| Bgcolor: |
|
| Showrunner: | Jesse Armstrong |
| Num Episodes: | 10 |
| Network: | HBO |
| Episode List: | List of Succession episodes |
The fourth and final season of the American satirical comedy-drama television series Succession premiered on HBO on March 26, 2023. Series creator Jesse Armstrong serves as the showrunner for the season. The series centers on the Roy family, the owners of global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo, and their fight for control of the company amidst uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch.
The season features an ensemble cast of Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Dagmara Domińczyk, Peter Friedman, Justine Lupe, Matthew Macfadyen, David Rasche, Alan Ruck, J. Smith-Cameron, Sarah Snook, Fisher Stevens and Jeremy Strong, who all return from the previous season. Hiam Abbass and Arian Moayed, who only appeared in a recurring capacity in the third season after being credited with the main cast in the second season, are credited with the main cast in the episodes they appear in. Alexander Skarsgård was promoted to the main cast for the season after featuring in a recurring role in the previous season.
In October 2021, HBO renewed Succession for a fourth season, which was confirmed by Armstrong to be the final season in February 2023. Filming for the season began in June 2022, in New York City. Production later moved to Norway, Los Angeles and Barbados, and ended in early 2023. The season consists of ten episodes, an increase from the previous season, which had nine.
The season received critical acclaim, and was nominated for 27 Primetime Emmy Awards, the highest amount of the series. The season received six wins, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Culkin, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Snook, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Macfadyen, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Armstrong, and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Mark Mylod. The season finale was the most-watched episode of Succession.
Caitlin FitzGerald, who portrays Tabitha Hayes, appeared in the promotional trailer for the season, and was slated to appear in the sixth episode, however ultimately made no appearance in the season.
In June 2021, executive producer Georgia Pritchett commented that the series would not go beyond five seasons, and possibly would end after the fourth season.[1] On October 26, 2021, HBO renewed the series for a fourth season. The season consists of ten episodes, an increase from the previous season.[2] In an interview with The New Yorker on February 23, 2023, Armstrong confirmed that the series would conclude with the fourth season. He stated that while the season was not initially pitched as the series' last, "the decision to end solidified through the writing and even when we started filming: I said to the cast, 'I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think this is it.'"[3]
All main cast members return from the previous season, with Hiam Abbass and Arian Moayed, who only appeared in a recurring capacity in the third season after being credited with main cast in the second season, are credited with the main cast in the episodes they appear in. Alexander Skarsgård, who previously starred in a recurring role, was promoted to the main cast for the season. In January 2023, it was announced that Adam Godley, Annabeth Gish, Eili Harboe and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson had been cast in the fourth season in a recurring capacity.[4]
Production on the ten-episode fourth season began in New York City on June 27, 2022, with Mark Mylod directing the first episode.[5] Mylod then directed three more of the ten episodes, with the others being directed by Becky Martin, Lorene Scafaria, Andrij Parekh, Lorene Scafaria, and directing team Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini. In October 2022, it was confirmed that filming occurred in western Norway, including locations such as the Atlantic Ocean Road, Romsdalen Gondola, Eggen Restaurant, and Juvet Landscape Hotel, as part of a storyline involving Skarsgård's character.[6] Los Angeles and Barbados also served as filming locations for the fourth season.[7] [8] On January 16, 2023, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, star Matthew Macfadyen stated: “We've got another month or so” left of filming.[9]
The season premiered on HBO on March 26, 2023, with episodes releasing weekly until the finale on May 28, 2023.[10]
HBO released the fourth season on DVD on September 12, 2023.[11] [12]
The final episode of the season, the series finale, drew 2.9 million viewers, making it the highest watched episode of the series. This was a 68% increase from the 1.7 million viewers for the third-season finale,[13] which was a record high for the series.[14] [15]
The fourth and final season has been met with widespread critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds an approval rating of 97% with an average rating of 9.2/10, based on 324 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "As compulsively watchable as ever, Successions final season concludes the saga of the backbiting Roy family on a typically brilliant – and colorfully profane – high note."[16] On Metacritic, the season has received a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[17]
The fourth and final season of Succession received a leading 27 nominations with six wins at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards: including Outstanding Drama Series; Kieran Culkin for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series; Sarah Snook for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; Matthew Macfadyen for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; and Jesse Armstrong and Mark Mylod for Outstanding Writing and Directing for a Drama Series, respectively, for the episode "Connor's Wedding".[18] Nominations included Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series; Nicholas Braun, Alan Ruck, and Alexander Skarsgård for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; J. Smith-Cameron for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; and James Cromwell, Arian Moayed, Hiam Abbass, Cherry Jones, and Harriet Walter all received guest acting nominations. It also received two nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, for the episodes "Living+" and "America Decides".[19]