Succession

(Craig Blankenhorn / HBO)

Network: HBO.
Episodes: 39 (hour).
Seasons: Four.

TV show dates: June 3, 2018 — May 28, 2023.
Series status: Ended.

Performers include: Hiam Abbass, Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Peter Friedman, Natalie Gold, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook, Jeremy Strong, Rob Yang, Dagmara Domińczyk, Arian Moayed, J. Smith-Cameron, Justine Lupe, David Rasche, Fisher Stevens, and Alexander Skarsgård.

TV show description:
From creator Jesse Armstrong, the Succession TV show centers on the Roy family. They control the powerful international media conglomerate Waystar Royco. Although patriarch Logan Roy (Cox) has always been a force to be reckoned with, it is time for him to pass the torch, which he is not quite ready to do.

The drama unfolds in New York, where Logan lives with his third wife, Marcia (Abbass). While she is a loving spouse, Marcia is a tough cookie in her own right. The family also includes Logan’s four children, sons Connor (Ruck), Kendall (Strong), Roman (Culkin), and daughter “Shiv” i.e., Siobhan (Snook).

Although he is Logan’s eldest son from his first marriage, Connor has been off in New Mexico, living his own life. Similarly, Roman, the younger and more outgoing son from Logan’s second marriage, no longer works at the family business. Meanwhile, the youngest child Shiv, is trying to forge a political career.

As the first son from the second marriage and the only one of the four kids involved at Waystar, division president Kendall is Logan’s heir apparent. When younger cousin Greg (Braun) moves from Canada to New York, looking for the opportunity to manage the company’s theme parks, all four of the Roy siblings reunite with him and each other.

Shiv’s ambitious boyfriend, Tom (Macfadyen) is a Waystar Royco senior executive. There’s also Rava (Gold), Kendall’s estranged wife and mother of his two children. Rounding out the circle is longtime family friend Frank (Friedman), Waystar COO and Kendall’s mentor.

Kendall is in the process of buying out a digital media company from its CEO and founder, Lawrence (Yang) when Logan announces that despite celebrating his 80th birthday, he has decided to remain as the Waystar Royco CEO indefinitely.

Kendall is crushed. His siblings are none too happy either when they learn their father has new plans for how to go about selecting his successor.

Succession explores the sometimes fragile bonds between family members and delves into how wealth and power can distort and destroy them.

Series Finale:
Episode #29 — With Open Eyes
Ahead of the final board vote on the Waystar-GoJo deal, Kendall and Shiv try to shore up their opposing interests and get a fix on the whereabouts of a physically and emotionally bruised Roman.
First aired: May 28, 2023.

What do you think? Do you like the Succession TV series? Should this HBO TV show have ended or been renewed for a fifth season?