HBO Shooting Down A Spin-Off To One Of Their Most Popular Shows?
HBO's Succession isn't likely to get a spin-off with the head of the network saying it wouldn't be natural.
Jesse Armstrong, creator of HBO’s hit series Succession, is having second thoughts about this upcoming fourth season being the end of its run. His feelings of connection to the show (and perhaps a tinge of regret at his decision to end it before it was canceled) have made him throw the idea of a spin-off out there. Unfortunately for him and other Succession fans, HBO isn’t into it. According to The Guardian, HBO’s CEO Casey Bloys said “I don’t think so. It doesn’t seem to me that there’s something in Succession where you would go, ‘Let’s follow just this kid’ or whatever.”
HBO has also commented that a spin-off to Succession would not “seem a natural thing.” Even if Armstrong and many fans would be more than happy to create a show in which we follow just one of the show’s twisted characters or even just its dark theme, HBO just doesn’t think it would be worth it.
For those not in the know, HBO’s Succession tells the story of the Roy family, who own a media and entertainment conglomerate called Waystar RoyCo. There is infighting within said family when the health of the patriarch, Logan Roy, comes into question.
HBO’s Succession has received much critical acclaim and has won numerous awards and nominations, such as the British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme and the Golden Globe for Best Television Series in the Drama category. Several of Succession’s cast members have also won awards for best actor or actress during the show’s run.
Even aside from the huge success the show has brought, Armstrong feels a connection to the story and the characters as well. For this reason, he says he feels “conflicted” about his decision for HBO to end Succession, even if it was something he decided on his own. “The end [of Succession] has always been kind of present in my mind,” he said.
It was his intention to end the show on a high note, not to wait until the show dipped in popularity or had run out of stories to tell. He didn’t want the audience watching HBO’s Succession to get tired of it, or to think he had made a wrong decision with where he was taking the storyline, so he chose to bring the story to a close on his own terms. Unfortunately, however, he is rethinking this now.
While he never had any illusions that HBO would keep Succession forever, Armstrong still feels as if there could be more of the story to tell. There could be “something else in an allied world, or allied characters” to explore in a spin-off if fans are interested.
The final decision, it seems, is up to HBO, though, not Armstrong. While Bloys has not totally ruled it out, it seems clear that Succession most likely will not get a spin-off series from a network that, up until its foray into Game of Thrones spin-offs, was very much against sequel (or prequel) series.
But, if HBO could change its mind about making sequels (or prequels) to one successful show, why not another? Succession could possibly see a spin-off series one day, but in the meantime, there is still the fourth season to watch starting March 26th.
