Brian Cox Says the Outcome of the Succession Series 4 Finale Was ‘Obvious’

The cast of the award-winning HBO drama reflected on their time filming the show during a post-Emmys panel in L.A. on Tuesday

Brian Cox is reflecting on Succession‘s finale.

The actor, 77, who played the role of Logan Roy in the drama, revealed at the Succession post-Emmys panel on Tuesday that it was “obvious” that the series four finale was going to be the show’s concluding episode.

While costars Matthew Macfadyen and Kieran Culkin said that they only realized at the table read, Cox said it dawned on him much earlier.

“We didn’t 100% know,” Macfadyen, 49, said.

“I don’t understand what you didn’t know,” Cox quipped. “F—————— dead or something. Christ, it was so f—————— obvious.”

“We’re going to finish and I go, ‘Oh, we didn’t know,’ Cox added. “We went to the last read through and we thought, ‘Oh, maybe there’s still life.'”

“It’s ridiculous,” Cox playfully added.

The concluding episode Succession — a 90-minute special that aired in May 2023 — saw the Roy family’s final plays for control of news company Waystar Royco following founder Logan Roy’s funeral. However, the company eventually ended up being acquired by competitor GoJo.

“We do rewrite and rewrite all the way through [and we thought] that we could leave that escape door,” screenwriter Jesse Armstrong said on the panel which took place at L.A.’s Paramount Theater.

“And maybe that was psychological, because it was really, really hard actually ending it,” Armstrong added.

“It was like, ‘We need the possibility of escape,’ almost to commit to the end,” he continued.

Armstrong also revealed that hinting to the actors that there could be the possibility of more episodes may have improved their performance.

“To not feel like this is a cut-and-dry thing where there’s no more possibility,” he added.

Culkin, 41, also shared during the panel that he hadn’t yet seen the show’s concluding episode.

“[It] wasn’t on purpose. I was in Poland, and I couldn’t sign into my Max account. It’s an app issue,” said the actor who won the Emmy on Monday night for outstanding lead actor for his role in Succession.

The show swept the board at the 2023 Emmy Awards with 27 nominations and six wins, including outstanding drama series, outstanding lead actor in a drama series, outstanding lead actress in a drama series and outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.

On receiving the award for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series, Macfadyen gave a “special mention” to his “onscreen wife, Sarah Snook, and my other onscreen wife, Nicholas Braun.”

“Acting with you has been one of the most wonderful things in my career. Thank you, Nick. Thank you, sir. It’s been a joy,” he added.

He also thanked his “actual wife” Keeley Hawes, sweetly calling her, “my love and my best friend.”

All four seasons of Succession can be streamed on Max