‘Succession’ Is Ready for a Victory Lap at the 2024 Emmys

In 2019, the same year that Succession competed for the Emmys for the first time, its network sibling Game of Thrones received a slightly unexpected final embrace from the Television Academy for its last season—unexpected, if only because the final run of HBO’s fantasy was so widely panned. Yet Thrones proved too big to fail, winning awards for outstanding drama series, acting, directing, and a slew of technical achievements. As the Emmys put a stamp on the end of a defining era in TV, a new one dawned. Succession won just one trophy in 2019, for creator Jesse Armstrong’s season-finale script—but from there, it would go on to dominate.

But Succession’s road to its final Emmy moment has not been entirely smooth. A pandemic and an actors strike (not to mention an unwieldy corporate merger) helped delay the Shakespearean family drama’s Hollywood swan song to this Monday, when the Television Academy is poised to deliver a total sweep, barring any major surprises. Armstrong decided to end the show a bit earlier than most dramas of its popularity and acclaim, at season four; accordingly, perhaps, by all accounts it is going out on a high, having already won the equivalent Golden Globe and surely picking up many industry guild prizes later this winter. Here is one cultural phenomenon that did not overstay its welcome.

Succession was nominated for more 2024 Emmys than any other program, with a staggering total of 27. Nipping at its heels was another HBO freshman now positioned to define the landscape going forward—The Last of Us, up for 24 awards. Already, the postapocalyptic drama dominated last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys. It’s doing to Succession what Succession did to Thrones: continuing an extraordinary network legacy, even amid existential industry threats.

The big question this year is not whether Succession will win for its goodbye run, but exactly who will win for its goodbye. Sarah Snook, nominated twice in supporting, appears to be an overwhelming front-runner for her first shot in lead actress, and should walk away with some Emmy gold before all is said and done. The supporting-actor race has come down to a past winner in Matthew MacFadyen, who arguably had his best season yet as he somehow wound up in the big chair by series’ end, and Alexander Skarsgård, a past winner for a different show (Big Little Lies) whose gleefully antagonistic turn imbued the show with fresh energy. Over in supporting actress, J. Smith-Cameron can’t even be counted out if Succession runs the table, though that may be a place for another network-mate, The White Lotus, to pick up an award for its scene-stealer Jennifer Coolidge.

And then there’s the matter of best actor. Fully half of the Emmys’ six nominees in the category belong to Succession, with Jeremy Strong a previous winner, Brian Cox a two-time nominee, and Kieran Culkin a newbie to the field, having previously competed—like Snook—in supporting. Also like Snook, Culkin’s billing upgrade may just take him all the way, as Roman’s emotionally tortured arc in the final scene allowed Culkin to run away with many of the most celebrated episodes. Due to the Emmys’ winner-take-all, unranked voting system, there’s also a small chance that The Last of Us pulls off a grand upset here, with Pedro Pascal sneaking around three Roys who split votes, and kick-starting a new phase. How poetic would that be?

There is less (read: no) chance of that happening in the top category, where Succession will meet a fond farewell and reign, one last time, as the king of dramatic television. It’s been a remarkable run against remarkable tumult, appropriate for a show so steeped in an era of cynical chaos. But of course, this won’t be all for Armstrong and the Roys. They’ll still have to go to the SAG Awards next month. Succession may be over, but awards season never stops.

Emmys 2024: Our Final Predictions for Every Winner

Why Fox News Can’t Quit Trump, the “Monster We Created”

The Real-Life Story That Inspired Netflix’s Dark Oscar Contender

Beyond a “Biohacker” Tech Bro’s Quest to Cheat Death