes," but they weren't saying "no" either. For example, when asked by the Times of London about a Season 5 in September 2022, Brian Cox responded, "No one's had their contracts renewed. Who knows how long it will go on? We don't want it to overstay its welcome, like [Showtime's] 'Billions;' that's past its sell-by date. That will not happen with our show."
However, we now have a definitive answer from showrunner Jesse Armstrong — and while it's probably good news for the show from a storytelling perspective, it's sad news for fans of "Succession." Speaking with The New Yorker, Armstrong made it clear that Season 4 would indeed be the final one. "You know," he explained, "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?"
Granted, ending "Succession" with Season 4 means the show can go out on a high note instead of dragging things out like some series choose to do. "We could do a couple of short seasons or two more seasons," Armstrong elaborated. "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."