The Emmy-winning HBO drama returns with new episodes on Sunday, March 26.
Following an explosive third season, which ended in epic fashion, Succession is back with season 4, which will be the last go around with the Roy family. And based on the trailers, it looks like creator Jesse Armstrong's series starring Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun and Alan Ruck shows no signs of calming down, especially as the family feud continues to heat up.
Ahead of the Emmy-winning HBO family drama's return on Sunday, March 26, ET is rounding up everything we know about the Roy family's battle for control of the media conglomerate Waystar Royco as well as what's to come in the new episodes.
How Season 3 Ended
After the Roy siblings spent most of season 3 forming a loose alliance, with Kendall (Strong) struggling at times to convince Roman (Culkin) or Shiv (Snook) to align with him, they finally came together to lead a coup against their father, Logan (Cox), and stop the sell of Waystar Royco to GoJo founder Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). Amid the fallout of their failed plan, it was revealed that Tom (Macfadyen), who convinced Greg (Braun) to make a deal with the devil, was the one that tipped off Logan. Even Roman couldn't convince Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron) to turn against his father.
Elsewhere, Cameron, who was initially in on the coup, backed out and, instead, got engaged to Willa Ferrerya (Justine Lupe), who gave his proposal an unexpected "f**k it." Though, with his political ambitions seemingly squashed by Logan's alternate choice for the next Republican presidential candidate, he also seems to be on the outs like the rest of his siblings.
"It is an astonishing ending… And it shows where the power lies in the family -- and it’s not necessarily where you think it lies either," Cox told ET about the finale, with Snook adding that "it [was] an exciting shift."
What Season 4 Is About
As Ruck told ET, following the season 3 finale, "the gloves are off now. Like, this is a full-on world war." And when the series returns with season 4, the family looks to be split among the battle lines, with Logan, Tom, Greg as well as other longtime employees, like Gerri, on one side and the four Roy siblings on the other.
According to HBO, "the sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson moves ever closer. 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 completed. A power struggle ensues as the family weighs up a future where their cultural and political weight is severely curtailed."
"He knows that they’re going to f**k it up. He knows that they haven’t got the stuff to do it but they’ll try anyway," Cox told Town & Country about what Logan thinks of his kids' actions. He add that when it comes to Shiv, in particular, she "can’t keep her mouth shut. She’s got no reserve, no tactical skill, no subtlety whatsoever, and that’s why she fell out of place."
While speaking with ET, Snook suggested the dynamics between Logan and his four kids -- particularly the verbal lashings and public put downs that they're willing to take -- is "something that will probably be explored" more in the coming episodes. "They've got to come to a head and whether they go back to the same old, traditional way of how they've been relating to each other or whether they bust up and change, that's where the conflict lies," she offered.
Not surprisingly, "[the family] gets tested more than it ever has been," Snook said later in an interview with Town & Country. Not only that, but Armstrong teased that they are in for "a bumpy ride" filled with a "lot of hard rendering and conflict."
The series, meanwhile, will head overseas as it focuses on the impending GoJo and Waystar merger. "We were just in Norway," Strong told ET about shooting on location in Europe, revealing that in October, they "were about halfway through the fourth season."
One thing is for sure, Kendall is "in some fresh hell, as you can imagine," the actor quipped.
When it specifically comes to his character, Strong also told GQ he hopes "there are rungs on the latter that are redemptive Kendall." While he has a "broad-strokes sense" of where things are going, he says, "I feel a sense of really wanting to, now that we’re at the one-yard line, finish this season and possibly the show, in a way that delivers a real payload of what this journey has been."
While speaking to ET at the red carpet premiere for season 4, "People will be very shocked very surprised watching this season," Skarsgård said. And although Cherry Jones has a small part in the final season, she says "the few times I got to play with the gang it was just heaven on a stick."
Trailer and Premiere Date
In January, HBO revealed that Succession is set to return on Sunday, March 26, at 9 p.m. PT/ET, kicking off a 10-episode season.
The network also started debuting new footage of season 4, giving audiences a glimpse of Logan seemingly getting ready for war. "This is not the end," an ecstatic Logan says, while speaking to Waystar employees. "We're killing the opposition." He then adds, much to the bewilderment reactions of his kids, "I am going to build something better, faster, leaner, wilder. I love it here. I f**king love it!"
In another clip, the patriarch was seen taking an even more aggressive stance, showing that he's fully recovered from his previous health scares. "Everything I try to do, people turn against me," Logan says, clearly still angry about having to constantly face down challengers for his position at the top of his company. "I'm a hundred feet tall… These people are pygmies."
The teaser then also showed the four siblings trying to figure out where the stand with each other, as they seemingly prepare to face off with their father. "Here they are, the rebel alliance," Connor quips, with Kendall teasing that they're the "new gen Roys."
Even though the family battle is front and center, there's still some underlying tension that needs to be dealt with -- and that is where things stand with Shiv and Tom. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asks, getting nothing but a glare from his wife.
The final, extended look at season 4, meanwhile, showed a family completely at war as Logan's kids make moves to partner with their father's growing list of enemies.
"We were cut out behind our backs," Kendall says, before proposing that the siblings team up with a number of outsiders (and growing list of enemies) that Logan has either crossed paths or double-crossed before. "We partner up with Sandi and Stewi, with Pierce." (Of course, those being characters played by Hope Davis, Arian Moayed and Cherry Jones, all of whom are returning for the final season.)
Possibility of More Seasons
While season 4 isn't even out yet, the cast has already started talking about the possibility of even more to come. Culkin recently revealed to ET that "as a fan of the show, I would like to see more, I would like to see two more seasons."
"If he decides there's more to be got out of it, then we’ll do a fifth season,” Cox offered. He then added, "I don’t think we'll do much more than that." It’s a sentiment Culkin also agreed with. "I also trust Jesse and if he feels it's time to stop, he’s right," the actor added.
Since then, the creator has revealed that the upcoming season will be the series' last, which ET confirmed with HBO. "There’s a promise in the title of Succession. I’ve never thought this could go on forever," Armstrong said of ending the show, later adding that he wanted to go out strong. "That was definitely always my preference."
That said, the decision was a difficult one. "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," Armstrong explained. "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."
Succession season 4 premieres Sunday, March 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max. Sign up for HBO Max and catch up on seasons 1-3, now streaming on HBO Max. (We may receive an affiliate commission if you subscribe to a service through our links.)
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