The chessboard for Succession’s upcoming season is set and the war between Waystar-Royco’s heirs apparent and their tyrannical patriarch is heating up. In the words of Tom Wambsgans, the Roy family conflict is “like Israel-Palestine, but harder and much more important.”
The HBO drama dropped a tense season four trailer that teased the civil unrest within the Roy family ranks, setting up a face-off between the power-hungry Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his greedy offspring, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin). Amidst all the backstabbing and phone tagging, the short clip also gave us a preview of a different kind of royal wedding, Kendall being sad near a body of water, a possible break-up, and more Cousin Greg.
But what does it all mean and what’s in store for season four? Strap in slime puppies because we’re digging into everything we know about Succession’s latest season.
Release Date
HBO had previously hinted at an Early Spring 2023 release date for Succession’s fourth season and they kept their promise. The first episode will drop Sunday, March 26th, with new episodes airing weekly before the finale lands sometime in May. This season will have ten episodes, which is one more than season three but on par with the episode count of the show’s first two installments.
Plot
Here is the official synopsis for season four of Succession:
In the 10-episode season four, 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.
Money. Power. Greed. And the consequences of unresolved daddy issues on entitled elder millennials. Those themes are mainstays of the show at this point but season four is drawing a clear line in the sand between the Roy siblings and their dear, old, can’t-die-soon-enough dad. In season three, after helping Logan to ruin Kendall’s chance to both take over and sabotage the company, Shiv and Roman had a change of heart — especially once they realized their father had no intention of leaving his company to either of them. Instead, Logan was ready to sign on the dotted line, entering into an agreement with Skarsgård’s Matsson that made financial sense but seriously screwed over any hopes of his children succeeding him.
Season three ended with the shocking reveal that Logan had acquired his ex-wife’s shares in the company, effectively castrating any attempt by the siblings to stop the sale of Waystar-Royco and it was Shiv’s husband, Tom, who warned Logan of their plan.
According to a recently released teaser, season four looks to pick up soon after that disastrous family meeting with Shiv, Roman, and Kendall working together to find a new avenue to gain the upper hand against Logan who’s, how can we say it … reluctant to reach out and mend any bridges he’s burned. Tom seems worried his own standing, within the family and the company, might be in jeopardy should Shiv want a divorce and he’s shoring up his position at Waystar-Royco with Cousin Greg’s help. Elsewhere, Connor and Willa (Justine Lupe) are getting married, presumably so that Connor can take his presidential plans to the next level, and the Roy siblings might be going full “beast mode” in order to tank daddy’s deal.
Cast
The main players in the Roy family civil war will all be back for the show’s latest season. Besides Cox, Strong, Snook, and Culkin, Matthew Macfayden and Nicholas Braun are keeping the fan-favorite bromance between Tom Wambsgans and Cousin Greg alive while Alan Ruck is back as presidential hopeful Connor Roy and J. Smith Cameron returns as Gerri Kellman. Alexander Skarsgård is also reprising his role as tech giant Lukas Matsson who made a bid to buy the company in season three. New cast additions recently announced include Annabeth Gish, Adam Godley, Eili Harboe, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.
Trailer
Here is the official trailer for season four of Succession:
‘Succession’ season 4 returns to HBO on March 26th.
