Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy was as disappointed as the rest of us whenSuccessionended, despite it being time for one of the best TV shows ever made. Murphy himself is known as a prestige drama actor, leading the period crime seriesPeaky Blindersas Tommy Shelby for six seasons. Murphy will be reprising this role in theupcomingPeaky Blindersmovie, another project in his equally impressive film career, which most notably includes thegroundbreaking movies of Christopher Nolan. After starring inBatman BeginsandInception, Murphy won Best Lead Actor for Nolan’sOppenheimer.
The landscape of acclaimed film and television is seeing more overlap than ever before,and as artists like Murphy and Nolan push the envelope on filmmaking,Successiondominated TV-focused awards throughout its four-year run. Additionally, twoSuccessionactors were nominated by the Academy for performances in movies this year, while Murphy was a presenter at the ceremony. Murphy proves that even the actors in this industry are engaged with projects they are not involved in creating, and he confirmed that his favorite is in fact the black comedy and satire that swept at the Golden Globes for years.
Succession Was Cillian Murphy’s Favorite Show On TV Until Recently
Murphy’s Favorite Show Was Succession While It Was Airing
In an interview withVariety, part of the press tour ofOppenheimer, Murphy was asked if he was “starkstruck” by any of the people he met at awards season events leading up to the 2024 Oscars. Murphy responded: “I met some of the guys from Succession. That’s my favorite show on the telly. I’m so heartbroken that it’s finished.” This was possibly at the Golden Globes ceremony in 2024, whereSuccession, having aired its final season in 2023, was seeing its last sweep whileOppenheimerand other Oscars favorites were making their rounds.
Murphy enjoyedSuccessionas many audiences did, spellbound by the stellar writing, gripping performances, and characters who are terrible people yet endlessly fascinating and even amusing to watch. WithSuccessionhaving ended, a huge gap was left in the TV industry, and Murphy may have then been on the hunt for a new favorite TV show. TheSuccessioncast are now pursuing varying careers, and Murphy was just as thrilled to meet some of them as any of us would have been. He possibly also met Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong again at the 2025 Oscars.
All Good Things Must Come To An End
Like many TV fans,Murphy faced the disappointment thatSuccessionwas ending.Yet many TV fans, while being sad that they don’t get to watch new episodes of their favorite show anymore, can see how it was time for the story to wrap up before it became stale. Many of the best TV shows maintain their quality throughout because they have a set ending, sometimes from the very beginning, andSuccessionis a prime example. ShowrunnerJesse Armstrong also affirmed thatSuccessionneeded to end with season 4.
While the writers discussed different possibilities,they ultimately decided to finish it off with season 4, true to the title “succession,” as this outing would finalize who would become the CEO of Waystar Roycoafter founder Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) death. It worked out for the best, as season 4 is generally considered thebest season ofSuccession, allowing the landmark series to end on a high note.Succession’s endingsees none of Logan’s children happy, exactly, but it does leave them in places that imply something about their future, which we don’t necessarily need to see.
Shiv (Sarah Snook) seems to be getting back together with her husband Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), the new CEO, as their child is the tentative heir, while Kendall (Jeremy Strong) simply has to deal with not getting what he wanted and Roman (Kieran Culkin) is still floating in the aftermath. The master writers always knew what they were doing, which is what made it everyone’s favorite show in the first place, and they left all the characters with a lesson about the consequences of their actions.
