"Succession" arrived at its complicated, backstabby conclusion on Sunday, with Tom Wambsgans atop the GoJo-acquired Waystar Royco rubble [1], eager to eat platefuls of Lukas Matsson's bad press for a ludicrously lucrative living. And while Jesse Armstrong's decision to end the HBO hit on a high after just four seasons stings like a stitch-opening hug, the creator offered a balm back in February, hinting at the slightest possibility of a "Succession" spinoff.
"I have caveated the end of the show, when I've talked to some of my collaborators," the three-time (and counting?) Emmy winner told The New Yorker [2], "like: Maybe there's another part of this world we could come back to, if there was an appetite? Maybe there's something else that could be done, that harnessed what's been good about the way we've worked on this."
Although HBO content CEO Casey Bloys and drama head Francesca Orsi took turns pouring lemon LaCroix all over the dream of a "Disgusting Brothers" spinoff during season four ("[A]t this stage, there is no intention of spinning any one character off," Orsi told Deadline [3] days before the finale; "It doesn't seem like a natural thing to me," her boss told Variety [4] in February), they both dropped the "never say never" line. And Bloys, who oversaw the creation of "Game of Thrones" spinoff "House of the Dragon," [5] suggested an expansion of the Waystar-verse would be up to the show's creator: "if [Armstrong] said I want to do this, then I would follow Jesse's lead."
Far be it from me to tell the man who penned, "Lip-balm Tom Wamb, lubing up his lips to kiss my butt," what to write next, but if Armstrong's looking for inspiration, here are eight "Succession" spinoff ideas we'd love to see.
"The Disgusting Brothers"
This is hardly the first space to suggest Tom and Greg's mentorial bromance live on [6], and why wouldn't it be? They've inspired memes, fancams, and catchphrases that'll be uttered long after Lukas sacrifices Tom on the altar of profit margins.
And now, though not without a bathroom-slap-fight hiccup, they're more powerful (and likely more disgusting) than ever: Tom as the figurehead of Logan's media empire, with Greg as his surprisingly potent master of whisperers.
"Marcia Shopping in Milan, Forever"
Fashion [7]. Murder. The Alps. Connor Roy?
A visit from new girlfriends [8] (one of whom helped coin the spinoff's title) in the fashion capital soon sours when Logan's influential third ex-wife is embroiled in a deadly, sexy scandal. And who knows, maybe the US ambassador to Slovenia — her stepson and former real-estate counterpart — will drop by on his expanded travel budget; Ljubljana's just a six-hour train away!
In other words: "Succession," but make it "The White Lotus [9]" season two goes north.
"Ascension"
Whether he knows it or not, Tom — through either his own estimation, Shiv's influence, or the direction of Lukas (via Shiv's influence) — has assembled a powerful bloc atop the company that could threaten his power, starting with Gerri. Waystar's revered general counsel and one-time interim CEO has coveted the big job behind the Roys' backs, and she's never had a clearer path to it. "Between Matsson and her, Tom is putty," Gerri portrayer J. Smith-Cameron recently told Elle [10].
And she's got a pair of potent allies: Karolina, Waystar's PR head and Gerri's frequent collaborator on "Can you believe these assh*les?" looks, and Shiv, who might never stop seething over Tom's walking over her back to become CEO. Never mind what the trio can do (and that's a lot); what they know could bring Tom and/or Lukas down with one email.
"Willa, Shakespeare"
"Succession"'s penchant for humanizing characters painfully unaware of just how unqualified they are continues, as Willa becomes a lens to focus on another old, moneyed New York institution ripe for satire: Broadway.
I'm thinking "Best in Show" meets "The Office" meets Broadway, a behind-the-scenes mockumentary covering the first sandless production of the young playwright's career.
"Stewy Does Literally Anything"
Hostile takeovers, eating pancakes, kissing boys on molly (a Ken and Stewy prep-school prequel?), being "spiritually and emotionally and ethically and morally behind whoever wins" — whatever he does, I'm Team Stewy, baby [11].
"The Original Disgusting Brothers"
Pray you held onto those "The Deuce" season three set designs and costumes, HBO, because this series cranks up the disgusting factor by heading to one of the grimier settings imaginable: 1980s New York City. Frank and Karl, still flying in the socks they wore to the airport, help Logan build his burgeoning empire and get into enough after-hours trouble to make Tom and Greg want to concede their title.
And so as not to part ways with actors Peter Friedman and David Rasche, they appear as a present-day chorus on Karl's new Greek island, remembering their exploits, with both fondness and their brand of selective forgetfulness.
"The New Adventures of Old Jess"
Following Jess's "dumb," per Kendall, resignation in the series's penultimate episode and what must've been a whirlwind interview process, he had another assistant by the finale: "new Jess."
But what's old Jess, a hypercompetent former assistant for whom outright fascism is a bridge too far, to do with presumably the first extended free time she's had in forever?
Get as far from corporate life as she can? Atone for what she, in some small way, aided in the rise of Jeryd Mencken? Finally sell Stewy's trojan horse?
If failure's the greatest teacher, then one once doomed to cringe through years of Kendall's exploits can do just about anything.
"Success"
Ewan painted the series's clearest picture of his brother during a defiant eulogy in the penultimate episode — a tale of survival, Nazis, polio, and guilt [12] — but Logan's actual rise to media titan hardly received more than a slice of news-segment exposition during the show's run.
Who was Logan, and how did he become the unapproachable beast we meet in season one of "Succession"?
Whoever's considered to portray the Waystar founder at whatever age, auditions have to start with his favorite two words [13].