'Succession' season 4 has started production

Succession is officially heading back to our screens as HBO has confirmed that production has begun on season four.

The hit drama about the ultra successful and even more dysfunctional Roy family's battle to be top dog in their media company Waystar Royco will see the key cast return for 10 new episodes.

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Cast includes Brian Cox as terrifying patriarch Logan Roy who plays his children off against each other; Jeremy Strong as estranged son Kendall who spent last season battling against his father; Sarah Snook as only daughter Shiv who wants to take over the family empire; Matthew Macfadyen as her social climber husband Tom; and Kieran Culkin as loose cannon youngest son Roman.

Also expected to return are Alan Ruck as sidelined eldest son Connor, Nicholas Braun as Roy cousin Greg who acts as a sidekick to Tom, J Smith-Cameron as long-standing Waystar employee Gerri who wields more power than the Roy children, and Alexander Skargard as tech wunderkind Lukas Matsson.

Season four will see Waystar's sale to Lukas progress, provoking even more existential angst in the various Roy family members as they face a future where their political and cultural weight is severely curtailed.

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At the end of season three, siblings Kendall, Shiv and Roy had finally agreed to put their differences aside and combine their influence as stakeholders to stage a coup, taking down their own father.

However, as they left their own mother's wedding to put their plan into action they realised they had made their move too late - Shiv's ambitious husband Tom had betrayed her trust by tipping off Logan about the plot, prompting him to cut his own children out of his business plans.

Succession returned for series three after a two-year break, with production delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The show's bosses and creator Jesse Armstrong have previously said that the drama will never go beyond five seasons, so fans could be looking at the final days of Roy family power playing out in season four.

New episodes are expected to be ready to air later in 2022.

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