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In the third season of Succession, alliances and aggressions will escalate to new heights in the dysfunctional chess game that is the Roy family and their global media company the Waystar RoyCo.
The cast of the Emmy-winning drama spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about their characters’ upcoming arcs on the red carpet at the season three premiere, which was held at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday night in New York City.
The latest season, delayed due to the pandemic, picks up right after the season two finale, Matthew Macfadyen said, which means that at least some characters have little breathing room in terms of juggling their own arcs with the larger company crisis.
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“Season three picks up immediately after we’ve had that awful conversation on the beach where [Tom] sort of admits he’s not really happy in this marriage. Then Kendall’s betrayal right at the end and we’re in crisis mode, so there hasn’t been any time to sort of talk about that,” the actor said. “Tom and Shiv are sort of navigating that. It’s on the back burner, really.”
As a result for Tom and Sarah Snook‘s Shiv, their relationship is one that “they both get out of it what they need, in some ways; maybe they would need more or want more, but they’re trapped, in a way,” said Snook.
“He’s gonna have to give a little bit, but probably needs to get a little from Shiv as well,” she added.
The finale — agreed on by most on the carpet as a pretty explosive move — resulted in Kendall declaring war with his father again and potentially opening the door to be in competition with the family’s conglomerate. For Jeremy Strong, Kendall’s move — which will see the series explore a whistleblower theme — was not a mere attempt at power for his character.
“That was a kill shot. I feel like that press conference was slaying the dragon and emancipating myself from his grasp, and also saying that it’s my turn,” Strong told THR. “I feel like it’s already game over for my dad and then now it’s just a question of what my reign is going to look like.”
As for what that would actually look like, and why it might woo others to his side, Strong pointed to his character’s “visionary” approach. “He’s going to detoxify the company,” Strong said. “There’s a slight sort of visionary aspect I think to Kendall in this season, and yet, as we all know, with visionaries there’s a fine line between that and a mad man.”
In reaction to Kendall’s move, the finale also saw Logan deliver a rather mysterious grin that led fans to hypothesize the Roy patriarch may have been in on Kendall’s last-minute decision to turn on his father, instead of becoming the company’s sacrificial lamb. While Succession star Brian Cox confirmed that theory is not true, he remained tight-lipped about what exactly the smile could mean, telling THR, “I’m afraid that’s for me to know and you to find out.”
Cox would, however, talk about whether Logan sees his son as a threat: “I think he sees Kendall very much as a foolish child, and so he has to deal with his foolishness and it’s exhausting.”
While Kendall and Logan may remain confident in their own power and appeal within this private-turned-public family battle, their decisions, which culminated in the season two finale, mean that everyone will have to pick their sides. Several cast members told THR that can be a spoiler, while others noted their allegiance is a clear, no-brainer.
Snook agreed that Kendall can’t hold a candle to the power of his father, Logan, and the family’s company, but for Juliana Canfield, who plays Kendall’s assistant Jess Jordan, it’s “Team Kendall, easy” over the “frightening tyrant” that is Logan. And that is despite some potential “missteps” by Kendall, whom she says has a “heart of gold” that’s “misunderstood.” For Natalie Gold, who plays Kendall’s estranged wife Rava Roy, it’s also Kendall, regardless of what’s happened between them.
“Despite all of their problems, she’s always seen the issues with Logan and Kendall, and when you marry into a family like that, you’re always rooting for your husband to stand on his own,” she said.
Actors like James Cromwell, who has a single-episode appearance as Logan’s brother Ewan, and Arian Moayed, who stars as Stewie, revealed that the decisions for their characters are less about alliances and more about assurances. For Cromwell, whose character “actually went to Vietnam” fought in the war, lost friends and “saw the Vietnamese people suffer needlessly,” the actor says that his character is still playing the game, but comes from a place of compassion and care, which will impact his choices.
“I think I would look at them both and I would take only as much as I needed,” he explained. “I would support Logan when he needed to be supported because he is my brother, I do understand that, and because his son is just as bad. Or, I would take Kendall if I thought Logan was completely out of sync and off the rails in order to save him and in order to save the family. I think I would play the same games, but I don’t have the same motive.”
As for Moayed, whose character strategically abstained from season one’s board vote, the decision is about which side will ultimately have more to offer.
“One is the old-school mentality, one is the new-school thought process. One gets things done and one is not great at getting things done,” Moayed said, laughing. “Stewie’s actually doing what all the audience members are doing — he’s deciding if this one’s gonna win more or this one’s gonna win more.”
Fans should also expect characters, including Nicholas Braun‘s beloved Greg, to make a choice — and then possibly reconsider. Kendall sells Greg on “the dream” that his side is successful, Braun told THR, and while Greg wants that to work out, he’s also going to make some “bold moves” this season based on how Kendall fares.
“He hopes that works out for him making that commitment, but Greg might get cold feet after realizing Kendall is maybe too manic and spiraling, and not reliable as a force to align with,” Braun said.
Like season’s past, several cast members confirmed the jockeying for power that the series and its characters are known for will continue on. But, according to star Alan Ruck, viewers should expect a noticeable increase in its intensity.
“Everybody thinks they’re right; nobody thinks that they’re bad because they’re sociopaths. They have no compunctions about stepping on each other’s necks to get wherever they want to go,” Ruck told THR. “We have some guest stars that bring different dynamics into the whole thing. I would say, there’s more struggle, more stress, to survive on pretty much everyone’s part.”
“I just think it’s more of everything,” Ruck added. “I think the heat has been turned up on all these people and there’s a real element of survival on different levels. Whatever that is the corporation, a relationship, whatever.”
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