With the launch of Succession’s fourth and final season, there’s no better time to revisit the series and look back on the legacy it left behind.
In this article, we’ll list some of the most interesting facts about Succession that even hardcore fans may not know about. Spoiler warnings ahead!
Jeremy Strong Auditioned for Roman’s Role
- In an interview with The New Yorker, Jeremy Strong revealed that he originally auditioned for Roman Roy, Kieran Culkin’s character. Strong didn’t pass the audition as Roman, but that didn’t dissuade him from applying for another role—Roman Roy’s brother, Kendall.
- According to Strong, the emotional similarities between Kendall and himself meant that he had a “bit of a blind spot,” so he did his best to internalize the writing to perfectly capture the role without bias. To this, he succeeded—and thankfully so, as he became the face of the moody son we viewers both love and detest.
Most of the Show’s Dialogue is to Improvise
- It might come as a surprise, but Succession heavily relies on improv. Perhaps the show felt so natural because the actors freely improvised the dialogue during the shoot. The cast would say their lines and then add in several of their own.
- Creator Jesse Armstrong and Director Mark Mylodr encouraged creativity and freedom to make the scenes and dialogue as life-like as possible.
The filming of Succession mostly took place in New York City.
- To make the show appear even more authentic, the production team fought tooth and nail to shoot in locations within NYC. Much of the stage was at the Big Apple, with Waystar Royco filmed at 28 Liberty Street in Downtown Manhattan.
- Apart from NYC, the show also ventured to Norway, Tuscany, Croatia, the Hamptons, and several other locations to accurately portray the lives of the characters.
The plan was for Logan Roy to die in Season 1.
The original script had Logan Roy slated to die in the first season. But Jesse Armstrong, enamored by the audience’s reaction to the character, decided to let him live for a while longer until his eventual passing in the fourth season.
Succession Was Originally Meant to be a Feature-Length Film
- Initially, creator Jesse Armstrong wrote Succession as a feature-length film rather than a TV series. Titled “Murdoch” and set on Rupert’s 78th birthday, the plot heavily focused on the Murdoch family and the News International phone hacking scandal.
- Seeing the script’s potential for greatness, Armstrong eventually decided to broaden the story’s scope and turn it into a TV drama.
Wrapping Up
Hailed as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, Succession perfectly captured the world of terrible people and their equally terrible actions. It’s well-written and brilliantly acted, with stunning cinematography and music.
The fourth and final season went out with a satisfying bang, we couldn’t have asked for a better ending. If you haven’t already, we highly recommend you check Succession out. The first few episodes are a bit jarring to watch, especially with the morally dubious actions happening on screen—but trust us, it gets better.
