Succession’s Kieran Culkin reveals there were 'three different ideas' for a fifth season

Virgin Radio

23 May 2023, 11:14

There’s only one episode of Succession to go, but one of the show’s stars has said that creator Jesse Armstrong had ideas for another season.

As fans wait to discover how the dark comedy-drama reaches a conclusion next week, Kieran Culkin has explained that he spoke to showrunner Armstrong prior to filming the fourth season, about where the narrative was going.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the actor, who plays Roman Roy, said: “Jesse described to me the whole season before we shot. I asked him one question and when he answered it, I said, 'Well that sort of sounds like the end of the show.' He goes, 'Yeah, it does.' But then he just threw up three different ideas for a season five that he claimed were off the top of his head.”

He continued: "I was like, 'I’m just speaking my mind here. But those all sound like really awesome.'"

Whilst fans would love to see more from the characters, Culkin said: “It feels like an ending, but it also feels like there could be more. So it made me understand his struggle. He struggled with it all season while we were shooting. He was like, 'Really? This is the end. But I’m not sure.' He didn’t tell us [that it was the last episode] until we did the table read for the last episode."

When Vanity Fair suggested that there was some uncertainty, he replied: "Well, watch the finale. Then let’s see how you feel."

This week’s episode set up a potentially explosive finale, as viewers wait to see whether the Waystar Royco takeover deal is on or off. All the while, Roy siblings Kendall, Roman and Shiv have their eyes on the prize, and Tom and Greg are trying their best to position themselves as close to the winning team as possible.

This Monday’s episode took place at (spoiler alert) Logan’s funeral, and featured a surprising cameo. Find out who turned up.

The final episode of Succession will air on Monday 29th May on Sky Atlantic and NOW.