The last days of Succession: Will the finale live up to the hype?

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This story contains spoilers for season four of Succession. Every week The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald will be recapping the latest episode of Succession. You can listen to our recap podcast here.

After thirty-nine episodes, across six years and four seasons, the final bombshell is upon us.

It’s a testament to Succession’s place in the pantheon of great TV shows that the end of the series, airing today, has been blanketed in the same hype and mystique that defined the pre-streaming era. Not since The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Mad Men or Breaking Bad has a series finale been subject to so much intrigue and speculation.

As fans wait to see what the future holds for the Roy family and their suited gang of sycophants, it’s worth remembering how a show about the worst people in the world became the best thing on TV.

When Succession began in 2018, the series drew buzz, although few would have predicted the success that followed. On paper, a series about an influential media mogul and his warring offspring seemed promising, especially given the obvious real-world comparisons to the Murdochs.

But as is often the case with Succession, the timing was everything.

The cast of Succession (from left) Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Brian Cox, Sarah Snook and Alan Ruck.Credit: HBO/Foxtel

“The day of the first table read was election day, 2016,” says Alan Ruck, who plays the eldest sibling, Connor Roy.

“We read through the pilot, spirits were high and then went back to [executive producer] Adam McKay’s apartment in New York and started to watch the election results, and then the mood just came down. But then Adam said, ‘Well at least we’re making the right show.’”

By the time the show made it to air, the world was processing the Trump presidency, and public distrust of those who wield power was at an all-time high.

Enter Succession, offering a peek behind the curtain of a world we know nothing about.

“It was becoming clear then that billionaires are pulling all the strings, and regular people don’t have much of a say, and I think audiences were ready to explore that,” says Ruck.

“Then along comes [creator] Jesse Armstrong holding the mirror up offering a pretty damning assessment of how things get done.”

There’s an irony in Ruck arguably being one of the biggest names initially attached to the show, familiar to audiences from his role as Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller’s best friend in John Hughes’s iconic1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Alan Ruck (left) and Matthew Broderick (right ) in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

But fast-forward to today, and Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin, the actors who play his siblings, have become household names whose star power has finally caught up, if not surpassed that of their older onscreen brother.

Not that Ruck seems fussed, with the 66-year-old describing his role as “a gift.”

“This has been consistently the best writing I’ve ever encountered, and what’s amazing is how deeply they know each character,” explains Ruck. “Connor was a license to steal scenes because he was given some crazy things to say, and I had to figure out why I might say them.”

“I remember in my audition reading the line where Connor says, ‘Pop, there’s this job I want; it’s called President of the United States,’” he says. “And at first, I thought it was a joke, but Jesse said he was deadly serious; that’s when I knew this guy was twisted; he’s a mess.”

From left: Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin), Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong), Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) and Siobhan Roy (Sarah Snook) in Succession. Credit: FOXTEL

Connor’s failed presidential campaign came to an end this season, with the story mostly orbiting around Roman, Shiv and Kendall, each vying to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Logan Roy.

Predicting what might happen next is impossible, a hallmark of Armstrong’s style as a showrunner. “You cannot guess him,” says Ruck. However, all signs point to a showdown between Kendall and Shiv. Succession began with Kendall being passed over for CEO.

Might we see redemption for Logan’s number-one boy?

“I always thought Kendall was a lot like Richard Nixon because Nixon was a very talented guy but a victim of his own obsessions,” offers Ruck. “He thought that he was less than, there was some part of himself that believed he was not worthy, and instead, he ended up becoming this monster, kind of like Kendall.”

Is the stage set for Kendall Roy to assume his rightful position atop the WayStar Royco throne?Credit: HBO

While it remains to be seen who, if anyone, will “conquer” Succession, the more critical victory will be to win over the viewers.

No matter how good a prestige series has been, if the finale falls flat, the legacy is tainted. Where The Sopranos cemented its significance with a flawless last episode, Game of Thrones did the reverse, losing its title as a titan of pop culture with a flat ending that infuriated fans.

Ruck is no stranger to high-pressure finales, having starred in all 145 episodes of the beloved sitcom Spin City.

“With Spin City, it was different because Michael J. Fox bowed out because of his health, and Charlie Sheen came in and did an excellent job, but by that time, the network had lost interest in it,” he says. “So our hearts weren’t in it anymore.”

The same can’t be said for Succession, with excitement for the finale proving the series is going out on a high.

“I think what works for our finale is that the way things fall into place makes perfect sense,” says Ruck.

“But that definitely doesn’t mean happily ever after because this is Succession – how could it possibly?”

The final episode of Succession airs on Monday, May 29 on Foxtel and Binge.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

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