Succession Is Ending at Season 4

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has confirmed that the Emmy-winning HBO series will come to an end with Season 4.

Armstrong revealed the news on Thursday in an interview with The New Yorker. He explained how he came to the decision to conclude the drama of the Roy family in the upcoming fourth season, saying that he wanted to end the series on a high note rather than keep going.

“There’s a promise in the title of ‘Succession.’ I’ve never thought this could go on forever,” he said. “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 four, 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.”

Since debuting on HBO Max in 2018, Succession has garnered critical acclaim, picking up multiple awards and attracting hordes of new fans along the way. Armstrong admitted that he felt “conflicted” about saying goodbye to the show after such a successful run.

“I feel deeply conflicted. I quite enjoy this period when we’re editing — where the whole season is there — but we haven’t put it out yet. I like the interregnum,” he said. “And I also quite liked the period where me and my close collaborators knew that this was probably it, or this was it, but hadn’t had to face up to it in the world. It’s been a difficult decision… And HBO has been generous and would probably have done more seasons, and they have been nice about saying, ‘It’s your decision.’ That’s nice, but it’s also a responsibility in the end — it feels quite perverse to stop doing it.”

The final season of Succession will start streaming on HBO Max on March 26 — over a year after the show’s explosive third season finale. IGN’s review of Season 3 noted that it was “just as strong as previous installments, with more fiery perfromances and petty hilarity.”

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.