Succession Season 3 review roundup: What the critics are saying about new season of HBO series

The first episode of season three released on 17 October

HBO’s mega hit Succession has finally returned for its highly anticipated, pandemic-delayed third season and the first episode is getting rave reviews online.

Following a bombshell end to the second series, which concluded in October 2019, audiences have been left waiting over a year for a new season.

The darkly funny satirical drama about a powerful American media conglomerate and the family that controls it, the second season of Succession ended with a major cliffhanger that left fans reeling.

The show’s all-star ensemble cast led by Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong are joined by actors Alexander Skarsgård and Adrien Brody in the new season.

The new season will see patriarch Logan Roy “in a perilous position, scrambling to secure familial, political, and financial alliances”, according to HBO’s logline, which promises tensions that “rise as a bitter corporate battle threatens to turn into a family civil war”.

Find a round-up of Succession season three reviews below.

Empire – five stars

“This third series is so miraculously funny yet mind-blowingly intense, Succession feels like it’s now well on its way to reaching Sopranos, The West Wing, Mad Men-levels of excellence. We’re watching a TV show turn into pop-cultural artefact that future generations will study for myriad reasons, not least to understand how a family of super-wealthy c***s still manages to end up running things while tearing each other apart at the same time,” wrote Boyd Hilton.

The Guardian – five stars

“Succession is back for its third season and it doesn’t miss a beat. We pick up right where fans hoped we would – in the immediate aftermath of Kendall’s denunciation of his father Logan live on national television,” wrote Lucy Mangan.

Rolling Stone – four stars

“Between the pandemic (which is not occurring in the show’s parallel reality), climate change, the rise of totalitarian governments, and a half-dozen other crises, it’s not as if the Roys are coming back to a world of rainbows and lollipops. Their show remains a key fictional text explaining how we got into these various messes, but also a marvellous occasional reward for all of us stuck living through them,” wrote Alan Sepinwall.

The Times – five stars

“[The show has] absolutely no drop in quality. It is as much of a venomous joy as last time, the momentum building again beautifully” wrote Carol Midgley. “Succession’s biggest weapon has always been its whip-cracking dialogue and the writer Jesse Armstrong has raised his game.”

The Hollywood Reporter

“What struck me first as I dove back in was not how thrilling or dramatic this show can be, but how laugh-out-loud funny it is,” wrote Angie Han. “The series mines that disconnect for both intense tragedy and cringeworthy comedy, as they try desperately to convince themselves and one another that they’re totally in control.”

“Creator Jesse Armstrong is a master at servicing what has become an ever-expanding ensemble, and almost on an episode-by-episode basis, your sense of whose arc is most central to the season can shift.”

Collider

“While there have been some much-heralded guest stars announced for season three, including Alexander Skarsgård, Adrian Brody, and Hope Davis, Succession is very savvy about the way they’re incorporated into the action – because Armstrong does an elegant job of making sure that the series never loses focus on its core narrative,” wrote Liz Shannon Miller.

Succession’s third season will be available in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW from 18 October. Episode two will be released on 24 October.