Back in February, Jesse Armstrong made a surprise announcement that “Succession” would end with season 4. Brian Cox has said before that he thought four to five seasons was the series’ shelf-life, and in the Deadline interview, he seemed content with how the story unfolded. Cox echoed a common fan interpretation about the structure of “Succession” — each season was centered around exploring Logan’s relationship with one of his children while the patriarch also sized them up on whether they should be his heir. Cox explained:
“Season 1 dealt with Kendall. Season 2 very much dealt with Siobhan […] and season 3, all was intermittent through was Logan and Roman. And so the last season was really about the family … you know, about the group, and that dynamic.
Many have argued that “Succession” is really about communication and power dynamics within abusive families. Now that those dynamics have been explored in such detail, the only thing left to do is explore how the Roy siblings handle themselves and relate to each other with their father gone. At the same time though, killing Logan kills the aforementioned “tension” that has sustained the show. That’s why Logan’s death could only happen in the final season; it’s a harbinger of the story’s end.
In a February 2023 interview with the New Yorker, Armstrong said he considered keeping “Succession” going past season 4. However, he felt that to do so, it would have to become “a more rangy, freewheeling kind of fun show.” Now I understand why — further Roy sibling squabbles would grow petty with Logan out of the picture. In the “more muscular and complete” story Armstrong decided to tell, Logan’s death couldn’t have come any earlier or later than it did.
New episodes of “Succession” air on HBO and stream on HBO Max every Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET.