User:ReWYRE/sandbox3

Premise
Following the exposé of the widespread coverup of rampant sexual abuse allegations in Waystar RoyCo's cruise division, Kendall Roy unexpectedly made a public denounciation at a press conference in New York of his father Logan, saying that he was fully aware of the rampant sexual abuse and was instrumental in covering it up. Logan Roy is left in a tenuous position as Waystar RoyCo faces investigations by the U.S. government and Kendall seeks to sabotage Waystar and bring down his father.

Starring

 * Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch: The bumbling yet opportunistic grandson of Logan's brother Ewan. Greg is unfamiliar with the rough terrain he must navigate to win Logan over, and finds himself indentured to Tom Wambsgans in his quest for a place at Waystar and with the family.
 * Brian Cox as Logan Roy: The Dundee-born self-made billionaire, founder of media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. He is a brash leader whose primary focus is his company, rather than his four children: Connor, from his first marriage, and Kendall, Roman and Siobhan, from his second marriage. He is married to Marcia, his third wife.
 * Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy: Half-brother to Connor and the middle child from Logan's second marriage. Roman is immature, does not take responsibilities seriously and often finds himself lacking the common sense his father requires of him. This is likely because, as evidenced in many episodes, his father's abuse targeted him. He is frequently at odds with his older brother Kendall and sometimes his sister Shiv, with whom he often vies for power and their father's attention.
 * Dagmara Domińczyk as Karolina Novotney: The head of public relations for Waystar RoyCo and a member of the company's legal team.
 * Peter Friedman as Frank Vernon: COO and later vice-chairman of Waystar RoyCo, and longtime confidant of Logan. Frank is a member of Logan's old guard, on whom Kendall frequently relies to help win back Logan's favor. He is Kendall's mentor and godfather, and is disliked by Roman.
 * Justine Lupe as Willa Ferreyra: Connor's younger girlfriend who is a former call girl and an aspiring playwright.
 * Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans: Shiv's husband who is a Waystar executive running ATN, the company's global news outlet. He enjoys his proximity to the Roy family's power, but is frequently dismissed by the family's inner circle. He ingratiates himself with those more powerful than he, but torments his hapless subordinate Greg.
 * David Rasche as Karl Muller: Waystar RoyCo's CFO and member of the company's legal team.
 * Alan Ruck as Connor Roy: The only child from Logan's first marriage. Mostly removed from corporate affairs, he defers to his half-siblings on most firm-related matters and resides at a ranch in New Mexico with his younger girlfriend Willa. He is prone to delusions of grandeur and "had an interest in politics from a young age." Similar to his half-siblings, Connor does not have the best recollections of his childhood, as he mentioned that he went three years without seeing Logan when he was a child.
 * J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman: The general counsel to Waystar RoyCo, who is also godmother to Shiv. She becomes a mentor figure to Roman, with whom she also shares a secret sexual connection.
 * Sarah Snook as Siobhan "Shiv" Roy: Logan's youngest child and only daughter. A left-leaning political fixer, she worked for a time for presidential candidate Gil Eavis, whose political views clash with Waystar. She eventually leaves politics to focus on building a future at Waystar. She is engaged to and then marries Tom, but their relationship is undermined by Shiv's infidelity.
 * Fisher Stevens as Hugo Baker: A senior communications executive for Parks and Cruises in charge of managing a scandal involving Brightstar cruise lines.
 * Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy: Half-brother to Connor and the eldest child from Logan's second marriage. As Logan's heir apparent, Kendall struggles to prove his worth to his father after battling substance abuse and bungling major deals. He toils to maintain a relationship with his siblings, ex-wife Rava, and their children.

Guest starring

 * Natalie Gold as Rava Roy: Kendall's former wife and mother of his two children, Sophie and Iverson.
 * Sanaa Lathan as Lisa Arthur: a high profile, well-connected New York lawyer who takes on Kendall as a client. She is personal friends with Shiv.
 * Linda Emond as Michelle-Anne Vanderhoven: a senior White House aide and longtime friend and confidant of Logan's. She frequently acts as an intermediary between Logan and the President, who is never seen onscreen and simply known as "The Raisin," a derisive nickname used by the Roys.
 * Scott Nicholson as Colin Stiles: Logan's body man
 * Juliana Canfield as Jess Jordan: Kendall's assistant.
 * Annabelle Dexter-Jones as Naomi Pierce: Nan Pierce's cousin and member of the Pierce family. She suffers from substance abuse and becomes romantically involved with Kendall.
 * Jihae as Berry Schneider: a leading public relations consultant hired by Kendall.
 * Dasha Nekrasova as Comfry Pellits: a crisis PR representative working as an assistant to Berry Schneider, who forms a connection with Greg.
 * Jordan Lage as Keith Zigler: Lisa Arthur's assistant.
 * Hiam Abbass as Marcia Roy: Logan Roy's third and current wife. Born and raised in Beirut, she is often at odds with Logan's mistrustful children. She has a son, Amir, from her first marriage and a daughter from a previous relationship.
 * Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini: Kendall's friend from the Buckley School and Harvard who is now a private-equity investor with a seat on Waystar's board. He is covertly in partnership with Logan's rival Sandy Furness.
 * Alexander Skarsgård as Lukas Matsson: the CEO of streaming media giant GoJo who is looking to buy Waystar RoyCo.
 * Jeannie Berlin as Cyd Peach: the head of ATN. She butts heads with Tom after his promotion.
 * Zoë Winters as Kerry Castellabate: Logan's secretary with whom he has a sexual relationship.
 * Pip Torrens as Peter Munion: a CEO with a string of failed marriages and business ventures that Caroline Collingwood marries in Tuscany.
 * Patch Darragh as Ray Kennedy: a Waystar executive in charge of the Parks & Cruises division.
 * Larry Pine as Sandy Furness: the owner of a rival media conglomerate and a longtime enemy of Logan. He is in partnership with Stewy and backs his private-equity fund, Maesbury Capital. He eventually falls ill (rumored from syphilis) and has his daughter, Sandi, represent him in major negotiations.
 * Hope Davis as Sandi Furness: Sandy's daughter, who is aligned with Stewy in the proxy battle for Waystar's ownership. She largely negotiates on behalf of her ailing father.
 * KeiLyn Durrel Jones as Remi: Kendall's body man.
 * Justin Kirk as Jeryd Mencken: a controversial far-right Congressman from Virginia whom the Roys support for the presidential nomination.
 * James Cromwell as Ewan Roy: Brother of Logan Roy and grandfather to Greg Hirsch.

Co-starring

 * Brian Hotaling as Mark Rosenstock
 * Robert David Grant as Bun Pierce
 * Schuyler Girion as Celia

Development
On August 20, 2019, HBO renewed Succession for a third season. By November, co-writer Lucy Prebble confirmed that the writing process for the season was underway. The third season was originally set to begin filming in April 2020 and air in August 2020. In March 2020, filming was indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scripts for the season had all been written before the pandemic and Armstrong decided that the finished scripts wouldn't be rewritten to address the current pandemic. Armstrong did not wish to address the pandemic in season 3 as, according to Sarah Snook, "none of the world's really wealthy people were going to be affected by the pandemic".

Showrunner Jesse Armstrong said that, as with previous seasons, the season was influenced by the Trump presidency but also felt that the show remains relevant in the post-Trump era as the United States is still undergoing "a certain amount of post-traumatic stress". He explained that despite the Trump presidency ending, "we're not really past that era until normal, democratic politics where people accept the outcomes of elections resumes".

Casting
Hiam Abbass's main role as Marcia Roy is reduced to a recurring guest star role in season 3. Likewise, Arian Moayed had a main role as Stewy Hosseini in season 2 but that is reduced to a recurring guest role. However, Abbass and Moayed are the only guest stars to be credited in the opening credits. Jeannie Berlin's role as Cyd Peach is reduced from a 4-episode recurring role in season 2 to a guest role in the season 3 episode "Retired Janitors of Idaho". Natalie Gold returns after an absence from season 2 as Rava in a recurring guest role.

Juliana Canfield's Jess Jordan is given significantly more screen time in season 3 and Canfield is promoted in the credits from co-starring to a recurring guest starring role. Jeremy Strong requested Kendall's on-screen assistant to appear in more scenes than originally planned in the script. Strong's commitment to method acting made him embody Kendall where he would make requests for his assistant Jess. In previous seasons, Canfield would appear in some episodes in the background in a non-speaking capacity.

The most significant new cast member is Alexander Skarsgård who portrays Lukas Matsson, the CEO of streaming media giant GoJo who is looking to buy Waystar RoyCo, in a recurring guest star capacity. Additionally, Jihae, Dasha Nekrasova, Jordan Lage and Pip Torrens are new recurring cast members while Justin Kirk guest stars as Jeryd Mencken in the episode "What It Takes" Cast members from season 2 that didn't return for season 3 include Eric Bogosian, Caitlin FitzGerald, Danny Huston, Holly Hunter, Cherry Jones and Babak Tafti.

Filming
Principal photography for Succession's third season was originally scheduled to begin in April 2020 but was postponed by HBO on March 27, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Succession creator Jesse Armstrong said in August 2020 that they were discussing "starting shooting in New York before Christmas".

Principal photography began in November 2020 with Patrick Capone serving as cinematographer on 6 episodes and Christopher Norr as cinematographer on 3 episodes. It primarily took place in various locations in New York City. When season 3 began filming, on-set COVID-19 safety protocols were used such as filming scenes with smaller groups of actors while any larger office scenes featuring more extras were delayed until the late 2020 and early 2021 spike in COVID-19 cases had subsided.

In May 2021, additional filming took place primarily at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.

Episode 7, "Too Much Birthday" was filmed at The Shed in New York's Hudson Yards which served as the location of Kendall Roy's 40th birthday celebration.

In June 2021, filming moved to Italy for the final two episodes "Chiantishire" and "All the Bells Say". The Villa Cetinale in Tuscany, a 17th century Roman Baroque-style mansion, served as the venue for the wedding in the season's final two episodes. Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong said that the decision to set the final two episodes in Tuscany was an intentional acknowledgment of the Roy family's extreme wealth. Outside of Tuscany, "Chiantshire" filmed on location in Milan where Waystar meets with bankers to discuss the GoJo acquisition. Filming for the season wrapped in August 2021.

Soundtrack
Succession: Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the third season of the television series, released on April 29, 2022 by Republic Records.

Release
The complete third season of Succession was released on DVD and digital by Warner Bros. on May 17, 2022.