6 Things We Know About Succession Season 3

Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook in Succession, season 2.
Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook in Succession, season 2. | Peter Kramer/HBO

Ever since Succession’s epic season 2 finale in October 2019, fans have been sustaining themselves on memes, parodies, and rewatches while they wait for season 3 to serve up a real meal. Now, after a long, pandemic-prompted hiatus, the Emmy-winning HBO dramedy is finally filming the next chapter of the Roy family saga. Here’s what we know about season 3 so far.

1. The Succession season 3 release date could be in late 2021.

(From left to right) Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Hiam Abbass, Alan Ruck, and J. Smith-Cameron in season 2, episode 5.
(From left to right) Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Hiam Abbass, Alan Ruck, and J. Smith-Cameron in season 2, episode 5. | Peter Kramer/HBO

The coronavirus pandemic caused major filming delays for Succession, and HBO hasn’t yet announced a release date for season 3. If we’re lucky, we might get to welcome the Roys back to TV by the end of this year.

As of February, HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys was hoping for a premiere in the fourth quarter of 2021. “But that would mean we don’t get hit with any COVID delays,” he told Deadline in February. “A lot of that will depend on how the vaccine rolls out, how much a factor COVID is. It’s still very much a real thing in production at the moment; hopefully it gets easier to deal with. It’s hard to predict right now.”

2. Succession is filming on location in New York City.

Since then, Succession has started shooting in full force around New York City. As New York magazine’s Curbed reports, city dwellers have spotted signs, trailers, and other set evidence all over Midtown: The Pierre hotel near Central Park, The Sheraton by Times Square, the CBS Broadcast Center, The Plaza, and more.

A few other scenes are set to take place in the Hamptons, including at Shadmoor State Park, on a beach off Old Montauk Highway, and at a house on Wainscott’s Beach Lane (a street where Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Steven Spielberg, and more celebrity A-listers have owned property).

3. Adrien Brody and Alexander Skarsgård are joining the Succession universe.

Alexander Skarsgård at the SAG Awards in 2020.
Alexander Skarsgård at the SAG Awards in 2020. | Rich Fury/Getty Images

Logan Roy will evidently have two more competitors to contend with during season 3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, one is Lukas Matsson, “a successful, confrontational tech founder and CEO” played by Alexander Skarsgård. The other, portrayed by Adrien Brody, is Josh Aaronson, “a billionaire activist investor who becomes pivotal in the battle for the ownership of Waystar.”

4. We’ll see some other new characters, too.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Sanaa Lathan will appear as a high-powered New York lawyer named Lisa Arthur; Linda Emond is joining the cast as White House staff member Michelle-Anne Vanderhoven; and South Korean singer and actor Jihae will play public relations consultant Berry Schneider.

5. The story probably won’t center around the pandemic.

While Succession has always been lauded for its clever parallels to the real world, you probably don’t have to worry about season 3 devolving into a show about business bigwigs dealing with the ramifications of COVID-19. If it does come up, it’ll likely be in a subtle way.

“I think Jesse wants to be delicate about it and just classy. … But nothing that is so overt that is going to really tackle it head on, because that’s not the show,” Sarah Snook (who plays Siobhan "Shiv" Roy) told Variety in August 2020. “We want to see the Roys doing the thing that they’ve been doing that we love, not pivoting toward a pandemic story.”

6. Cousin Greg will still be employed by Waystar Royco.

Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun in season 2, episode 7.
Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun in season 2, episode 7. | Graeme Hunter/HBO

Season 3 plot details are being treated with the utmost secrecy, but we do know one tiny fact—thanks to an Instagram post by Nicholas Braun (who plays Cousin Greg, a.k.a. Greg the Egg). “I am an employee of this company, and that’s about all I can say about that!” he captioned a photo of himself in front of a Waystar Royco sign. Whether his gainful employment lasts all season remains to be seen. After all, you can’t make a Tomelette without breaking some Greggs.