Succession season four has been heavily praised in early reviews, with critics branding the opening four episodes as “one of TV’s greatest achievements”.
The final season of the HBO series picks up after events of the season three finale, where Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) tipped off Logan Roy (Brian Cox) about the Roy siblings’ plan to prevent Waystar Royco from merging with GoJo.
With the company now slipping away from them, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) must continue to plot against their father in an ongoing power struggle.
A synopsis for the season reads: “The sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson moves ever closer. The prospect of this seismic sale provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys as they anticipate what their lives will look like once the deal is completed.”
The first four episodes of the final season have received widespread praise, earning four and five-star reviews from most critics.
“Powerhouse performances from the Roy clan offer a dazzling masterclass of buttoned-up emotions competing with years of desperately craving approval from the family patriarch,” writes IGN. “Each department behind the cast is at the top of its game, from regular Succession director Mark Mylod to composer Nicholas Britell.”
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In a five-star review, Empire writes: “Forget ‘boar on the floor’. Your jaw will be on the floor after watching this final season. If the standard of the first four episodes is sustained, it’s surely in contention to be counted among TV’s greatest achievements.”
A similarly positive review from Collider reads: “Succession Season 4 is telling a more cohesive story than ever before, with all the threads weaving together quite nicely. The result is a season that is even more engaging than its predecessors, leaving you hanging on every word of snappy dialogue.”
Entertainment Weekly have also heaped praise, writing: “[Writer] Jesse Armstrong’s excoriating examination of one-percent dysfunction and a family poisoned by power takes some impressive risks without sacrificing the character dynamics that make it so viscerally satisfying.”
Succession season four premieres in the US on Sunday, March 27 on HBO and HBO Max. Viewers in the UK can watch it via Sky Atlantic.