Despite their being no official confirmation, it appears that production is underway on season three of the HBO sensation and multiple Emmy Award-Winning drama, Succession.
A New Yorker writer has spotted Succession production vehicles at a filming location in the city, while Succession cast member J. Smith-Cameron, who plays Gerri Kellman, also confirmed filming had started on season three in late November.
The Emmy recognition came after the HBO drama also won the Golden Globe for the same category in January. It’s hardly surprising that season three of Jesse Armstrong’s hit series is so hugely anticipated by fans.
The series focuses on Logan Roy, the patriarch of a huge family media empire, and his children’s attempts to prove themselves the best choice for his successor – with each of them taking it in turns to majorly screw up.
The second season of the hit show ended on a major bombshell, with one member of the Roy clan turning on his father in irresistibly dramatic fashion, so viewers are desperate to see what happens next.
And the acclaim for the show has only grown since that episode aired, with the second run garnering an incredible 18 Emmy nominations, including nine nods for its excellent cast, including Brian Cox, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin.
The bad news is that the next series has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with production having been closed down in March.
Read on for everything you need to know about season three.
Succession season 3 release date is in sight as filming resumes
There is no word on an official launch date for the season as yet, though we do know that it’s on the way, even though filming has been significantly delayed by the COVID-19 shutdown.
HBO has been tight-lipped on whether or not Succession had started filming season three, but other spies have been more forthcoming.
Staff writer on The New Yorker Rachel Syme spotted production trucks in her neighbourhood.
i walked by some production trucks in my neighborhood and looked at the street permit for the show they were filming and it said SUCCESSION SEASON THREE. we can still have a nice thing.
— rachel syme (@rachsyme) December 3, 2020
As well, J Cameron-Smith, who plays Gerri Kellman in the drama, simply responded “Yes” to a fan who asked: “Awesome…are you back to filming season 3?”
Succession star Alan Ruck, who plays Connor Roy, told EW that shooting is about to resume: “We’re going to start in New York right around the middle of November.”
That revelation is a big boost to fans as Brian Cox (Logan Roy) had speculated it might not resume until 2021.
In July, writer Jesse Armstrong told Radio Times that filming may restart in the “not-too-distant future,” saying: “We’ve carried on writing during the lockdown. But it’s still up in the air. As for coronavirus, there are things to think about, in terms of how we deal or don’t deal with it. But I’m not going to get into it in public.”
And in August 2020, Armstrong told Variety that the team was “trying to think about starting shooting in New York before Christmas,” adding: “Who knows if that’ll come about, but that’s the plan at the moment.”
And later the same month Brian Cox told The Hollywood Reporter that he was hopeful production could begin in November, claiming that there would be strict precautions in place given the ongoing pandemic.
He said, “HBO has been fantastic because they are covering every protocol possible, and they really want to be safe because it’s a show they care a lot about.
“Our problem with the show is it’s a verity show because we shoot on the move and chronologically. But we now have to change in a way to be more controlled. We’ll have to use more sets than we did before.”
If filming is able to begin before the end of 2020, we’d speculate that season 3 of Succession might air in late 2021 – but, at least for now, there’s no official release date!
If you want to catch up on previous episodes of Succession, you can buy the DVD on Amazon now.
Who is in Succession’s cast?
Succession would be nothing without its ensemble of players, both major and minor. We fully expect lead stars Brian Cox (Logan), Jeremy Strong (Kendall), Sarah Snook (Shiv), Kieran Culkin (Roman), Alan Ruck (Connor), Matthew MacFadyen (Tom) and Nicholas Braun (Greg) to return, along with supporting actors J Smith Cameron (Gerri) and Justine Lupe (Willa).
The cast have been nominated and won various awards for their portrayals, and in July, season two racked up 18 Emmy nods in total.
British actor Matthew Macfadyen, who plays supporting character Tom Wambsgans, revealed in July 2020 that he had been on his way to the supermarket when he heard that he’d been nominated for an Emmy.
“Unglamorous, but that’s the truth of it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “And then I got a really nice call from my agent and my agent in the States and they all said congrats. It was lovely.”
However, he also revealed that he had mixed feelings about the virtual awards ceremony in September.
“I know this sounds ungrateful but I hope I never do another Zoom again,” he said. “Having to rearrange the curtains behind your head… even an Emmy ceremony on Zoom is just sort of weird to me. But I’d probably be in the same ol’ place. I think I’d dress up, you know. I think I’d honour the occasion and make an effort.”
Macfadyen is nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series alongside Succession co-stars Nicholas Braun and Kieran Culkin.
Other members of the cast to be honoured in the Emmy nominations include Cox and Strong in the Best Actor category, Snook for Best Actor and James Cromwell, Cherry Jones and Harriet Walter for their guest appearances.
What will happen in Succession season 3?
Of course, we aren’t aware of any precise details yet but we can begin to predict what kind of events might feature. For example, it’s more than likely that we’ll see some a confrontation between Logan and Roy early on after the events of the season two finale, and indeed Brian Cox recently told Deadline that there were “a lot of fireworks to come” between the pair.
As for Roman – the character played by Kieran Culkin – there’s been some rumours that he could be the main focus of season three, after season one primarily centred on Kendall and season two largely revolved around Shiv, with Culkin recently telling Vulture, “Maybe next year is Roman’s turn.”
It’s also likely that we’ll see further exploration of Tom and Shiv’s relationship which, it’s fair to say, was experiencing some difficulties during the second season, while we could even see the COVID-19 pandemic written into the series, something Cox recently alluded to in an interview with The Scotsman.
Meanwhile, we could see a more international flavour to the drama, with one of the series’ writers, Lucy Prebble, hinting the show is planning to increase its scope during its third season. She told Deadline, “There are … a lot of talks about going more international than we’ve gone before, which is to do with the relationship between the media industry and international countries.”
She added: “The way international countries input, control, and fund the media in ways that aren’t talked about as clearly as they should be… There are big conversations about how countries and media intersect at the moment.”
Furthermore in August 2020, Sarah Snook revealed what impact the pandemic would have on the show’s future storylines, claiming that although the virus would have a bearing on the series in a practical way it was unlikely that Jesse Armstrong would change the stories based on COVID.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said: “Just for safety reasons, we’re going to have to look at how many extras are in a scene, for instance.
“But Jesse is a person who doesn’t really want to compromise what stories they want to tell as writers just for the pandemic.
“They’re obviously talented writers, so there will be a very delicate hand on how much is included, but we’re not trying to make a show about a wealthy family during a pandemic.”
One person who knows exactly what will happen in the season is Brian Cox – who revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he was the only member of the cast who is currently aware of the events set to occur in the next run.
He said, “I nearly fell off my chair because he [Jesse Armstrong] never tells you about the next series. We never knew from episode to episode what was going to happen.
“But then he told me. And it’s jolly thrilling. That’s all I can say.”
And Lucy Prebble, who works as a writer on the show, cryptically revealed a little more about the upcoming season in a recent interview with GQ, also confirming that the show’s plot would not be altered to reflect the pandemic.
“Obviously, there are implications with the pandemic, although there were no major changes happening to the script,” she said. “HBO are really good at that sort of stuff; they’re aggressively protective of their creations. They want to make it work creatively and what they’re going to do is try to provide a situation that will allow that, when they can.”
She added: “I can’t say much about it, but the only thing I can say is that it was fascinating to see James Murdoch take the action that he did in publicising that letter about [him] leaving [News Corp]. And considering our season two and our season three, I can say it is an amazing and interesting event.”
We’re certainly intrigued!
Is there a trailer for Succession season 3?
Not yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
Keep checking this page for updates on Succession season three, including the trailer when it eventually drops.
Succession airs on HBO in the USA and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK and you can buy the DVD at Amazon. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.
from Radio Times https://ift.tt/3ouOIDs
