"Succession" has become one of the most critically acclaimed current series on television in the years since it debuted on HBO in 2018 and has taken place as one of the network's flagship titles.
The series is centered on a fiction media conglomerate and the Roys family that operates it. In the storyline, the future of both comes into question when the patriarch's health turns for the worse.
The following season of "Succession" is set to be released soon. And it sounds like there won't be any more to follow. Beware of possible spoilers.
Series creator Jesse Armstrong says this will be the final season
The forthcoming season of "Succession" will also be the ultimate of the television show, per The Hollywood Reporter. As noted by Variety, rumors had been swirling for quite some time that that would be the case.
Jesse Armstrong, the creator of "Succession," had given indicators at the close of last season that the end was near. Armstrong now elaborates that he'd begun discussing the endgame with his fellow writers around the same time.
He said he understood that the series could continue for much longer, continuously changing formats. But felt that could lead to inconsistency in the quality. "Or we could do something more muscular and complete, a go-out sort of strong. And that was always my preference," Armstrong says.
From there, the question seemed to be whether it would be two more seasons or just one. And eventually, just one became the answer.
The conclusion of what has become the second-to-last season of "Succession" left viewers eagerly anticipating what's next. Waystar RoyCo, the business at the center of it all, seems poised to be bought out by a competitor. The three primary Roy siblings – Kendall, Siobhan and Roman – are on the outside looking in.
They were betrayed by their parents and Siobhan's husband, Tom Wambsgans.
Their situation is perhaps even more poignant as they'd recently achieved some familial growth as siblings. After a very public estrangement, Siobhan and Roman rally around Kendall. Whose personal struggles had nearly cost him his life.
"You know, 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," said Armstrong. What Armstrong had been thinking of will soon be made public.
He does not rule the potential out future spin-offs
Jesse Armstrong has signed an overall contract with HBO since the launch of "Succession." It could mean more is in store for some of the Roys and their inner circle.
But not necessarily in the immediate future.
Currently, there aren't any other projects in the "Succession" universe in the works. Armstrong says he believes the upcoming season completes the story. "But the feeling that there could be something else in an allied world, or allied characters, or some of the same characters are also strong in me," Armstrong adds that he and the other writers have purposely caveated the show's ending. He is leaving the door open for more. "Maybe there's another part of this world we could return to," he says if there's an "appetite" for it.
But maybe it could be sooner if it does happen. Armstrong has already predicted he'll regret ending the show. "I'll probably be calling you in about six months asking if people are ready for a reboot," he added.