We live in a pop culture landscape of post-credit scenes. It existed before Marvel, but it was the teaser in 2008’s Iron Man that really laid the groundwork for the of a post-credit scene. Now, it seems like we can’t get away from it. Non-superhero franchises like The Walking Dead and Doctor Who have taken to using them as a means of promoting what comes next. It’s logical, then, to wonder if Succession took a similar approach with its series finale.
For a show that’s all about shifting alliances and upper hands disintegrating within the timespan of a single episode, it would make sense for creator Jesse Armstrong to tack on a scene that hints at the future of the characters, or the fictional company that the characters have spent years fighting over, but did he?
The answer is as definitive as the episode that precedes it: no. There is no post-credits scene after the Succession finale, and fans are instead left to draw their own conclusions about what will happen to the Roy siblings: Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook). While it may be jarring to some, it makes perfect sense when you consider Armstrong’s approach to storytelling.
Armstrong was the one who made the decision to end Succession after four seasons. It was previously assumed that the show would continue indefinitely, but the creator and primary writer felt that it was important to keep things streamlined and focused. He discussed his rationale for doing so with the New Yorker.
Will there be a Succession spin-off?
“I’ve never thought this could go on forever,” he revealed. “The end has always been kind of present in my mind. From Season 2, I’ve been trying to think: Is it the next one, or the one after that, or is it the one after that?”
What then, about spinoffs or prequel shows? The approach has been taken several times over the years, and can oftentimes lead to success. Fear the Walking Dead lasted eight seasons on AMC, Better Call Saul has been nominated for countless Emmys, and been considered by some to be even better than its predecessor, Breaking Bad.
Fans have been vocal about wanting to see more adventures from the likes of the “Disgusting Brothers” aka Tom Wambsgans (Matthew McFayaden) and Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun), the ersatz politician Connor Roy (Alan Ruck), or perhaps even a prequel focusing on the rise of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), but none of these ideas have intrigued Armstrong enough to take seriously.
If anything, the creator wants to maintain the punch that the Succession finale provided. He told Deadline that he doesn’t feel any of the characters are “right for an actual TV spin-off” and that speculating on their future is more fun as a “parlor game” than an HBO drama.
While it’s sad to see one of the most acclaimed shows of the decade end after only four seasons, we applaud Armstrong’s decision to go out on top, and maintain the quality in such a way that we will spend years rewatching it, quoting it, and thinking fondly of it.