The third season of the American satirical comedy-drama television series Succession premiered on HBO on October 17, 2021. Series creator Jesse Armstrong serves as the showrunner for the season. The series centers on the Roy family, the owners of global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo, and their fight for control of the company amidst uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch.
The season features an ensemble cast of Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Dagmara Domińczyk, Peter Friedman, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, J. Smith-Cameron, Sarah Snook and Jeremy Strong, who all return from the previous season, with Hiam Abbass and Arian Moayed only returning in a recurring capacity. Justine Lupe, David Rasche and Fisher Stevens were promoted to the main cast for the season after featuring in recurring roles in the previous season.
In August 2019, HBO renewed Succession for a third season, which had begun filming by December 2020 in New York City. In June 2021, filming for the final two episodes took place in Tuscany. The season consists of nine episodes, a decrease from the previous season, which had ten, and the lowest episode count in the series. The season received critical acclaim. It was nominated for 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, and received four wins, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Macfadyen, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Armstrong. The season broke the record for the most acting nominations in a single year, with 14.
Cast and characters
Main Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch Brian Cox as Logan Roy Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy Dagmara Domińczyk as Karolina Novotney Peter Friedman as Frank Vernon Justine Lupe as Willa Ferreyra Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans David Rasche as Karl Muller Alan Ruck as Connor Roy J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman Sarah Snook as Siobhan "Shiv" Roy Fisher Stevens as Hugo Baker Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy
Recurring Hiam Abbass as Marcia Roy Natalie Gold as Rava Roy Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini Alexander Skarsgård as Lukas Matsson Swayam Bhatia as Sophie Roy Quentin Morales as Iverson Roy Larry Pine as Sandy Furness Zack Robidas as Mark Ravenhead James Cromwell as Ewan Roy Harriet Walter as Lady Caroline Collingwood Scott Nicholson as Colin Stiles Patch Darragh as Ray Annabelle Dexter-Jones as Naomi Pierce Zoe Winters as Kerry Castellabate Sanaa Lathan as Lisa Arthur Linda Emond as Michelle-Anne Vanderhoven Juliana Canfield as Jess Jordan Jihae as Berry Schneider Dasha Nekrasova as Comfry Pellits Jordan Lage as Keith Zigler Hope Davis as Sandi Furness KeiLyn Durrel Jones as Remi Pip Torrens as Peter Munion
Guest Ashley Zukerman as Nate Sofrelli Jeannie Berlin as Cyd Peach Mark Linn-Baker as Maxim Pierce Justin Kirk as Jeryd Mencken Brian Hotaling as Mark Rosenstock
Episodes
Production Development On August 20, 2019, following the premiere of the second season, HBO renewed Succession for a third season. The season consists of nine episodes, a decrease from the previous season. By November, co-writer Lucy Prebble confirmed that the writing process for the season was underway. The third season was originally set to begin filming in April 2020 and air in August 2020. On March 28, 2020, HBO announced the third season's production was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scripts for the season had all been written before the pandemic and Armstrong decided that the finished scripts wouldn't be rewritten to address the current pandemic. Armstrong did not wish to address the pandemic in season 3 as, according to Sarah Snook, "none of the world's really wealthy people were going to be affected by the pandemic". Showrunner Jesse Armstrong said that, as with previous seasons, the season was influenced by the Trump presidency but also felt that the show remains relevant in the post-Trump era as the United States is still undergoing "a certain amount of post-traumatic stress". He explained that despite the Trump presidency ending, "we're not really past that era until normal, democratic politics where people accept the outcomes of elections resumes".
Casting
All main cast members return from the previous season, excluding Rob Yang, with Hiam Abbass and Arian Moayed only appears in a recurring capacity. Justine Lupe, David Rasche and Fisher Stevens, who previously starred in recurring roles, were promoted to the main cast for the season. Juliana Canfield's Jess Jordan is given significantly more screen time in season 3 and Canfield is promoted in the credits from co-starring to a recurring guest starring role. Jeremy Strong requested Kendall's on-screen assistant to appear in more scenes than originally planned in the script. Strong's commitment to method acting made him embody Kendall where he would make requests for his assistant Jess. In previous seasons, Canfield would appear in some episodes in the background in a non-speaking capacity. Jeannie Berlin's role as Cyd Peach is reduced from a 4-episode recurring role in season 2 to a guest role in the season 3 episode "Retired Janitors of Idaho". Natalie Gold returns after an absence from season 2 as Rava in a recurring guest role. Cast members from season 2 that didn't return for season 3 include Eric Bogosian, Caitlin FitzGerald, Danny Huston, Holly Hunter, Cherry Jones and Babak Tafti.
In January 2021, it was announced Sanaa Lathan, Linda Emond and Jihae had joined the cast of the series in recurring roles in the third season. In February 2021, it was reported that Hope Davis was cast in a recurring role in the third season. In March 2021, Dasha Nekrasova was reported to have a recurring role in the third season. In May 2021, Alexander Skarsgård was cast in a recurring role while Adrien Brody was cast to guest star for the third season. In August 2021, it was announced Ella Rumpf would guest star in the third season.
Filming Principal photography for Successions third season was originally scheduled to begin in April 2020 but was postponed by HBO on March 27, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Succession creator Jesse Armstrong said in August 2020 that they were discussing "starting shooting in New York before Christmas". In early November 2020, star Alan Ruck announced that filming would begin in mid-November in New York City. The season had begun filming in New York as of December 2020. When season 3 began filming, on-set COVID-19 safety protocols were used such as filming scenes with smaller groups of actors while any larger office scenes featuring more extras were delayed until the late 2020 and early 2021 spike in COVID-19 cases had subsided. Filming locations in the city included the Woolworth Building in Tribeca and a number of hotels including the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue. Production also returned to the Hamptons, at locations including Montauk and Wainscott. In May 2021, additional filming for the season took place in Richmond, Virginia, primarily at the Jefferson Hotel. Episode 7, "Too Much Birthday" was filmed at The Shed in New York's Hudson Yards which served as the location of Kendall Roy's 40th birthday celebration.
In June 2021, filming moved to Italy for the final two episodes "Chiantishire" and "All the Bells Say", primarily taking place in the Val d'Orcia region of Tuscany. The Villa Cetinale in Tuscany, a 17th century Roman Baroque-style mansion, served as the venue for the wedding in the season's final two episodes in addition to the La Foce estate. Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong said that the decision to set the final two episodes in Tuscany was an intentional acknowledgment of the Roy family's extreme wealth. Outside of Tuscany, "Chiantshire" filmed on location in Milan where Waystar meets with bankers to discuss the GoJo acquisition. Additional filming took place in other nearby comuni in the province of Siena – including Pienza, Montalcino and Chianciano Terme – as well as in Cortona, Lake Como, Milan, and Florence (the lattermost of which was used for establishing shots in the opening episodes).
Music
Succession: Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the third season of the television series, released on April 29, 2022 by Republic Records.
Release The season premiered on HBO on October 17, 2021, with episodes released weekly until the finale on December 12, 2021.
Home media HBO released the third season on DVD on May 17, 2022.
Reception Audience viewership The third season premiered to 1.4 million viewers across various platforms and ended with 1.7 million viewers across all viewing platforms, a record high for the series.
Critical response The third season received critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 97% approval rating with an average rating of 9.3/10, based on 146 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fans already buying what Succession is selling will be pleasantly surprised to find its third season in crackling form – even if it gets a little too real from time to time." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades
Its third season received a leading 25 nominations with four wins at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards; including Outstanding Drama Series, Matthew Macfadyen for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Jesse Armstrong for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for the episode "All the Bells Say"). Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Nicholas Braun, Sarah Snook, James Cromwell, and Harriet Walter all received repeat nominations, while J. Smith-Cameron, Adrien Brody, Arian Moayed, Alexander Skarsgård, Hope Davis, and Sanaa Lathan all received acting nominations as well. The series also received three nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. The season broke the record for the most acting nominations in a single year, with 14.
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