From movies to video games, Brian Cox has done it all. The versatile actor also has a ton of experience in theatre acting having done plays like The Great Society and King Lear. Recently, he has added yet another play to the long list of his theatre roles – Long Day’s Journey Into Night. The play is directed by award-winning director Jeremy Herrin.
Brian Cox in Succession
Written by Eugene O’Neill between 1939-1941, Long Day’s Journey into Night is considered one of the greatest American plays. Needless to say, anyone who dares to bring the play to life now is going to be harshly judged by the theatre critics. However, Brian Cox is extremely furious at the critics for comparing his performance in the play to that of his iconic role in Succession.
Brian Cox Lashes Out at Theatre Critics
Brian Cox in Long Day’s Journey Into Night
There is...
Brian Cox in Succession
Written by Eugene O’Neill between 1939-1941, Long Day’s Journey into Night is considered one of the greatest American plays. Needless to say, anyone who dares to bring the play to life now is going to be harshly judged by the theatre critics. However, Brian Cox is extremely furious at the critics for comparing his performance in the play to that of his iconic role in Succession.
Brian Cox Lashes Out at Theatre Critics
Brian Cox in Long Day’s Journey Into Night
There is...
- 4/18/2024
- by Mishkaat Khan
- FandomWire
Arriving on a jetset Mediterranean island to meet the wealthy father she has never known, Calamy’s factory worker enters a vipers’ nest of hostility in Sébastian Marnier’s devious French psychodrama
The root of all evil? Money, naturellement. Stacks of it, poured into a lavish villa on the French Mediterranean island of Porquerolles and frittered away in a unilateral war waged by a bored, ignored shopaholic wife against her overbearing husband. But even €1,500 a day squandered on everything from designer handbags to taxidermied endangered species to shopping channel tat fails to make much of a dent in the wealth of the Dumontet family, a clan that could give Succession’s Roys a run for their money in toxicity, treachery and obscene riches.
Into this nest of Lanvin-clad vipers stumbles Stéphane (Call My Agent!’s Laure Calamy), a pleasant, seemingly unremarkable youngish woman who works at an anchovy-packing factory and,...
The root of all evil? Money, naturellement. Stacks of it, poured into a lavish villa on the French Mediterranean island of Porquerolles and frittered away in a unilateral war waged by a bored, ignored shopaholic wife against her overbearing husband. But even €1,500 a day squandered on everything from designer handbags to taxidermied endangered species to shopping channel tat fails to make much of a dent in the wealth of the Dumontet family, a clan that could give Succession’s Roys a run for their money in toxicity, treachery and obscene riches.
Into this nest of Lanvin-clad vipers stumbles Stéphane (Call My Agent!’s Laure Calamy), a pleasant, seemingly unremarkable youngish woman who works at an anchovy-packing factory and,...
- 3/31/2024
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
Succession went out with a bang at Monday’s Emmys ceremony, winning Outstanding Drama Series for its fourth and final season. This brings to three the number of times the HBO drama has scored Emmys’ top drama prize, following wins in 2020 (for Season 2) and 2022 (for Season 3).
Succession prevailed over fellow nominees Andor, Better Call Saul, The Crown, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets.
More from TVLineEmmys: <em>The Bear</em> (Season 1), <em>Succession</em> and <em>Beef</em> Are Night’s Big WinnersEmmys: The 14 Best, Worst and Weirdest MomentsThe White Lotus Adds Walton Goggins, Four More to Season 3 Cast...
Succession prevailed over fellow nominees Andor, Better Call Saul, The Crown, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets.
More from TVLineEmmys: <em>The Bear</em> (Season 1), <em>Succession</em> and <em>Beef</em> Are Night’s Big WinnersEmmys: The 14 Best, Worst and Weirdest MomentsThe White Lotus Adds Walton Goggins, Four More to Season 3 Cast...
- 1/16/2024
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
This year's Golden Globes witnessed a few award sweeps on the television front — with FX's "The Bear" snagging three awards and Netflix's "Beef" also winning in multiple categories — but it was HBO's "Succession" that took the crown. Apart from breaking the record with 8 Golden Globe nominations across categories, "Succession" took home the "Best Drama Series" award, along with wins for three cast members, namely Matthew Macfadyen, Kieran Culkin, and Sarah Snook. These accolades are well-deserved; "Succession" is both a critical darling and beloved by fans who watched the riveting, nail-biting four-season series at home.
While the first three seasons of "Succession" etched a dramatically interesting portrait of the Roys, who are all flawed and despicable in their own ways, the final season ushered in a bittersweetness as their empire crumbled under the weight of family in-fighting. The cringe-inducing theatrics of the characters and the tragicomedy of their downfall made for brilliant television,...
While the first three seasons of "Succession" etched a dramatically interesting portrait of the Roys, who are all flawed and despicable in their own ways, the final season ushered in a bittersweetness as their empire crumbled under the weight of family in-fighting. The cringe-inducing theatrics of the characters and the tragicomedy of their downfall made for brilliant television,...
- 1/8/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
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Quick Answer: Watch the complete series of Succession with a Max subscription, starting at $9.99/month. You can also get three months of Max included with a DirecTV Stream subscription.
Get Max From $9.99/month
After four seasons, the family drama finally came to an end for the Roys (and the family business, Waystar Royco) when Succession wrapped last summer on Max. (No spoilers here, but read our interview with...
Quick Answer: Watch the complete series of Succession with a Max subscription, starting at $9.99/month. You can also get three months of Max included with a DirecTV Stream subscription.
Get Max From $9.99/month
After four seasons, the family drama finally came to an end for the Roys (and the family business, Waystar Royco) when Succession wrapped last summer on Max. (No spoilers here, but read our interview with...
- 1/8/2024
- by John Lonsdale
- Rollingstone.com
Juno Temple as Dorothy “Dot” Lyon and Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman in ‘Fargo’ season 5 episode 8 (Photo Cr: Michelle Faye/FX)
FX’s Fargo season five episode eight begins with Danish Graves (Dave Foley) scanning his handwritten Debtors of North Dakota ledger and selecting three men – Marlin Everett, John Sasquatch, and Blew Noyes – all white and about 6’ tall. Graves takes the three men to the North Dakota Court Services and officially has their names changed. To what isn’t disclosed yet, but all three now have the same legal name.
You wouldn’t expect Dot (Juno Temple) to go quietly as Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm) tries to check her out of the hospital, and she doesn’t disappoint. Instead of signing her name, she writes “Help Me” on the release form. She’s unsuccessful in stealing the pen but succeeds in snagging a paper clip without Roy noticing.
Roy threatens...
FX’s Fargo season five episode eight begins with Danish Graves (Dave Foley) scanning his handwritten Debtors of North Dakota ledger and selecting three men – Marlin Everett, John Sasquatch, and Blew Noyes – all white and about 6’ tall. Graves takes the three men to the North Dakota Court Services and officially has their names changed. To what isn’t disclosed yet, but all three now have the same legal name.
You wouldn’t expect Dot (Juno Temple) to go quietly as Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm) tries to check her out of the hospital, and she doesn’t disappoint. Instead of signing her name, she writes “Help Me” on the release form. She’s unsuccessful in stealing the pen but succeeds in snagging a paper clip without Roy noticing.
Roy threatens...
- 1/3/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
It’s been another banner year for great TV performances in 2023, and we had a tough time narrowing them down just to get to a list of 20 finalists for our annual Performer of the Year award, let alone picking a winner. When the dust settled, though, we were left with one singular performance that stood above the rest, leaving us exhilarated, teary-eyed and never less than fascinated. Therefore, it’s our distinct pleasure to announce that TVLine’s Performer of the Year is… Succession star Sarah Snook.
Now Succession fans know that Snook is joined by a deep ensemble of...
Now Succession fans know that Snook is joined by a deep ensemble of...
- 12/20/2023
- by Dave Nemetz
- TVLine.com
If you’ve turned on a television in 2023, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered a male tech billionaire with a penchant for breaking the rules. On “Succession,” there was Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), the Swedish maverick who rendered the titular question moot by swallowing Waystar Royco whole. “The Morning Show” featured Paul Marks (Jon Hamm), the aerospace magnate who flirted with both Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy and acquiring her employer. FX’s “A Murder at the End of the World” included Andy Ronson (Clive Owen), the mysterious genius whose Icelandic retreat takes a deadly turn.
All these characters are composites, with elements of multiple real-life oligarchs with an outsized influence on world affairs. Matsson has shades of Daniel Ek, Scandinavia’s most famous entrepreneur and the fellow proprietor of a streaming service; Marks using a morning show to promote his privately run rocket launch directly invokes Michael Strahan...
All these characters are composites, with elements of multiple real-life oligarchs with an outsized influence on world affairs. Matsson has shades of Daniel Ek, Scandinavia’s most famous entrepreneur and the fellow proprietor of a streaming service; Marks using a morning show to promote his privately run rocket launch directly invokes Michael Strahan...
- 12/12/2023
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been almost six months since the series finale of Succession, and Jesse Armstrong has been enjoying the rest.
“There was some sadness about the show ending,” says the British creator and showrunner of HBO’s multiple Emmy-winning drama, which followed the misadventures of the deliriously dysfunctional Roy family, owners of media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco. “[But] doing the show was such a rush of pleasure and anxieties and hard work, of pondering the next season and worrying that you’re going to screw it up [that] is is very, very nice to have time to read again. And to travel.”
Since Succession finished, Armstrong has been on a bit of a victory lap, attending international television festivals and book tours (Faber and Faber published a series of authorized Succession script books) while pondering what to do next.
He’s had an incredible run so far.
Even before Succession, which has won 13 Emmys,...
“There was some sadness about the show ending,” says the British creator and showrunner of HBO’s multiple Emmy-winning drama, which followed the misadventures of the deliriously dysfunctional Roy family, owners of media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco. “[But] doing the show was such a rush of pleasure and anxieties and hard work, of pondering the next season and worrying that you’re going to screw it up [that] is is very, very nice to have time to read again. And to travel.”
Since Succession finished, Armstrong has been on a bit of a victory lap, attending international television festivals and book tours (Faber and Faber published a series of authorized Succession script books) while pondering what to do next.
He’s had an incredible run so far.
Even before Succession, which has won 13 Emmys,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This post contains spoilers for "The Fall of the House of Usher."
Mike Flanagan's latest horror mini-series, "The Fall of the House of Usher," transposes the stories of Edgar Allan Poe to the 21st century. In this retelling, "The House of Usher" is a nouveau riche dynasty and the owners of a pharmaceutical corporation, Fortunato. Twin siblings Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline (Mary McDonnell) sit at the head of that table, with other seats filled by Roderick's spoiled adult children -- six of them, from five different mothers, who all stand to inherit a piece of his fortune. Comparisons to the recently concluded "Succession" have already begun.
Like the Roy family in "Succession," the Ushers have made their fortune by poisoning society. The Roys, as the owners of media conglomerate Waystar Royco, reshaped the mind of the American consumer with far-right political propaganda. Their "news" network, Atn, is Fox in all but name.
Mike Flanagan's latest horror mini-series, "The Fall of the House of Usher," transposes the stories of Edgar Allan Poe to the 21st century. In this retelling, "The House of Usher" is a nouveau riche dynasty and the owners of a pharmaceutical corporation, Fortunato. Twin siblings Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline (Mary McDonnell) sit at the head of that table, with other seats filled by Roderick's spoiled adult children -- six of them, from five different mothers, who all stand to inherit a piece of his fortune. Comparisons to the recently concluded "Succession" have already begun.
Like the Roy family in "Succession," the Ushers have made their fortune by poisoning society. The Roys, as the owners of media conglomerate Waystar Royco, reshaped the mind of the American consumer with far-right political propaganda. Their "news" network, Atn, is Fox in all but name.
- 10/12/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
One of the most obvious bits of trivia regarding "Succession" is the fact that its characters are based on the Murdoch family. Rupert Murdoch, the elderly conservative billionaire who's been running News Corp (proud owner of Fox News) for decades, is clearly the inspiration behind Logan Roy. "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong even said at the Edinburgh TV Festival this year that the "predecessor" to the show was "a script [I wrote] about Rupert Murdoch and his family -- the real people." And although the battle for succession amongst Murdoch's adult children hasn't been quite as dramatic as it's been for their HBO counterparts, there are plenty of other details the show has drawn from.
Shiv Roy was evidently inspired by Elisabeth Murdoch, a woman who apparently felt constantly overlooked by her family as a serious, capable business leader. Like Shiv, Elisabeth tried to branch out from the family and start her own independent company,...
Shiv Roy was evidently inspired by Elisabeth Murdoch, a woman who apparently felt constantly overlooked by her family as a serious, capable business leader. Like Shiv, Elisabeth tried to branch out from the family and start her own independent company,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
What if Edgar Allan Poe had penned "Succession"? The result might be "The Fall of the House of Usher," the latest streaming terror from Mike Flanagan ("Midnight Mass"). Flanagan, once again working with his usual stable of players, takes a "shut up and play the hits" approach to Poe here, dipping into the legendary author's work to reference nearly everything you can think of -- "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Masque of the Red Death," "Murders in the Rue Morgue," and on and on. Even Poe's famous detective character C. Auguste Dupin has a part to play, only now he's been upgraded from a sleuth to a crusading district attorney, played with calm gravitas by Carl Lumbly.
At the center of it all is an obscenely wealthy, and morally corrupt family of siblings, all of whom are under the thumb of their ruthless patriarch, Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood). Flanagan...
At the center of it all is an obscenely wealthy, and morally corrupt family of siblings, all of whom are under the thumb of their ruthless patriarch, Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood). Flanagan...
- 9/23/2023
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong once and for all settled a major debate from its fourth and final season.
In the fourth episode of the Emmy-winning series, titled “Honeymoon States,” family and friends of the Roys gather in Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) home to mourn the death of the family patriarch. During the wake, Frank (Peter Friedman), who is the executor of Logan’s estate, finds a “rather worrying piece of paper” in a private safe.
The typed document seemed to name Kendall (Jeremy Strong) as Logan’s successor to media empire Waystar Royco. But a line that started underneath Kendall’s name and moved up through it raised the question of whether Logan was noting him as the successor by underlining his name or crossing it out as if to say he didn’t want Kendall at the helm.
When the old guard — Frank, Karl (David Rasche) and Gerri...
In the fourth episode of the Emmy-winning series, titled “Honeymoon States,” family and friends of the Roys gather in Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) home to mourn the death of the family patriarch. During the wake, Frank (Peter Friedman), who is the executor of Logan’s estate, finds a “rather worrying piece of paper” in a private safe.
The typed document seemed to name Kendall (Jeremy Strong) as Logan’s successor to media empire Waystar Royco. But a line that started underneath Kendall’s name and moved up through it raised the question of whether Logan was noting him as the successor by underlining his name or crossing it out as if to say he didn’t want Kendall at the helm.
When the old guard — Frank, Karl (David Rasche) and Gerri...
- 9/3/2023
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Warning: This notebook contains spoilers for the second season of Peacock’s Killing It.
The driving idea behind Peacock’s Killing It might be most tidily encapsulated in an argument between its two leads in the season two finale. Having screwed an associate out of his share of their saw palmetto berry farm, Craig (Craig Robinson) defends the tactic as “very basic dog-eat-dog stuff.” His best friend and co-owner, however, rejects the cliché. “But like, dogs shouldn’t eat dogs, right?” Jillian (Claudia O’Doherty) demands. “No. When a dog eats another dog, people freak out.”
By Killing It’s estimation, they’re both right. Dan Goor and Luke Tredici are scathing in their criticism of the modern American rat race, which, to Craig’s point, does tend to reward those most willing to manipulate, cheat and harm others. But its heart ultimately lies with Jillian. This situation is worth freaking out about.
The driving idea behind Peacock’s Killing It might be most tidily encapsulated in an argument between its two leads in the season two finale. Having screwed an associate out of his share of their saw palmetto berry farm, Craig (Craig Robinson) defends the tactic as “very basic dog-eat-dog stuff.” His best friend and co-owner, however, rejects the cliché. “But like, dogs shouldn’t eat dogs, right?” Jillian (Claudia O’Doherty) demands. “No. When a dog eats another dog, people freak out.”
By Killing It’s estimation, they’re both right. Dan Goor and Luke Tredici are scathing in their criticism of the modern American rat race, which, to Craig’s point, does tend to reward those most willing to manipulate, cheat and harm others. But its heart ultimately lies with Jillian. This situation is worth freaking out about.
- 8/23/2023
- by Angie Han
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If HBO’s Succession existed in the Star Wars universe, the Roys would be the Empire. Yes, it’s a pretty labored analogy but one that’s relevant to the outstanding drama series race this year. Succession, the frontrunner, is up against Disney+’s Andor, a Star Wars series that focuses on how its hero, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), transforms from someone who’s only out for himself into an activist for a cause that’s greater than just one person.
If you look at them with a lens toward social justice, a number of the dramas in contention can be divided into the haves and have-nots. There’s Succession, of course, which focuses on the richest of the rich — the kind of people who think that if you carry a capacious bag to a party, you are too tacky to exist. To the protagonists of that series, most humans like us are not “real,...
If you look at them with a lens toward social justice, a number of the dramas in contention can be divided into the haves and have-nots. There’s Succession, of course, which focuses on the richest of the rich — the kind of people who think that if you carry a capacious bag to a party, you are too tacky to exist. To the protagonists of that series, most humans like us are not “real,...
- 8/15/2023
- by Esther Zuckerman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In the seventh episode of the fourth and final season of “Succession,” the tenuously married couple Shiv Roy and Tom Wambsgans exit their crowded election eve party to viciously scream at each other, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” style, on their balcony. Half in shadow, half lit by the glow emanating from their Manhattan triplex, they hurl previously unspoken cruelties at one another, all of which are true. “You’re pathetic!” Shiv tells Tom. “You’re a masochist, and you can’t even take it.” Tom is ready — too ready — with a response. “I think you are incapable of love,” he says. “And I think you are maybe not” — Tom pauses for a millisecond before lowering his voice to finish the thought — “a good person to have children.”
Shiv’s eyes well with tears for the first time during the brutal argument, and for the audience, it’s a gasp-worthy moment.
Shiv’s eyes well with tears for the first time during the brutal argument, and for the audience, it’s a gasp-worthy moment.
- 8/2/2023
- by Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
Last month, HBO said goodbye to two of its signature series: “Succession,” a tale of three born billionaires vying to replace their aging patriarch; and “Barry,” an action comedy that unlocked new levels of ambition in its star-auteur, Bill Hader. Fans — and, one presumes, the network — were left with a vacuum the next seasons of “The White Lotus” and “House of the Dragon” are too far off to fill. Fortunately, a show that combines the best of both its erstwhile peers returns June 18 for a third season. “The Righteous Gemstones” remains consistent in its outrageous opulence and crude humor, but its latest chapter is unusually well timed.
Like “Succession,” “The Righteous Gemstones” follows a family poisoned by wealth and power at a crucial inflection point; like “Barry,” the show has a visual panache that defies our expectations for a half-hour comedy. But unlike either show, “The Righteous Gemstones” resists the...
Like “Succession,” “The Righteous Gemstones” follows a family poisoned by wealth and power at a crucial inflection point; like “Barry,” the show has a visual panache that defies our expectations for a half-hour comedy. But unlike either show, “The Righteous Gemstones” resists the...
- 6/16/2023
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
Brian Cox might be the one person who wasn’t glued to their TV while “Succession” was airing.
The acclaimed actor — who portrayed aging media mogul Logan Roy throughout the Emmy-winning HBO series — revealed that he hasn’t watched much of the show during a conversation with Emily Blunt for Variety’s Actors on Actors series.
“I don’t see very many of them, to be honest with you,” Cox said. “It’s bad enough doing it, without having to watch it.”
Cox confirmed that he has still not seen the shocking Logan Roy death sequence in Episode 3 of the final season.
“I actually pretend that he’s not dead, that he just disappeared,” he said. “I never watched that, by the way. I haven’t seen that episode.”
The actor continued, “I prefer the doing of it. Because once you’ve done it, it’s up to the audience to make their decision.
The acclaimed actor — who portrayed aging media mogul Logan Roy throughout the Emmy-winning HBO series — revealed that he hasn’t watched much of the show during a conversation with Emily Blunt for Variety’s Actors on Actors series.
“I don’t see very many of them, to be honest with you,” Cox said. “It’s bad enough doing it, without having to watch it.”
Cox confirmed that he has still not seen the shocking Logan Roy death sequence in Episode 3 of the final season.
“I actually pretend that he’s not dead, that he just disappeared,” he said. “I never watched that, by the way. I haven’t seen that episode.”
The actor continued, “I prefer the doing of it. Because once you’ve done it, it’s up to the audience to make their decision.
- 6/13/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Brian Cox and Emily Blunt have come together to discuss “Succession” and “The English,” two character-driven projects that examine the brutality of American culture. Both shows deal with wealth: Cox’s brooding media mogul Logan Roy met a shocking demise on the HBO series that had us bawling in its fourth and final season, while Blunt’s Lady Cornelia is an 1890s aristocrat seeking answers about the death of her son in the Amazon Prime Video limited series. In person, the two New York transplants have too much in common to capture in one interview. They begin chatting well before cameras roll, and keep going for 20 minutes after the shoot wraps. The two make plans for Blunt to show Cox “the best croissant in Brooklyn” as their handlers wait patiently in the wings.
Brian Cox: What’s so nice about English girls is they’re so direct, and they’re not full of nonsense.
Brian Cox: What’s so nice about English girls is they’re so direct, and they’re not full of nonsense.
- 6/13/2023
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
If you’ve been left in a gaping void by the end of Succession, don’t despair. The Hollywood Reporter has another 11 series to watch for those desperate for a dysfunctional family drama fix. The below titles (along with where you can stream them) include more epic siblings battles, snarky dinner table banter and unpredictable plot twists. Dive into these series for the thrill of family backstabbing, corporate double-dealing or simply for the maladjusted — and wealthy and/or powerful — bringing out the worst in one another, typically (except for a few aspirational exceptions).
Yellowstone (Peacock) John Dutton (Kevin Costner), with children Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) in Yellowstone.
Giddy up and go west with Paramount Network’s Yellowstone (which streams on Peacock) because similar to the media power hungry Roys in Succession, the Dutton dynasty saga floats on its own land-grabbing soap suds. And it also can be perceived as ending too soon,...
Yellowstone (Peacock) John Dutton (Kevin Costner), with children Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) in Yellowstone.
Giddy up and go west with Paramount Network’s Yellowstone (which streams on Peacock) because similar to the media power hungry Roys in Succession, the Dutton dynasty saga floats on its own land-grabbing soap suds. And it also can be perceived as ending too soon,...
- 6/11/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As the only son from Logan’s first marriage and a non-entity in the business, Connor Roy was undoubtedly the black sheep of the Roy clan and constantly unsure where he fit in. This evidently bugged Succession sorta-star Alan Ruck quite a bit, as he wanted to have Connor killed off.
Speaking with The Daily Beast, Alan Ruck admitted he wasn’t entirely sure what Connor’s role was on Succession for a long time, even going to creator Jesse Armstrong to have his character knocked off in the second season. “For three episodes, I didn’t really do anything. And I actually wrote to Jesse and [director] Mark Mylod and I said, ‘What do you think about killing me off?’ And I’m grateful that they said, ‘No, no, no, no, no, we need you, we need you.’ And, ‘There’s not much right now, but there will be more later.
Speaking with The Daily Beast, Alan Ruck admitted he wasn’t entirely sure what Connor’s role was on Succession for a long time, even going to creator Jesse Armstrong to have his character knocked off in the second season. “For three episodes, I didn’t really do anything. And I actually wrote to Jesse and [director] Mark Mylod and I said, ‘What do you think about killing me off?’ And I’m grateful that they said, ‘No, no, no, no, no, we need you, we need you.’ And, ‘There’s not much right now, but there will be more later.
- 6/7/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Warning: contains spoilers for the Succession season four finale.
In the final scene of British comedy Peep Show (2003 – 2015), longtime flatmates Jez and Mark are watching TV and idly swapping murder methods they’d use on each other. “Aw,” Jez thinks in voiceover as he gazes fondly over at Mark, “we do love each other really.” In silence, Mark looks back at Jez as his own inner monologue concludes, “I simply must get rid of him.”
Roll credits.
It’s the perfect ending to a nigh-on perfect male friendship comedy – funny, unsentimental, and truthful. You can be married to somebody, related to somebody, or like Mark and Jez, be two mismatched socks paired up by tumble dryer static decades ago who never had the wherewithal to peel yourselves apart, and still never know what another person is really thinking.
Take Tom Wambsgans and Shiv Roy, the billionaire husband and wife who...
In the final scene of British comedy Peep Show (2003 – 2015), longtime flatmates Jez and Mark are watching TV and idly swapping murder methods they’d use on each other. “Aw,” Jez thinks in voiceover as he gazes fondly over at Mark, “we do love each other really.” In silence, Mark looks back at Jez as his own inner monologue concludes, “I simply must get rid of him.”
Roll credits.
It’s the perfect ending to a nigh-on perfect male friendship comedy – funny, unsentimental, and truthful. You can be married to somebody, related to somebody, or like Mark and Jez, be two mismatched socks paired up by tumble dryer static decades ago who never had the wherewithal to peel yourselves apart, and still never know what another person is really thinking.
Take Tom Wambsgans and Shiv Roy, the billionaire husband and wife who...
- 6/6/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Missing “Succession” already?
It’s understandable, considering the critically acclaimed and easily quotable HBO series just had its swan song last Sunday.
Fortunately, if you’ve found yourself looking out at the Hudson River (or whatever the closest body of water to you is), contemplating what you’ll watch next, here’s something for you: a look at the 10 shows other U.S. “Succession” fans have been gravitating towards, according to Whip Media data from its TV Time app, a TV and movie tracking app with more than 25 million registered users. These might pique your interest as a viewer — and more importantly, give you insight into how streamers can effectively cross-promote shows when they have a hit.
The most popular series among “Succession” fans lately has been “White House Plumbers,” the Nixon-era satirical drama starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. Since debuting on Max on May 1, “Succession” fans have been...
It’s understandable, considering the critically acclaimed and easily quotable HBO series just had its swan song last Sunday.
Fortunately, if you’ve found yourself looking out at the Hudson River (or whatever the closest body of water to you is), contemplating what you’ll watch next, here’s something for you: a look at the 10 shows other U.S. “Succession” fans have been gravitating towards, according to Whip Media data from its TV Time app, a TV and movie tracking app with more than 25 million registered users. These might pique your interest as a viewer — and more importantly, give you insight into how streamers can effectively cross-promote shows when they have a hit.
The most popular series among “Succession” fans lately has been “White House Plumbers,” the Nixon-era satirical drama starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. Since debuting on Max on May 1, “Succession” fans have been...
- 6/1/2023
- by Sean Burch
- The Wrap
[This story contains major spoilers from the series finale of Succession, “With Open Eyes.”]
Succession ended in inevitable tragedy. In drawing his conclusion about the series finale, The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg said of the “relatably unrelatable” and “vicious, funny and haunting ultimate episode” that “the Roys are/were the worst of people and Tom beat them at their own game.”
“With Open Eyes” was written by creator Jesse Armstrong and directed by Succession helmer Mark Mylod, who has directed four episodes each season, typically the beginning and ending installments. The series finale revealed Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) as the successor to the media throne left by the departed Logan Roy (Brian Cox), who died in the third episode of the final season, also directed by Mylod. Tom’s ascension delivers a diverging fate for the three Roy siblings who have sold their souls in hopes of wearing the Waystar Royco CEO crown, as Shiv (Sarah Snook...
Succession ended in inevitable tragedy. In drawing his conclusion about the series finale, The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg said of the “relatably unrelatable” and “vicious, funny and haunting ultimate episode” that “the Roys are/were the worst of people and Tom beat them at their own game.”
“With Open Eyes” was written by creator Jesse Armstrong and directed by Succession helmer Mark Mylod, who has directed four episodes each season, typically the beginning and ending installments. The series finale revealed Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) as the successor to the media throne left by the departed Logan Roy (Brian Cox), who died in the third episode of the final season, also directed by Mylod. Tom’s ascension delivers a diverging fate for the three Roy siblings who have sold their souls in hopes of wearing the Waystar Royco CEO crown, as Shiv (Sarah Snook...
- 5/31/2023
- by Jackie Strause
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This article contains spoilers for the Succession series finale.
After four seasons of family feuds, conniving CEOs, and media mergers, the final credits have rolled on Succession. As Jesse Armstrong’s corporate comedy ushers in the next era of Waystar Royco and a new king is crowned, it was always clear there were going to be winners and losers. However, spare a thought for the poor prince, Kendall Roy.
While each member of the Roy brood has their pros and cons, it’s arguably Jeremy Strong’s Kendall Roy that bore the brunt of the show’s ability to pull the rug from underneath you. From being the emotional punching bag of Logan Roy (Brian Cox) to the ultimate betrayal of his own sister, Kendall is the one who loses the most in Succession’s political puppetry.
Kendall Gets What He Wished For
In the Succession finale, Shiv (Sarah Snook...
After four seasons of family feuds, conniving CEOs, and media mergers, the final credits have rolled on Succession. As Jesse Armstrong’s corporate comedy ushers in the next era of Waystar Royco and a new king is crowned, it was always clear there were going to be winners and losers. However, spare a thought for the poor prince, Kendall Roy.
While each member of the Roy brood has their pros and cons, it’s arguably Jeremy Strong’s Kendall Roy that bore the brunt of the show’s ability to pull the rug from underneath you. From being the emotional punching bag of Logan Roy (Brian Cox) to the ultimate betrayal of his own sister, Kendall is the one who loses the most in Succession’s political puppetry.
Kendall Gets What He Wished For
In the Succession finale, Shiv (Sarah Snook...
- 5/30/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Succession went out at the top of its game.
The series wrapped its final season on Sunday, revealing once and for all who would prevail as the new CEO of Waystar Royco. The finale drew 2.9M viewers across Max and linear telecasts Sunday night, marking a new series high.
Prior to the finale, the Sunday night high for Succession was Episode 6, which aired on April 30, with 2.75M viewers. The Season 4 finale was up 68% versus the Season 3 closer.
Season 4 is currently averaging 8.7M viewers per episode, which is 1.5M more than the Season 3 episodic average, according to HBO.
The Roy family saga picks up as the sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) looms. The prospect of the seismic sale provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys: patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his four grown children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook...
The series wrapped its final season on Sunday, revealing once and for all who would prevail as the new CEO of Waystar Royco. The finale drew 2.9M viewers across Max and linear telecasts Sunday night, marking a new series high.
Prior to the finale, the Sunday night high for Succession was Episode 6, which aired on April 30, with 2.75M viewers. The Season 4 finale was up 68% versus the Season 3 closer.
Season 4 is currently averaging 8.7M viewers per episode, which is 1.5M more than the Season 3 episodic average, according to HBO.
The Roy family saga picks up as the sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) looms. The prospect of the seismic sale provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys: patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his four grown children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook...
- 5/30/2023
- by Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
This article contains spoilers for the Succession finale.
Succession’s harrowing four-season run came to an end with Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) inserted as CEO of the newly-acquired GoJo version of Waystar Royco. After at least a couple of years of in-fighting, betrayals, and fleeting moments of happiness, the Roys have been relieved of their only lasting legacy and their ties to family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox). The climactic scene during the final boardroom vote in which Shiv (Sarah Snook) decides to go back on her word and vote for the sale of the company to Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård) rather than keep the conglomerate in the hands of her brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong) was a tragic, pitiful display of shoddy family dynamics crashing and falling apart in real time. It showed all three siblings at their most emotionally raw, petty, and childish, and it wasn’t a pleasant scene to live vicariously through.
Succession’s harrowing four-season run came to an end with Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) inserted as CEO of the newly-acquired GoJo version of Waystar Royco. After at least a couple of years of in-fighting, betrayals, and fleeting moments of happiness, the Roys have been relieved of their only lasting legacy and their ties to family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox). The climactic scene during the final boardroom vote in which Shiv (Sarah Snook) decides to go back on her word and vote for the sale of the company to Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård) rather than keep the conglomerate in the hands of her brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong) was a tragic, pitiful display of shoddy family dynamics crashing and falling apart in real time. It showed all three siblings at their most emotionally raw, petty, and childish, and it wasn’t a pleasant scene to live vicariously through.
- 5/30/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
This Post Contains Spoilers for the Succession series finale.
Succession came to an end on Sunday, answering the longtime question from fans of the HBO series since its inception five years ago: Who will succeed Logan Roy as the CEO of Waystar?
A lot of viewers predicted one of the three Roy siblings would take over as leader of the family company — Kendall, Roman, or Siobhan — and for most of the episode, it seemed to be heading in that direction. When it was revealed that head of GoJo’s Lukas...
Succession came to an end on Sunday, answering the longtime question from fans of the HBO series since its inception five years ago: Who will succeed Logan Roy as the CEO of Waystar?
A lot of viewers predicted one of the three Roy siblings would take over as leader of the family company — Kendall, Roman, or Siobhan — and for most of the episode, it seemed to be heading in that direction. When it was revealed that head of GoJo’s Lukas...
- 5/29/2023
- by Krystie Lee Yandoli
- Rollingstone.com
This post contains spoilers for the "Succession" series finale.
"Succession" finally brought everything to a close in epic, devastating fashion in the series finale, "With Open Eyes." In the final episodes after the death of Logan Roy from what was officially deemed a pulmonary embolism, his three adult children, Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Kendall (Jeremy Strong), finally get a chance to see what life is like after stepping out from under the shadow of their monstrous billionaire father. Their sibling rivalry comes to a weary truce for a moment, only to be upended once again when Roman and Kendall go against Shiv to try and blow up the GoJo merger with Waystar Royco spearheaded by the eccentric tech CEO bro Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård). For all the posturing between the Roys about who wants to succeed their father as the head of the company, they are really...
"Succession" finally brought everything to a close in epic, devastating fashion in the series finale, "With Open Eyes." In the final episodes after the death of Logan Roy from what was officially deemed a pulmonary embolism, his three adult children, Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Kendall (Jeremy Strong), finally get a chance to see what life is like after stepping out from under the shadow of their monstrous billionaire father. Their sibling rivalry comes to a weary truce for a moment, only to be upended once again when Roman and Kendall go against Shiv to try and blow up the GoJo merger with Waystar Royco spearheaded by the eccentric tech CEO bro Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård). For all the posturing between the Roys about who wants to succeed their father as the head of the company, they are really...
- 5/29/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
Warning: contains spoilers for Succession Season 4 and the series finale
“I love you, but you’re not serious people,” were Logan Roy’s final words to his children as a group. “I love you, but I cannot stomach you,” is what Shiv Roy says to her brother Kendall, as she twists the knife in his back and casts one final vote that means he will never be in charge of Waystar Royco. Succession: we love you, but you haven’t half put us through the wringer over the past five years.
Jesse Armstrong’s cringingly comedic, dynastic drama has been a televisual dark horse; an ever-growing, word-of-mouth phenomenon that has become an obsession for many. An opaque, oddly-toned curio in its very first batch of episodes that needed a little time to get used to, it reached fever-pitch with Kendall’s damning press conference in the Season 2 finale, and has continued to fly ever since.
“I love you, but you’re not serious people,” were Logan Roy’s final words to his children as a group. “I love you, but I cannot stomach you,” is what Shiv Roy says to her brother Kendall, as she twists the knife in his back and casts one final vote that means he will never be in charge of Waystar Royco. Succession: we love you, but you haven’t half put us through the wringer over the past five years.
Jesse Armstrong’s cringingly comedic, dynastic drama has been a televisual dark horse; an ever-growing, word-of-mouth phenomenon that has become an obsession for many. An opaque, oddly-toned curio in its very first batch of episodes that needed a little time to get used to, it reached fever-pitch with Kendall’s damning press conference in the Season 2 finale, and has continued to fly ever since.
- 5/29/2023
- by Sophie Butcher
- Empire - TV
The old Leo Tolstoy adage illuminates that "each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In the span of its four seasons, "Succession" focused on a particular miserable American clan, the obscenely wealthy and influential Roys.
The show charted the schemes and (self-)sabotages of the Roy children as they warred over their potential inheritance: CEO control of the Waystar RoyCo media company, run by their (now-late) patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Across toxic intrigue and backstabbing, the three kids, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook), fought tooth and nail for the throne.
In the wake of Logan's death and the series finale, the Roy family tree is still not doing all right. There are tantalizing questions about the third-generation Roys, the grandkids, who are more vulnerable under their family dysfunction and the world order that their Roy forebearers enabled. While the finale does not...
The show charted the schemes and (self-)sabotages of the Roy children as they warred over their potential inheritance: CEO control of the Waystar RoyCo media company, run by their (now-late) patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Across toxic intrigue and backstabbing, the three kids, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook), fought tooth and nail for the throne.
In the wake of Logan's death and the series finale, the Roy family tree is still not doing all right. There are tantalizing questions about the third-generation Roys, the grandkids, who are more vulnerable under their family dysfunction and the world order that their Roy forebearers enabled. While the finale does not...
- 5/29/2023
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
[This article contains spoilers for Sunday’s series finale of Succession. Duh.]
It was always going to get Biblical on Succession.
It was always going to come down to birthrights and which Roy sibling, or possibly in-law or maybe distant relative, was going to maneuver the selling of the family birthright — or, rather, corporation — for somewhere between a mess of pottage and several billion dollars. Or a fancy title at a dead-on-its-feet company. Or the token promise of a social media empire.
So yes, Succession was always going to be a show about the corruption of 21st-century business empires and the complicated and corrosive connection between the media and politics. It was always going to be a show that we had to discuss in terms of How We’re Living Now or, rather, How We Want to Believe the Horrible People Who Run Everything Are Living Now. But what is that show’s cultural shelf life? Three months? Five years?...
It was always going to get Biblical on Succession.
It was always going to come down to birthrights and which Roy sibling, or possibly in-law or maybe distant relative, was going to maneuver the selling of the family birthright — or, rather, corporation — for somewhere between a mess of pottage and several billion dollars. Or a fancy title at a dead-on-its-feet company. Or the token promise of a social media empire.
So yes, Succession was always going to be a show about the corruption of 21st-century business empires and the complicated and corrosive connection between the media and politics. It was always going to be a show that we had to discuss in terms of How We’re Living Now or, rather, How We Want to Believe the Horrible People Who Run Everything Are Living Now. But what is that show’s cultural shelf life? Three months? Five years?...
- 5/29/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This post contains spoilers for the series finale of "Succession."
The Roy family likes to play games, and more often than not, they're games you don't want to lose. The family's traditions are as enduring as they are cruel, often mentioned with a casualness that lets us know they've been baked into family time for decades. There are the mostly benign traditions, like the kids' birthday roast of Logan (Brian Cox), and the particularly brutal ones, like "Boar on the Floor," in which the family patriarch makes the kids fight and grovel like pigs. There are games that start out innocuous and end up awful, as when a lighthearted word game called "I Went To Market" ends with Logan hitting his grandson across the face, and games that never had any business being called such to begin with, like how Kendall (Jeremy Strong) used to keep Roman (Kieran Culkin) in a cage.
The Roy family likes to play games, and more often than not, they're games you don't want to lose. The family's traditions are as enduring as they are cruel, often mentioned with a casualness that lets us know they've been baked into family time for decades. There are the mostly benign traditions, like the kids' birthday roast of Logan (Brian Cox), and the particularly brutal ones, like "Boar on the Floor," in which the family patriarch makes the kids fight and grovel like pigs. There are games that start out innocuous and end up awful, as when a lighthearted word game called "I Went To Market" ends with Logan hitting his grandson across the face, and games that never had any business being called such to begin with, like how Kendall (Jeremy Strong) used to keep Roman (Kieran Culkin) in a cage.
- 5/29/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
This article contains spoilers for the series finale of "Succession."
There have been lots of fan theories flying around about the series finale of "Succession," but it looks like one of them might have been spot-on. TikTok user NameBerry posted a short video breaking down the theory that the show's ending has been in the cards all along, and it's all hidden in the surname of one character: Tom Wambsgans (Matthew MacFayden). In the TikTok, NameBerry explains the origin of the name Wambsgans, which has something to do with the belly of a goose, but then reveals that the show's writers might have picked the name for another reason. Tom shares a surname (with slightly different spelling) with a baseball player, Bill Wambsganss, who went by "Wamby." Ol' Wamby played for the Cleveland Indians in the 1920s and is remembered for one very special play he made during the 1920 World...
There have been lots of fan theories flying around about the series finale of "Succession," but it looks like one of them might have been spot-on. TikTok user NameBerry posted a short video breaking down the theory that the show's ending has been in the cards all along, and it's all hidden in the surname of one character: Tom Wambsgans (Matthew MacFayden). In the TikTok, NameBerry explains the origin of the name Wambsgans, which has something to do with the belly of a goose, but then reveals that the show's writers might have picked the name for another reason. Tom shares a surname (with slightly different spelling) with a baseball player, Bill Wambsganss, who went by "Wamby." Ol' Wamby played for the Cleveland Indians in the 1920s and is remembered for one very special play he made during the 1920 World...
- 5/29/2023
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Spoiler Alert: This review contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max.
“Succession” ends in a place it’s been countless times before: with Kendall Roy, alone and adrift by a body of water. “With Open Eyes,” the feature-length conclusion to the Roy family saga, has many such full-circle moments. Some series finales radically break from their show’s typical rhythm, flashing forward to show us the full span of the characters’ lives (“Six Feet Under”) or transforming into a different concept altogether (“Girls”). But despite its length, “With Open Eyes” is the distilled, concentrated essence of “Succession,” even as it builds to a decisive break between the Roys and the company that’s no longer theirs — a union that’s otherwise informed every second of the series’ events.
Like every season finale before it, “With Open Eyes” takes its name...
“Succession” ends in a place it’s been countless times before: with Kendall Roy, alone and adrift by a body of water. “With Open Eyes,” the feature-length conclusion to the Roy family saga, has many such full-circle moments. Some series finales radically break from their show’s typical rhythm, flashing forward to show us the full span of the characters’ lives (“Six Feet Under”) or transforming into a different concept altogether (“Girls”). But despite its length, “With Open Eyes” is the distilled, concentrated essence of “Succession,” even as it builds to a decisive break between the Roys and the company that’s no longer theirs — a union that’s otherwise informed every second of the series’ events.
Like every season finale before it, “With Open Eyes” takes its name...
- 5/29/2023
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
Note: This article contains spoilers from the series finale of “Succession.”
“This show has always been a tragedy,” said director Mark Mylod of “Succession” in a segment that aired after the series finale of the Emmy-winning HBO series Sunday night.
Mylod, who has directed 16 episodes of the series, called the finale “perfectly painful,” as the Roys literally came to blows before completely losing control of their father’s company.
He praised series creator Jesse Armstrong, saying, “Jesse stuck the landing with this climactic showdown between the three siblings,” referring to the brutal scene where Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), lashed out physically and verbally over the decision to sell the company.
Also Read:
5 Shocking Moments From the ‘Succession’ Series Finale
“The final ripping off of the bandage to expose that terrible, terrible truth put so simply by Roman,” he said of the scene in which Roman proclaims,...
“This show has always been a tragedy,” said director Mark Mylod of “Succession” in a segment that aired after the series finale of the Emmy-winning HBO series Sunday night.
Mylod, who has directed 16 episodes of the series, called the finale “perfectly painful,” as the Roys literally came to blows before completely losing control of their father’s company.
He praised series creator Jesse Armstrong, saying, “Jesse stuck the landing with this climactic showdown between the three siblings,” referring to the brutal scene where Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), lashed out physically and verbally over the decision to sell the company.
Also Read:
5 Shocking Moments From the ‘Succession’ Series Finale
“The final ripping off of the bandage to expose that terrible, terrible truth put so simply by Roman,” he said of the scene in which Roman proclaims,...
- 5/29/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
This post contains spoilers for the "Succession" series finale, "With Open Eyes."
The idea that Cousin Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) would be the "winner" on "Succession" has been persistent, both as an earnest theory and a joke. I can understand why it took off during season 1; he was a naive outsider to the Roys' world, so the idea he'd climb the ladder and be corrupted along the way was plausible. However, as the show went on, it became clear that this wasn't Greg's story.
Greg has never been a player, he's a parasite. His Mo has always been to latch onto someone with power and money, such as Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), Logan, Ewan, Kendall, or Matsson. While Greg is definitely an empty suit in season 4, he never had much of a conscience. Even back in season 1, he destroyed the incriminating documents about the abuses at Waystar cruises and kept some...
The idea that Cousin Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) would be the "winner" on "Succession" has been persistent, both as an earnest theory and a joke. I can understand why it took off during season 1; he was a naive outsider to the Roys' world, so the idea he'd climb the ladder and be corrupted along the way was plausible. However, as the show went on, it became clear that this wasn't Greg's story.
Greg has never been a player, he's a parasite. His Mo has always been to latch onto someone with power and money, such as Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), Logan, Ewan, Kendall, or Matsson. While Greg is definitely an empty suit in season 4, he never had much of a conscience. Even back in season 1, he destroyed the incriminating documents about the abuses at Waystar cruises and kept some...
- 5/29/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Spoiler Alert: This post contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max.
What a relief that the only votes being counted in the “Succession” finale were those of Waystar Royco board members.
“Succession’s” series finale returned the show’s focus to the Roy family and their moves and countermoves against one another. How refreshing, after a season that was, on the whole and especially in recent weeks, cludgily paced and oddly unfocused. The polish and elegance of the show’s final moments stands in crisp counterpoint to a stretch of episodes that didn’t have the juice: It was as though the confirmation, at last, that the family business really would be changing hands reminded the show what gave it its elemental power.
To wit: The final episode exists within the context, and the long hangover, of the recent, still-contested presidential election,...
What a relief that the only votes being counted in the “Succession” finale were those of Waystar Royco board members.
“Succession’s” series finale returned the show’s focus to the Roy family and their moves and countermoves against one another. How refreshing, after a season that was, on the whole and especially in recent weeks, cludgily paced and oddly unfocused. The polish and elegance of the show’s final moments stands in crisp counterpoint to a stretch of episodes that didn’t have the juice: It was as though the confirmation, at last, that the family business really would be changing hands reminded the show what gave it its elemental power.
To wit: The final episode exists within the context, and the long hangover, of the recent, still-contested presidential election,...
- 5/29/2023
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
This post contains spoilers for “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of “Succession.”
“Succession” came to an end on Sunday night with a 90-minute episode that included multiple double-crosses and the biggest Roy family blowout in the show’s history.
After reconnecting at their mother’s home in the Caribbean – including some of the siblings’ most touching moments of the entire series – Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook), briefly presented a joint front that gave them enough votes to stop the Waystar Royco sale to GoJo and Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). But with the votes knotted at six and Shiv as the deciding ballot, the Roys fractured for the last time.
“I love you, I really, I love you—but I can’t fucking stomach you,” Shiv tells Kendall, who quickly spirals out of control at the realization that his life’s dream of taking over the family company has ended.
“Succession” came to an end on Sunday night with a 90-minute episode that included multiple double-crosses and the biggest Roy family blowout in the show’s history.
After reconnecting at their mother’s home in the Caribbean – including some of the siblings’ most touching moments of the entire series – Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook), briefly presented a joint front that gave them enough votes to stop the Waystar Royco sale to GoJo and Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). But with the votes knotted at six and Shiv as the deciding ballot, the Roys fractured for the last time.
“I love you, I really, I love you—but I can’t fucking stomach you,” Shiv tells Kendall, who quickly spirals out of control at the realization that his life’s dream of taking over the family company has ended.
- 5/29/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Spoiler Alert: This post contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max.
After four riveting, profane seasons and two best drama Emmys (so far!), “Succession” — the story of the Roy dynasty — came to an end on Sunday night. Creator Jesse Armstrong, who conceived the story of the Roys loosely around the mythology of the Murdochs, announced in February that Season 4 would be its last.
The death of patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) in Episode 3 provided the engine for the rest of the season, and once again divided the adult Roy siblings — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) — who have an interest in running Waystar Royco, the family’s mega-corporation that was about to be sold to tech giant GoJo. As the three of them fell back into their old feuds and reopened childhood wounds, the deal solidified...
After four riveting, profane seasons and two best drama Emmys (so far!), “Succession” — the story of the Roy dynasty — came to an end on Sunday night. Creator Jesse Armstrong, who conceived the story of the Roys loosely around the mythology of the Murdochs, announced in February that Season 4 would be its last.
The death of patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) in Episode 3 provided the engine for the rest of the season, and once again divided the adult Roy siblings — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) — who have an interest in running Waystar Royco, the family’s mega-corporation that was about to be sold to tech giant GoJo. As the three of them fell back into their old feuds and reopened childhood wounds, the deal solidified...
- 5/29/2023
- by Jordan Moreau and Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
Note: The following story contains spoilers from the “Succession” series finale.
Logan Roy’s successor was finally revealed during Sunday’s high-stakes “Succession” finale.
The episode, titled “With Open Eyes,” sees Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) head into a contentious board meeting to determine the next chief executive of Waystar Royco and attempt to stop the company’s merger with Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgård) GoJo.
Read below for TheWrap’s roundup of the top five shocking moments from the HBO drama series’ conclusion:
Also Read:
Brian Cox Says Death Came Too Early for ‘Succession’ Patriarch Logan Roy: ‘I Did Feel a Little Bit Rejected’ Matsson Recruiting Tom as Waystar’s American CEO
The first major shocker of the episode came during a meeting between Matsson and Tom (Matthew MacFadyen), where the former revealed he is planning to betray Shiv and appoint the latter as...
Logan Roy’s successor was finally revealed during Sunday’s high-stakes “Succession” finale.
The episode, titled “With Open Eyes,” sees Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) head into a contentious board meeting to determine the next chief executive of Waystar Royco and attempt to stop the company’s merger with Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgård) GoJo.
Read below for TheWrap’s roundup of the top five shocking moments from the HBO drama series’ conclusion:
Also Read:
Brian Cox Says Death Came Too Early for ‘Succession’ Patriarch Logan Roy: ‘I Did Feel a Little Bit Rejected’ Matsson Recruiting Tom as Waystar’s American CEO
The first major shocker of the episode came during a meeting between Matsson and Tom (Matthew MacFadyen), where the former revealed he is planning to betray Shiv and appoint the latter as...
- 5/29/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Spoiler warning: Here is a recap of the Succession season 4 And series finale, “With Open Eyes,” directed by Mark Mylod and written by creator Jesse Armstrong.
Succession, the Emmy-winning HBO family saga, about the Roys and their in-fighting for control of the media conglomerate, Waystar Royco, came to an end after four seasons — and in the process, finally revealed who would have a seat at the table as the company determined who would become CEO once and for all.
This comes after season 4 of Succession kicked off the Roy siblings — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and the secretly pregnant Shiv (Sarah Snook) — determined to start their own media company following their failed coup to take out their father, Logan (Brian Cox), in the season 3 finale, when they were betrayed by Shiv’s husband, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), and their cousin, Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun).
Since then, the series took...
Succession, the Emmy-winning HBO family saga, about the Roys and their in-fighting for control of the media conglomerate, Waystar Royco, came to an end after four seasons — and in the process, finally revealed who would have a seat at the table as the company determined who would become CEO once and for all.
This comes after season 4 of Succession kicked off the Roy siblings — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and the secretly pregnant Shiv (Sarah Snook) — determined to start their own media company following their failed coup to take out their father, Logan (Brian Cox), in the season 3 finale, when they were betrayed by Shiv’s husband, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), and their cousin, Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun).
Since then, the series took...
- 5/29/2023
- by Sarah Curran
- ET Canada
Note: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of “Succession.”
The series finale of “Succession” brought the story of the Roy family and the fate of their company to an end, placing a new and not entirely surprising heir at the helm of Waystar Royco.
The episode, titled “With Open Eyes,” dropped a satisfying — if not all that unpredictable — twist on viewers after Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) once again betrayed his wife, Siobhan Roy (Sarah Snook), and partnered with Swedish corporate shark Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) to become U.S. CEO of the company. A tense board meeting led to Matsson’s internet conglomerate GoJo’s acquisition of Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) company right from under the Roy siblings’ grasp.
But that only happened because Shiv acted on her bone-deep knowledge of older brother Kendall’s (Jeremy Strong) personal and professional weaknesses — mixed, perhaps, with her own resentment...
The series finale of “Succession” brought the story of the Roy family and the fate of their company to an end, placing a new and not entirely surprising heir at the helm of Waystar Royco.
The episode, titled “With Open Eyes,” dropped a satisfying — if not all that unpredictable — twist on viewers after Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) once again betrayed his wife, Siobhan Roy (Sarah Snook), and partnered with Swedish corporate shark Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) to become U.S. CEO of the company. A tense board meeting led to Matsson’s internet conglomerate GoJo’s acquisition of Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) company right from under the Roy siblings’ grasp.
But that only happened because Shiv acted on her bone-deep knowledge of older brother Kendall’s (Jeremy Strong) personal and professional weaknesses — mixed, perhaps, with her own resentment...
- 5/29/2023
- by Bob Strauss
- The Wrap
[This story contains major spoilers for the Succession series finale, “With Open Eyes.”]
Whether or not you “pre-grieved,” the time for mourning has finally arrived: Succession is over, and with it, the story of the Roys.
Heading into the 90-minute series finale, creator Jesse Armstrong’s Emmy-winning drama faced the daunting task of resolving numerous individual and interconnected character arcs, all with an eye on one major question: who will succeed Logan Roy (Brian Cox) at the head of Waystar Royco?
Entering the finale, there were numerous possible answers. Would Kendall (Jeremy Strong) embody his middle name and transform into the killer his dad always told him he’d never become? Would Shiv (Sarah Snook) become the tip of the spear for a successful GoJo deal with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard), and where would Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) land within that?
How about Roman (Kieran Culkin), so thoroughly anguished over the death of his father that he had to walk out into an ocean...
Whether or not you “pre-grieved,” the time for mourning has finally arrived: Succession is over, and with it, the story of the Roys.
Heading into the 90-minute series finale, creator Jesse Armstrong’s Emmy-winning drama faced the daunting task of resolving numerous individual and interconnected character arcs, all with an eye on one major question: who will succeed Logan Roy (Brian Cox) at the head of Waystar Royco?
Entering the finale, there were numerous possible answers. Would Kendall (Jeremy Strong) embody his middle name and transform into the killer his dad always told him he’d never become? Would Shiv (Sarah Snook) become the tip of the spear for a successful GoJo deal with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard), and where would Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) land within that?
How about Roman (Kieran Culkin), so thoroughly anguished over the death of his father that he had to walk out into an ocean...
- 5/29/2023
- by Josh Wigler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In a way, “Succession” will never end. The Roy family’s wealth is too immense to be squelched in a single episode — even a finale that’s as long as a film. That kind of money isn’t even money anymore; it’s capital, power, and, as Kendall put it in his eulogy to Logan, “the lifeblood […] of this wonderful civilization we have built from the mud.” Whomever succeeds the Waystar Royco business titan will grab the reigns of an ecosystem that may not be too big to fail, but certainly protects its own. Barring an asteroid smashing into the planet or a significant time-jump into the post-apocalypse, “Succession’s” ending isn’t likely to halt the Roys’ destructive rampage across this planet. There will be survivors. There will be enterprise. There will be wealth.
But we won’t get to see any of it because “Succession” is still ending.
But we won’t get to see any of it because “Succession” is still ending.
- 5/28/2023
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
The fictional Roy family of "Succession" is often compared to the real-life Murdoch media dynasty, which owns the conglomerate News Corp and the Fox brand. The parallels are far from coincidental. About a decade before "Succession" premiered, series creator Jesse Armstrong wrote a feature script, "The Murdochs," about the eponymous family. The script was never produced -- contemporary reporting at Forbes by Jeff Bercovici suggests this is because no backers were willing to fund such controversial subject matter and risk angering the Murdochs.
There's precedence. In 1941, William Randolph Hearst made it his mission to bury "Citizen Kane" because he was convinced the film was an attack on him. It's easy to imagine Murdoch, a modern-day media baron of Hearst's same stature, doing the same to a film that aired his family's dirty laundry.
This might also be why Armstrong has downplayed the connection between his show and the Murdochs. However,...
There's precedence. In 1941, William Randolph Hearst made it his mission to bury "Citizen Kane" because he was convinced the film was an attack on him. It's easy to imagine Murdoch, a modern-day media baron of Hearst's same stature, doing the same to a film that aired his family's dirty laundry.
This might also be why Armstrong has downplayed the connection between his show and the Murdochs. However,...
- 5/28/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
“Succession” series creator Jesse Armstrong writes characters who aren’t equipped for their times – either their inflated egos make them see small slights as momentous personal challenges or their stunted emotional maturity and intellect make them exactly the wrong people to deal with an actual crisis. In the case of “Succession,” it’s often both, and the camera responds accordingly.
Director Mark Mylod and director of photography Patrick Capone have together helmed over 10 episodes of the series together — including Season 4’s Episode 1, “The Munsters,” Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding,” and Episode 9, “Church and State” — and like to keep the audience just a couple seconds behind and constantly re-finding the characters and the shifting power dynamics of individual scenes. It makes “Succession” look the way it must feel for the Roy siblings: one giant clusterfuck after another.
The series’s 90-minute finale is nigh, and the boardroom battle between “the Roy boys...
Director Mark Mylod and director of photography Patrick Capone have together helmed over 10 episodes of the series together — including Season 4’s Episode 1, “The Munsters,” Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding,” and Episode 9, “Church and State” — and like to keep the audience just a couple seconds behind and constantly re-finding the characters and the shifting power dynamics of individual scenes. It makes “Succession” look the way it must feel for the Roy siblings: one giant clusterfuck after another.
The series’s 90-minute finale is nigh, and the boardroom battle between “the Roy boys...
- 5/27/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
After nearly five years and four seasons, HBO’s award-winning series Succession is finally coming to an end this weekend. The show’s Season Four finale airs Sunday, May 28 on Max (formerly known as HBO Max), with the Roys navigating the aftermath of an election, the massive loss of that character, and plotting who will take over the family’s company in the future — Shiv? Kendall? Tom? Roman? Cousin Greg?
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“If we want to hold onto this company for us, we have to go into...
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“If we want to hold onto this company for us, we have to go into...
- 5/26/2023
- by John Lonsdale
- Rollingstone.com
Another brand-defining, Best Drama Emmy-winning HBO series is coming to an end this Sunday when Succession airs its finale. Just like when each of its esteemed predecessors, The Sopranos and Game Of Thrones, ended, there is the inevitable succession question about what comes next.
This time, HBO’s bench is stacked with strong reinforcements in freshmen The Last Of Us and House of the Dragon and sophomore The White Lotus for what could be HBO’s strongest Emmy showing ever in the drama categories with four major Outstanding Drama Series contenders.
They are all overseen by HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi, a 20-year network veteran and one of HBO & Max Content Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys’ top lieutenants. She dismisses the notion that HBO may be adrift with Succession coming to an end.
“We are really proud of the exciting return of The Last of Us, House of the Dragon,...
This time, HBO’s bench is stacked with strong reinforcements in freshmen The Last Of Us and House of the Dragon and sophomore The White Lotus for what could be HBO’s strongest Emmy showing ever in the drama categories with four major Outstanding Drama Series contenders.
They are all overseen by HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi, a 20-year network veteran and one of HBO & Max Content Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys’ top lieutenants. She dismisses the notion that HBO may be adrift with Succession coming to an end.
“We are really proud of the exciting return of The Last of Us, House of the Dragon,...
- 5/26/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
At the close of its fourth and final season, “Succession” occupies a place eerily analogous to that of fearsome patriarch Logan Roy. After Logan’s sudden, shocking death in the third episode, his colleagues and children (who were also his colleagues) had to scramble for an answer to the question that’s haunted the entire series: What — or rather, who — now? “Succession” itself is set to leave a Logan-sized hole in the cultural landscape, with its fan base asking the same question.
The future is impossible to predict, as “Succession” so beautifully showed with its anticlimactic, out-of-nowhere take on Logan’s demise. Ahead of the May 28 series finale, however, we can look back on what made the show such an era-defining, Emmy-dominating hit. “Succession” is hardly the first to explore the inner lives of the ultrarich. But at the end of its run, it stands out as the least glamorous...
The future is impossible to predict, as “Succession” so beautifully showed with its anticlimactic, out-of-nowhere take on Logan’s demise. Ahead of the May 28 series finale, however, we can look back on what made the show such an era-defining, Emmy-dominating hit. “Succession” is hardly the first to explore the inner lives of the ultrarich. But at the end of its run, it stands out as the least glamorous...
- 5/26/2023
- by Alison Herman
- Variety Film + TV
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