"Very hard question to answer": When Succession casts engaged in an amusing round of answering questions from fans

Although Succession wrapped up on HBO back in March 2023, the show is still relevant. Succession presented the intriguing story of Logan Roy and his sprawling dynasty that was subsequently brought to its knees owing to his feuding children as they contended among themselves for a shot at the inheritance. In several ways, Succession proved to be a modern-day retelling of King Lear and therefore still reigns in audience imagination.

The cast of the HBO show appeared on an episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert back in October 2021 and answered questions posed to them by fans. Colbert kicked off the session by asking the first question to Brian Cox, about which of his children, his character Logan Roy, he loved the most on the show. Cox was initially perturbed to answer:

"That's a very hard question to answer. I think, seriously? Well I don't think I can, in front of all these...in front of my children. I can't do that. I will say the invisible child here (points to Kieran Culkin), Jeremy."

Eventually, Cox came around and answered:

"If he does love somebody, it has to be Shiv."

Here's everything that you need to know.

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What happened to the Roy dynasty after the end of The Succession on HBO?

By the time the season four finale of Succession rolled in, none of the Roy family members were in control of their destinies. The finale episode saw Jeremy Strong's Kendall trying his best to ensure that Waystar RoyCo remains within the control of the family. However, that wasn't the case. The company was subsequently sold to Lukas Matsson and GoJo. The conflict between the Roy children escalated to such a fever pitch that they were agreeable to their family business being sold off than being solely owned by any one of them.

The ultimate fate of the Roy dynasty came to affect just six individuals by the end of the show - Kendall, Roman, Siobhan, and Roman on one hand, as the direct descendants of Logan. On the other hand was Logan's brother, Ewan, and his grandson, Greg Hirsch.

Throughout the previous episodes of Succession, Kendall was almost possessed by an urge to constantly do something that would prove his worth. He felt empty if he was unable to exercise his agency, and by the end of the show, we saw him standing by the Hudson River, contemplating whether to end it all or not.

Siobhan or Shiv, in her place, did everything she could to prevent Kendall from becoming the next CEO of the family business. She then continued to live with her husband, Tom Wambsgans, played by Matthew Macfadyen. She had no other recourse but to give up her rousing ambition and, in turn, be controlled by her husband.

Roman, too, had to settle down to his fate following his father's death, and therefore, he was last seen on the show sipping a martini alone by himself. Logan's brother Ewan had initially voted against selling out to GoJo and even made an impassioned speech during his brother's funeral.

The eldest son of the family, i.e., Connor, had an interesting arc throughout Succession, and after the loss of their family business, he marries Willa and settles down to live in his father's old apartment. The grandson Greg's fate could have gone down a different path had he not been absolved by Tom Wambsgans. All in all, the family went their separate ways now that the family patriarch wasn't there to bring all of them together.

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Mark Mylod opens up about the finale of Succession Season 4

Mark Mylod is one of the most celebrated television directors of our time and has the distinction of directing all four season finale episodes of Succession. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Variety Magazine shortly after the show's conclusion, Mylod candidly shared his experience and insights from his time on the show.

When asked if he planted any visual cues throughout the fourth season that could foreshadow the finale, Mylod explained:

"No, I specifically avoided that temptation. I didn’t want to be tricksy with it, I suppose. There’s an ego to that kind of directing that just doesn’t feel appropriate for the camera language of our show. I tried to be very clinical and cold-eyed and laser-focused, and honest with the way we shoot and cover the action. It’s very unlike anything else I’ve ever shot in that the camera has to be so cold and cruel, and not be swayed by whimsy or emotion. It just has to cover the truth in a way that hopefully gives a sense of barely keeping up with events without anticipating them. But most important is that it doesn’t try to be playful. I don’t think our camera should ever be playful in any way. So I have to fight back those urges when they do come."

Mylod was then asked to shed some light on the scene involving Kendall staring out into the Hudson River:

"The first reveal of Colin was attempting a throwback to Episode 1 with the duck walk through Central Park with Colin and Logan. Setting up the final shot in Central Park felt too far from the emotional truth of the moment. Kendall would have walked out of Waystar and kept walking. This is maybe only an hour after the boardroom meeting, so therefore I tried to keep it geographically correct, and that meant being in the downtown area. I know the area well — I live in Brooklyn. So I walked the loop from Brooklyn Bridge around toward Chelsea, and it just felt like the very tip of Manhattan, down by Bowling Green, was the right place. It felt emotionally right."

Lastly, upon being asked about the future of the Succession characters after the finale, Mylod commented:

"I think a lot — probably an unhealthy amount — about what they’re doing right now. What I think they’re doing right now is not necessarily a very happy place, but I do think about them a lot. Like a lost friend."

Succession is exclusively available on HBO.