Succession confirms final season
"There’s a promise in the title of Succession. I’ve never thought this could go on forever," says Jesse Armstrong.
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In disappointing news Succession creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong has confirmed the upcoming fourth season will be the last.
Speaking to the NewYorker
“You know, there’s a promise in the title of Succession. I’ve never thought this could go on forever. The end has always been kind of present in my mind. From Season 2, I’ve been trying to think: Is it the next one, or the one after that, or is it the one after that?
“I got together with a few of my fellow-writers before we started the writing of Season 4, in about November, December, 2021, and I sort of said, ‘Look, I think this maybe should be it. But what do you think?’ And we played out various scenarios: We could do a couple of short seasons, or two more seasons. Or we could go on for ages and turn the show into something rather different, and be a more rangy, freewheeling kind of fun show, where there would be good weeks and bad weeks. Or we could do something a bit more muscular and complete, and go out sort of strong. And that was definitely always my preference.
“I went into the writing room for Season 4 sort of saying, ‘I think this is what we’re doing, but let’s also keep it open.’ I like operating the writing room by coming in with a sort of proposition, and then being genuinely open to alternative ways of going. And the decision to end solidified through the writing and even when we started filming: I said to the cast, ‘I’m not a hundred per cent sure, but I think this is it.’ Because I didn’t want to bullshit them, either.”
Season 4 begins on March 27 on FOX Showcase / Binge.
You can read more here.
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3 Responses
Hopefully a spin off of some sort comes out of this.
There’s a curious honesty in Jesse Armstrong’s announcement, musing that she never thought Succession could go on forever, confessing that she wondered if the shows ending was to be the next season or the one after that, this sort of sums up the dilemma for most US showrunners nowadays, the streaming market is no guarantee of success, though getting 3-4 seasons is not bad, and some shows far better than Succession have not got that far and were removed after season one. I found Succession to be a bit quirky with sexual misdemeanors, including implied incest in season 1, featuring constant workplace bullying and aggressive behaviour, for this reason I expected the show to end a lot sooner as it challenged Hollywood’s current politics with each episode. Having said that, fans should be tuning in to the final season as I’m sure the shows successor will be a twist that no one foresaw, or the writers have failed to do their job. Besides, veteran Brian Cox does deserve a good send off.
Am I missing something with your reference to “she”?
Either way, it sounds like Jesse wants this show to end while it’s still at a high quality. There are times when the series does appear to be going in circles a little, but the eventual payoff makes it all worthwhile. I think Armstrong is ensuring that any future season doesn’t just keep spinning in circles.