Succession is an American satirical black comedy-drama and family saga television series created by Jesse Armstrong for HBO. The series centers on the Roy family, the owners of Waystar RoyCo, a global media and entertainment conglomerate, who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch, Logan Roy portrayed by Brian Cox. It stars an ensemble cast including Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun, Alan Ruck, Hiam Abbass, Peter Friedman, Natalie Gold, and Rob Yang, with Dagmara Domińczyk, Arian Moayed, J. Smith-Cameron, Justine Lupe, David Rasche, and Fisher Stevens featured in recurring roles before being promoted to the main cast.
The series has been widely acclaimed by critics for its writing, performances (particularly Cox's, Strong's, Culkin's, Snook's and Macfadyen's), musical score, production values, and examination of its subject matter. Succession has been nominated for many awards, including 75 Primetime Emmy Awards (19 wins), 18 Golden Globe Awards (nine wins), one Grammy Award, 18 Critics' Choice Television Awards (eight wins), three Producers Guild of America Awards (won all three), Nine Writers Guild of America Awards (six wins), and one Peabody Awards (won). It was also selected by the American Film Institute as one of its top 10 television programs of the year for all four seasons.
Succession won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin won both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, Sarah Snook won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, while Macfadyen won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series twice and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. Brian Cox also won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the series. The main cast also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2022 and 2024. Armstrong has four wins for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. The third season broke the record for the most Emmy acting nominations in a single year, with 14.
Emmy Awards Primetime Emmy Awards + Year Category Nominee(s) Result 2019 Outstanding Drama Series Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Mark Mylod, Jane Tranter, Tony Roche, Lucy Prebble, Georgia Pritchett, Jonathan Glatzer, Jon Brown, Dara Schnapper and Jonathan Filley Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Adam McKay (for "Celebration") Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Jesse Armstrong (for "Nobody Is Ever Missing") 2020 Outstanding Drama Series Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Mark Mylod, Jane Tranter, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Georgia Pritchett, Jonathan Glatzer, Will Tracy, Dara Schnapper, Gabrielle Mahon and Lucy Prebble Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Mark Mylod (for "This Is Not for Tears") Andrij Parekh (for "Hunting") Outstanding Lead Actor In a Drama Series Brian Cox (for "Hunting") Jeremy Strong (for "This Is Not for Tears") Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nicholas Braun (for "This Is Not for Tears") Kieran Culkin (for "Tern Haven") Matthew Macfadyen (for "This Is Not for Tears") Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Sarah Snook (for "The Summer Palace") Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Jesse Armstrong (for "This Is Not for Tears") 2022 Outstanding Drama Series Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Mark Mylod, Jane Tranter, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Lucy Prebble, Will Tracy, Georgia Pritchett, Ted Cohen, Susan Soon He Stanton, Dara Schnapper, Gabrielle Mahon and Francesca Gardiner Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Mark Mylod (for "All the Bells Say") Lorene Scafaria (for "Too Much Birthday") Cathy Yan (for "The Disruption") Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Brian Cox (for "All the Bells Say") Jeremy Strong (for "Too Much Birthday") Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nicholas Braun (for "Retired Janitors of Idaho") Kieran Culkin (for "Too Much Birthday") Matthew Macfadyen (for "All the Bells Say") Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series J. Smith-Cameron (for "The Disruption") Sarah Snook (for "Chiantishire") Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Jesse Armstrong (for "All the Bells Say") 2023 Outstanding Drama Series Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Frank Rich, Kevin Messick, Mark Mylod, Jane Tranter, Tony Roche, Scott Ferguson, Jon Brown, Lucy Prebble, Will Tracy, Georgia Pritchett, Ted Cohen, Susan Soon He Stanton, Dara Schnapper, Gabrielle Mahon and Francesca Gardiner Outstanding Directing for a Drama SeriesAndrij Parekh (for "America Decides") Mark Mylod (for "Connor's Wedding") Lorene Scafaria (for "Living+") Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesBrian Cox (for "Rehearsal") Kieran Culkin (for "Church and State") Jeremy Strong (for "With Open Eyes") Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama SeriesSarah Snook (for "Tailgate Party") Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesNicholas Braun (for "America Decides") Matthew Macfadyen (for "Tailgate Party") Alan Ruck (for "Rehearsal") Alexander Skarsgård (for "Kill List") Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesJ. Smith-Cameron (for "Living+") Outstanding Writing for a Drama SeriesJesse Armstrong (for "Connor's Wedding")
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards + Year Category Nominee(s) Result 2019 Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Douglas Aibel, Henry Russell Bergstein and Francine Maisler Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music Nicholas Britell 2020 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series James Cromwell (for "Dundee") Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Cherry Jones (for "Tern Haven") Harriet Walter (for "Return") Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Avy Kaufman Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Nicholas Britell (for "This Is Not for Tears") Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series Ken Eluto (for "DC") Bill Henry and Venya Bruk (for "This Is Not for Tears") Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More) Stephen H. Carter, Carmen Cardenas, George DeTitta and Ana Buljan (for "This Is Not for Tears") 2022 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Adrien Brody (for "Lion in the Meadow") James Cromwell (for "Retired Janitors of Idaho") Arian Moayed (for "Retired Janitors of Idaho") Alexander Skarsgård (for "All the Bells Say") Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Hope Davis (for "Retired Janitors of Idaho") Sanaa Lathan (for "What It Takes") Harriet Walter (for "Chiantishire") Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Avy Kaufman and Francine Maisler Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Nicholas Britell (for "Chiantishire") Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More) Stephen H. Carter, Marci Mudd and George DeTitta, Jr. (for "Too Much Birthday") Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series Ken Eluto and Ellen Tam (for "All the Bells Say") Jane Rizzo (for "Chiantishire") Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) Nicholas Renbeck, Andy Kris and Ken Ishii (for "Too Much Birthday") 2023Outstanding Casting for a Drama SeriesAvy Kaufman Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a SeriesMichelle Matland, Jonathan Schwartz, Mark Agnes (for "Church and State") Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama SeriesJames Cromwell (for "Church and State") Arian Moayed (for "Honeymoon States") Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama SeriesHiam Abbass (for "Honeymoon States") Cherry Jones (for "The Munsters") Harriet Walter (for "Church and State") Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)Nicholas Britell (for "Connor's Wedding") Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama SeriesJane Rizzo (for "America Decides") Bill Henry (for "Connor's Wedding") Ken Eluto (for "With Open Eyes") Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)Stephen H. Carter, Molly Mikula, George Detitta Jr. (for "America Decides") Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)Andy Kris, Nicholas Renbeck, Ken Ishii, Tommy Vicari (for "Connor's Wedding")
Emmy awards and nominations for the cast +Emmy awards and nominations for the cast Actor Character Category Seasons 1 2 3 4 Brian Cox Logan Roy Lead Actor Jeremy Strong Kendall Roy Lead Actor Nicholas Braun Greg Hirsch Supporting Actor Kieran Culkin Roman Roy Supporting Actor Lead Actor Matthew Macfadyen Tom Wambsgans Supporting Actor Sarah Snook Shiv Roy Supporting Actress Lead Actress James Cromwell Ewan Roy Guest Actor Cherry Jones Nan Pierce Guest Actress Harriet Walter Lady Caroline Collingwood Guest Actress J. Smith-Cameron Gerri Kellman Supporting Actress Adrien Brody Josh Aaronson Guest Actor Arian Moayed Stewy Hosseini Guest Actor Alexander Skarsgård Lukas Matsson Guest Actor Supporting Actor Hope Davis Sandi Furness Guest Actress Sanaa Lathan Lisa Arthur Guest Actress Alan Ruck Connor Roy Supporting Actor Hiam Abbass Marcia Roy Guest Actress
Other awards