The creator of the hit HBO series Succession announced that the upcoming fourth season will be her last in a new profile on The New Yorker.
Speaking to the publication, Jesse Armstrong revealed that he wanted fans of the show to know that the ending is near, which takes place about a month before the Season 4 premiere.
And he hinted that the show’s star, Logan Roy, will die this season, he told the magazine. “You know, there’s a promise in the title ‘Succession’. I never thought it could go on like this forever. The ending was always somehow present in my mind.’
The British author, screenwriter and producer added: “I never thought this could go on forever. The ending was always somehow present in my head. Ever since season 2 I’ve been trying to think: is it the next one, or the one after, or the one after?
The end is near: Follow-up creator Jesse Armstrong, 52, announced in an interview with The New Yorker on Thursday that the HBO series is ending after its forthcoming fourth season; seen in June 2022
That’s all: Armstrong said he met with the writers before they began season four in November 2021 and suggested the idea of ending the series; The satirical black comedy-drama stars Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin (both pictured) and Jeremy Strong
It turns out that Armstrong teamed up with his fellow writers before they started writing season four around November 2021 and pitched the idea of ending the series.
“I kind of said, ‘Look, I think maybe that should be it. But what do you think? “And we went through different scenarios,” Armstrong said of deciding to bring the show to a close.
He explained, “We could do a couple of short seasons or two more seasons. Or we could go on forever and turn the show into something completely different and be a more racy, freewheeling type of fun show that would have good weeks and bad weeks. Or we could do something more muscular and complete and kind of go out strong. And that was definitely always my preference.”
Armstrong went on to tell the authors, “I think that’s what we’re doing, but let’s also keep it open-ended.
“I like to lead the writing room by coming in with some kind of suggestion and then being really open to alternative approaches,” he shared.
Ultimately, the decision on the ending was cemented through the writing, and then the idea was presented to the cast as they began filming season four.
“I said to the cast, ‘I’m not 100% sure, but I think that’s it.’ Because I didn’t mean to be kidding either,” he confessed.
HBO finally confirmed that season four, set to premiere on March 26, will be its last.
Difficult conversation: Armstrong let the cast know that he and the writers thought the show was coming to an end when they started filming season four; Pictured are Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook
Praised: Succession has won 13 Emmy Awards, including several to Armstrong for writing and honoring drama series in 2020 and 2022; Armstrong (center) is pictured with Matthew Macfadyen, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Brian Cox and Nicholas Braun in June 2022 in New York City
The successor follows a wealthy family that owns a large media conglomerate and is struggling to retain its power. It stars Brian Cox as the patriarch of the Roy family and Jeremy Strong as one of his children who agree to succeed their father as CEO.
The cast also includes Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Hiam Abbass, Nicholas Braun, Peter Friedman, Natalie Gold, Ron Yang, Alan Ruck, Parker Sawyers, Dagmara Domińczyk, Arian Moayed, J. Smith-Cameron, Justine Lupe and David Rasche and Fisher Stevens.
The show has won 13 Emmy Awards to date, including several for Armstrong for writing and honoring drama series in 2020 and 2022.
In addition to Succession, Armstrong is also known as a co-creator of the Brotosh comedy series Peep Show (2003-2015) and the British comedy-drama series Fresh Meat (2011-2016).