‘Succession’ Series Finale Review: HBO Satire’s Brutal & Beautiful End Proves Pure Palace Intrigue

Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials (the script and writers intro) were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.

Editor’s note: These interview was done outside of the FYC event as there was no cast or creatives panel as a part of the event.

Brian Cox is opening up about the Succession series finale but the actor has not watched how the show ended on HBO.

Josh Dallas (series protagonist Ben Stone) thinks there’s enough gas in the tank to fuel another takeoff.“I believe [the series’ final episode] is … the perfect ending for these characters,” Dallas, 44, told The Post. “It’s terrifying, emotional and surprising.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 3 finale of Ted Lasso.

Is it the end? Ted Lasso season 3 hasn’t been billed as a series finale, but it certainly seems like a natural conclusion.

The writers strike has entered its fifth week and is about to enter its second month and shows no sign of abating.

“AI ain’t gonna write Succession, or Chinatown or The Godfather,” says Jeremy Strong of what’s at stake with the writers’ strike. “It’s just not going to,” the actor who brought Jesse Armstrong’s words for Kendall Roy to life bluntly adds.

Jason Sudeikis is reflecting on his Ted Lasso journey as the Season 3 finale is just hours away from dropping—and it could be a series finale. Apple confirmed the episode titled “So Long, Farewell” will air Tuesday, May 30 at 9:00 p.m. PT. / 12:00 a.m. ET.

Warning: The following contains spoilers regarding Sunday’s series finale of “Succession.”It seems Tom Wambsgans’ fate on “Succession” may have been hiding in somewhat plain sight all along.Leading up to Sunday’s series finale of the critically acclaimed HBO series, in which the character played by actor Matthew Macfadyen is anointed the new CEO of Waystar Royco, a theory began circulating on the internet relating to the name Wambsgans and its connection to the baseball history.Do the names on Succession reveal the show’s ending? #succession #hbomax #tomwambsgans #billwambsganss #shivroy #successionhbo #successiontok #successionfinale #babynames #nameberry As explained in a now-viral video by Nameberry.com’s editor-in-chief, Sophie Kihm, the names featured in “Succession” are “very intentional” — for instance, the surname Roy meaning “king” — and if a moniker appears unusual, there’s likely a reason behind it.This is where Wambsgans comes in, as it’s the same last name of former Cleveland Guardians second baseman Bill Wambsganss, who completed the only unassisted triple play in World Series history in 1920.“It’s no coincidence that Tom shares a surname with Bill Wambsganss.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The profanity-riddled dialogue and whip smart writing of “Succession” finally came to a close on Sunday night with one last extremely dramatic finale episode, ending with the highly anticipated answer to the series-long question over who will take over the Roy empire.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains “Succession” series finale spoilers.

Alison Herman TV Critic SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “,” now streaming on Max. “Succession” ends in a place it’s been countless times before: with Kendall Roy, alone and adrift by a body of water. “With Open Eyes,” the feature-length conclusion to the Roy family saga, has many such full-circle moments. Some series finales radically break from their show’s typical rhythm, flashing forward to show us the full span of the characters’ lives (“Six Feet Under”) or transforming into a different concept altogether (“Girls”). But despite its length, “With Open Eyes” is the distilled, concentrated essence of “Succession,” even as it builds to a decisive break between the Roys and the company that’s no longer theirs — a union that’s otherwise informed every second of the series’ events.

Note: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of “Succession.”“Succession” wrapped up the story of Waystar Royco and the Roy family, and social media had many feelings about where things stood after the show’s swan song. The episode, titled “With Open Eyes,” followed the aftermath of Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) emotionally charged funeral and crowned a new CEO for his company in Tom Wambsgans (Matthew MacFadyen). With a tense finale following the Roy siblings’ negotiating efforts to decide the fate of Waystar Royco’s acquisition by GoJo, the episode also gave a satisfying and biting conclusion to the central characters’ story. Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) came together at their mother’s beachside home on the eve of the board meeting, as Shiv and Kendall tried to get their younger brother on their respective sides.

This article contains spoilers from the series finale of “Succession.”“This show has always been a tragedy,” said director Mark Mylod of “Succession” in a segment that aired after the series finale of the Emmy-winning HBO series Sunday night.Mylod, who has directed 16 episodes of the series, called the finale “perfectly painful,” as the Roys literally came to blows before completely losing control of their father’s company. He praised series creator Jesse Armstrong, saying, “Jesse stuck the landing with this climactic showdown between the three siblings,” referring to the brutal scene where Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), lashed out physically and verbally over the decision to sell the company. “The final ripping off of the bandage to expose that terrible, terrible truth put so simply by Roman,” he said of the scene in which Roman proclaims, “We are bulls—t.

[WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for the series finale of “Succession.”]After four seasons, “Succession” has come to an end — and Waystar RoyCo has a new CEO.In the 90-minute series finale, creator Jesse Armstrong wrapped up a string of conflicts, but ultimately had the goal of answering the question everyone has been asking since Season 1 premiered in 2018: Who will succeed Logan Roy (Brian Cox) as CEO?There were many ways the ending could’ve gone: Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) could’ve filled his father’s shoes — as Logan may or may not have wanted from the looks of the underline/cross-out on his official document, Kendall and Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) could’ve stayed on as co-CEOs, GoJo could have acquired Waystar with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) coming out on top and naming Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) as CEO, as well as many other possibilities.In the end, the hole left by the death of Logan Roy could only be filled by one person.Spoilers for Season 4, Episode 10, “With Open Eyes” are below, so stop scrolling now if you don’t want to know who got the crown.While it was always presumed that Logan Roy’s successor would be in the family bloodline, it didn’t exactly turn out that way.Neither Kendall, Roman, Shiv — or Connor (Alan Ruck), for that matter — ended up being the heir to the media mogul’s throne.After Matsson decided he wasn’t going to name Shiv as the CEO of the company, an unsuspecting person filled her in on who it would be.“Shiv, you should probably know: it’s me,” Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) told his wife.As noted above, Greg found out by translating a conversation in Swedish that Matsson was not actually planning on giving the CEO title to Shiv, as he promised he would.Upon finding

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains spoilers for the series finale of HBO’s Succession.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from “With Open Eyes,” the series finale of HBO’s “Succession,” now streaming on Max. What a relief that the only votes being counted in the “Succession” finale were those of Waystar Royco board members. “Succession’s” series finale returned the show’s focus to the Roy family and their moves and countermoves against one another. How refreshing, after a season that was, on the whole and especially in recent weeks, cludgily paced and oddly unfocused. The polish and elegance of the show’s final moments stands in crisp counterpoint to a stretch of episodes that didn’t have the juice: It was as though the confirmation, at last, that the family business really would be changing hands reminded the show what gave it its elemental power.

came to an end on Sunday with the Roy family battling for control of their the media conglomerate empire, Waystar Royco.The series finale saw the Roy siblings share a few rare moments of unity and collaboration, but built to some surprising backstabs and unexpected breakdowns that left fans reeling.The centerpiece of the standout moments revolved around some unexpected twists. After Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) came together to put their support behind Kendall (Jeremy Strong) in their last-ditch effort to stop GoJo from buying out Waystar Royco, Shiv pulled off one of the show's most ultimate switch-up betrayals.When it came down the final vote, Shiv turned on Kendall and accused him of killing someone — referring to the events that happened at the end of season 1 — and their whole situation fell apart as Kendall cracked in real time and tried to attack his siblings.Needless to say, fans had a lot of strong feelings about Shiv's unexpected turn.shiv: “i changed my mind” kendall: #Succession#SuccessionHBOpic.twitter.com/u6NB42nbDiShiv saying: «you can't be CEO because you killed someone» #Succession#SuccessionHBOpic.twitter.com/AOEnZ2KqjTMY JAW JUST DROPPED #Succession#SuccessionHBOpic.twitter.com/NkQpquUrTuroman saying that kendall kids aren’t even his is fucking low even for him, that’s why logan was thinking there was something wrong with him…he was infertile and couldn’t keep bloodline going #successionpic.twitter.com/hcWxEE1Dzm“Information, Greg.