HBO's acclaimed satirical family drama series Succession will come to an end with its upcoming season four, creator Jesse Armstrong has announced.
Armstrong shared the news in an interview with American publication New Yorker, saying that the fourth season, set to premiere on March 26, will conclude the show.
"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 two, I've been trying to think: Is it the next one, or the one after that, or is it the one after that?" Armstrong said in the piece, titled The End of Succession Is Near.
Succession follows media baron Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his four children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck) as the siblings compete to take over the family media conglomerate Waystar Royco.
Armstrong revealed he and his fellow writers had been planning the show's end since late 2021. "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," he added.
Armstrong, who co-created hits shows Peep Show and Fresh Meat in the UK, admitted feeling "conflicted" about ending the show.
"I feel sad, and I have the-circus-has-left-town feeling that everyone gets who works on a production that's good, and this one particularly so. I imagine I'll be a little bit lonely, and wandering the streets of London in a funk, and wondering, 'what the f**k did I do?' I'll probably be calling you up in about six months asking if people are ready for a reboot," he added.
The fourth and final season of the Emmy-winning series will follow on from the events of the third season finale in December 2021.
"The sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard) 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 complete.
"A power struggle ensues as the family weighs up a future where their cultural and political weight is severely curtailed," the logline read.
Returning cast members include Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, J Smith-Cameron, Peter Friedman, David Rasche, Fisher Stevens, Hiam Abbass, Justine Lupe, Dagmara Dominczyk, Arian Moayed, Scott Nicholson and Zoe Winters.
The newcomers are Annabeth Gish, Adam Godley, Eili Harboe, and Johannes Haukur Johannesson.
Succession is executive produced by Armstrong, Adam McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Jane Tranter, Mark Mylod, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Lucy Prebble, Will Tracy and Will Ferrell.
