Succession is one of HBO’s most critically acclaimed shows to date. It's already been the recipient of over a dozen Emmy wins, and more could arrive, thanks to the phenomenal fourth and final season. It may feel like the drama series couldn’t get more recognition, yet a recent report predicting Emmy nominations suggests the series will be a major contender in this year's awards race. In fact, performances from the fourth season could see the show taking up a large chunk of one category with nominations, and I’m in awe of this series’ dominance.
A recent report from GoldDerby predicts that the show will lead the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama category, with four slots being taken up by members of the Succession cast. For context, recent years have had eight actors being represented in the category, so if this happens, half of the category would be taken up by the cast of the HBO series. At the 2022 Emmys, the beloved drama dominated three slots of the category, with nominations for Kieran Culkin, Nicholas Braun, and Matthew MacFadyen, who took home the gold statue.
This is even more impressive, because Kieran Culkin is no longer competing in the Supporting Actor category. His character, Roman, had a more significant role in Season 4, so competing in the Lead Actor category alongside co-stars Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox. Strong won the Emmy in 2020 for playing Kendall Roy and has been considered a lead throughout the program's run. Cox campaigning in the Lead Actor category is more controversial this year, though. While the family patriarch Logan Roy has clearly been a lead in the past, the final season saw Cox’s Logan die in the third episode. As a result, performances by the other actors became more prominent throughout the remainder of the season.
With the Scott Pilgrim alum no longer being considered a Supporting Actor, this means that two additional actors could rise to the occasion and be considered for Emmy nominations. Alan Ruck’s performance as Connor in the “Connor’s Wedding” episode is strong enough to earn him a nod, and Alexander Skarsgård is campaigning in the supporting actor category rather than guest actor, which he competed in previously for his performance as Lukas Mattson. That character has an increased presence in the final season as well. Nicholas Braun and Matthew MacFadyen are also predicted to receive nominations again for their respective roles as Greg and Tom.
The category dominance may seem unsurprising, as Succession has been one of the most-talked-about shows of the year, but its rise to power was slow. While always a critical darling, it was essentially a sleeper hit, with its popularity growing throughout its run. I was a loyal watcher from the beginning and find it interesting to watch a relatively quieter show grow such a massive following. The show garnered an unexpected audience in young women and became a stan Twitter darling seemingly out of nowhere. Somehow people fell in love with the despicable wealthy cast of characters, and the brutal A+ insults they fling at each other. Of course, it's not the social media acclaim that earns a show Emmy nods. We'll just have to wait and see how things shake out when the nominations are announced.
Emmy voting ended on June 26th, and the nominations will be announced on July 12th. In the meantime, fans can catch up on the spectacular performances from the last season of Succession, which is now streamable alongside the other three with a Max subscription. For more information on other shows hitting the small screen later this year, make sure to consult our 2023 TV schedule.
