The HBO series Succession is back for its fourth and final season, and the only sure thing when it comes to the Roy family is that there will be power plays, cutthroat moves made, and loyalty will be questioned. Fractured even deeper, after the events of Season 3 finale with siblings Shiv (Sarah Snook), Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) teaming up against their father Logan (Brian Cox), unaware that Shiv’s husband Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) had switched sides against them, it will be nail-biting to see how all the family drama plays out.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Snook talked about watching the show as a fan, the betrayal Shiv has experienced, the status of her marriage, that the series ending will be both satisfying and not satisfying, what’s made Succession the best job she’s ever had, the mementos she took home from the set, and whether anyone will truly win the Roy family war.
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Collider: The Season 3 finale was absolute magnificent perfection, on every level. What was it like to get that script, read it, and shoot that episode, and then have to wait until you got the first script for Season 4, to find out what would come next? Do you try to distract yourself, so that the not knowing doesn’t drive you crazy?

SARAH SNOOK: I went a little bit crazy, given that I was in the episode and very much knew exactly what Shiv was thinking. But watching the end of Season 3, the finale, I watched as a fan, just as much as an actor. At the end, when they cut to black, after my face, I was like, “No, I have to know what happens next. I do. And now.” For us, we shot that in July 2021. That’s just a long time to wait to find out what happens next, until 2022 in June, when we started again. It dissipates, as you probably experience, as well. And then, suddenly, the music starts again and you’re like, “Yes, it’s back! I get to know what happens.”

Image via HBO

How does Shiv feel about where she’s at, at the beginning of this season? It seems like she’s not even entirely sure where she’s at, at the beginning of the season.

SNOOK: Yeah. She’s experienced betrayal, on many fronts, the largest being of her husband, super unexpectedly, and her dad and her mom, in the signing of the trust. She’s in a position where she has to unite with her brothers, but that’s an uncomfortable thing for her because it’s not typically gone. It’s a great dynamic for the audience to see because we haven’t seen the siblings united. But in classic Shiv way, she’s making sure she’s got other things on the boil, just in case.

Things between Shiv and Tom clearly are not in a good place. Is she sad about Tom? Is she just over it? Is she relieved? How does she feel about the status of their relationship, at this point?

SNOOK: I think she’s pretty hurt by Tom. She doesn’t know how to express that hurt well. Actually, really, between seasons it’s probably been a couple of months or so, and I don’t think they’ve spoken about what happened in Italy, at all, in a clear way. Both of them know that the other one knows that they know what happened, but no one has brought it up or talked about it, which is typical Roy fashion. And in a very Shiv way, she’s suppressing all emotion. So, once it gets to the end of episode one and they have that first conversation, there are all these challenges that Shiv throws out by saying, “We’ll have to break up,” hoping that Tom won’t agree, but he just does. It’s really sad that she can’t express her need for him, or say, “Let’s have a conversation,” or anything. So yeah, I think she’s very hurt by Tom.

What’s it been like to spend these seasons exploring that relationship with Matthew Macfadyen? What have you guys enjoyed about working with each other and really exploring within that relationship?

SNOOK: Oftentimes, we find ourselves laughing at the end of a take because what we’ve said to each other is so cruel and preposterous, that you would even say that to your partner, in any circumstance, but they do. I say that she was hurt by Tom, but Tom has had a death by a thousand cuts from Shiv. She’s constantly just whittling him down. And then, when he turns around and, with one single blow fights back, she’s suddenly surprised. It’s been such a joy to work with Matthew on that character.

Image via HBO

Without spoilers, how do you feel about the way that your storyline wraps up, by the end of this season? What went through your head when you found out where things would wrap up for Shiv?

SNOOK: It is a satisfying and dissatisfying ending. It is both a surprising and not surprising ending. It’s pretty great. Jesse [Armstrong] has created something that will sit in the masterpiece category, I think.

By the end of the season, would you say that she’s in a place that you would have chosen for her to end up? Does it feel like an ending that’s suitable for the journey that she’s been on?

SNOOK: Yeah. What I really like most about the ending is that there is the appetite to know what happens to the characters, once the curtain comes down still, which has been the same for every season. That’s no different for this one, except that we know that we will never find out what happens to them. It doesn’t stop you wanting to know, “But what’s gonna happen?” That’s why it’s satisfying and not satisfying, in that way.

Does it feel like a luxury to work on a TV series that can choose where it ends and you can go out on a high note, or would you have been just as game to do a Season 5?

SNOOK: Yeah, I would have probably been game to do a Season 5. But that’s also born of loving the job that I do, with the cast that I get to work with, and the crew, and the creatives. It’s been the best job I’ve ever done, so why would I want it to end? But I also understand, logically and very smartly, Jesse has decided to end this with Season 4, going out on a high when, in some ways, it’s almost perfect. It hasn’t had too many slides. It hasn’t become a parody of itself. People still love the show. It’s a pretty bold move, and you’ve gotta respect that.

Image via HBO

How much will you miss having Brian Cox tell you and everyone around you to “Fuck off”?

SNOOK: I won’t miss it at all because I don’t think he’s gonna stop doing that. I think Logan’s given him a license to do it, on and off screen. If the premiere is anything to go, he loves using his foghorn voice, if he can and wants to.

Are there times when it’s more of a term of endearment, instead of coming from a place of anger?

SNOOK: It almost always is a term of endearment, even if it is delivered in an angry use.

Last season, you told me that each season of this show has a version of a battle, but that the war wasn’t over. By the end of this season, will we feel like the war is finally over?

SNOOK: Yeah. Maybe it’s like a war though, in the way that when a war finishes, it’s still wrapping up a year or two later. It’s not like, “Great, the war is over and we’re all back to normal.” The war may end, but there are still loose ends to tie up, and they may still feel like battles.

Image via HBO

Did you keep any mementos for Shiv?

SNOOK: Yeah, I’ve got a few wardrobe things that I feel like I can only get away with before the episode airs. Once the episode airs, I can’t really be walking around in the outfit because it’s Shiv. Also, me, as Sarah, doesn’t really dress like Shiv, in the day-to-day. I do have one of the wedding portraits. I took a portrait of Shiv and Tom’s wedding home because I thought the photo of Brian and I was really nice together. And then, the production designer gave me some other photos from the same group of wedding portraits. I got them home, and it was really nice, but then, all of a sudden, I was like, “No, I can’t have these up anywhere. I can’t have someone else’s wedding on my wall. I’ll just put them in a box.” In 10 or 15 years time, they’ll be a good memento.

What has it been like for you to form this family, over the four seasons you’ve worked together?

SNOOK: We had a Succession supper club that would meet, as often as we could. We wanted to try to meet once a week, but that was never gonna happen, with schedules and timing. But it was really nice, getting to go out to dinner and hang out, all together. There has really been a bonding sense and a family sense. And all of us have grown our families, every season.

Succession airs on Sunday nights on HBO and is available to stream at HBO Max.