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The creator of HBO’s hit series Succession announced that the upcoming fourth season will be his last in a new profile on the new yorker.
While speaking to the publication, Jesse Armstrong revealed that he wanted fans of the show to know that the finale was coming, coming about a month before the season four premiere.
“You know, there’s a promise in the Succession title,” Armstrong, 52, shared of his thought process in making the decision to end the show at this point.
The British author, screenwriter and producer added: “I never thought this could go on forever. The ending has always been on my mind. Since Season 2, I’ve been trying to think: Is it next, or is it next, or is it next?’
The end is near: Succession creator Jesse Armstrong, 52, revealed in an interview with The New Yorker on Thursday that the HBO series will come to an end after its upcoming fourth season; seen in June 2022
That’s it: Armstrong said he met with the writers before they started season four around November 2021 and pitched the idea of ending the series; the satirical black comedy-drama stars Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin (both pictured) and Jeremy Strong
As it turns out, Armstrong met with his fellow writers before they started writing the fourth season around November 2021 and pitched the idea of ending the series.
‘I kind of said, ‘Look, I think this should be it. But what do you think?’ And we played various scenarios’, helping Armstrong’s decision to take the show to its conclusion.
He explained: ‘We could do a couple of short seasons, or two more seasons. Or we could go on for years and turn the show into something quite different, and be a broader, carefree fun show, where there would be good weeks and bad weeks. Or we could do something a little more muscular and full, and come out a little stronger. And that was definitely always my preference.
Armstrong went on to tell the writers, ‘I think this is what we’re doing, but let’s also keep things open.
“I like to operate the writing room by coming up with a kind of pitch and then really being open to alternative ways of doing it,” he shared.
Ultimately, the decision to end was solidified through writing, and the idea was then pitched to the cast as they began filming the fourth season.
“I told the cast, ‘I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think this is it.’ Because I didn’t want to make fun of them either, ”she confessed.
HBO ended up confirming that the fourth season that will premiere on March 26 will be the last.
Tough Talk: Armstrong let the cast know that he and the writers thought the show was coming to an end when they began filming the fourth season; In the photo, Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook.
Acclaimed: Succession has won 13 Emmy Awards, including several for Armstrong for Writing and 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 succession follows a wealthy family that owns a major media conglomerate and struggles to maintain its power. It stars Brian Cox as the patriarch of the Roy family and Jeremy Strong as one of his sons, who conspire to succeed their father as head of the company.
The cast also includes characters like 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, David Rasche and Fisher Stevens.
The show has won 13 Emmy Awards so far, including several for Armstrong for writing and drama series honors in 2020 and 2022.
Along with Succession, Armstrong is also best known for co-creating the Brotosh comedy series Peep Show (2003-2015) and the British comedy-drama series Fresh Meat (2011-2016).