On Sunday night, the series finale of Succession reached the largest ever audience viewership in its history. The acclaimed HBO show reached 2.93 million viewers across all platforms, surpassing the previous series high of 2.75 million for the final season’s sixth episode on April 30. This is a 68 percent increase from the 1.7 million viewers who watched the season three finale.
The fourth and final season of the hit drama has set multiple highs. Its shocking third episode drew in 2.5 million viewers. The fourth episode received 2.6 million viewers, and the sixth episode received 2.7 million total viewers. As of Tuesday, the show's fourth season is currently averaging 8.7 million viewers since it premiered on March 26. This is a 21 percent increase over season three, which had an average of 7.2 million viewers.
The Emmy-winning series follows the story of three siblings vying for control of their ageing father’s media conglomerate. It is one of several HBO shows that has garnered millions of viewers since it first aired in June 2018. The show has gained popularity for its snappy writing and high-profile, tragic characters, loosely inspired by various powerful media families such as the Murdochs, the Redstones, and the Sulzbergers. The main actors include Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen. With a ranking of 8.9 on IMDb, it is one of HBO's most highly-rated shows.
The reactions of the show's fans online were a mix of impressed, despairing, and delighted. "This truly feels like the end of a golden era of television. Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Brian Cox, Matthew Macfadyen & the rest of the cast have all magnified the superb writing with their monumental performances. A glorious series I'll never forget. Succession" said a fan. "Succession finale is like Avengers: Endgame for people with untreated mental illnesses," quipped one fan.
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Due to the extended runtime of the Succession finale, another HBO show Barry had a delayed start time, resulting in approximately a 20 percent increase over typical viewing on a Monday and nearly doubling the show's audience to 1.35 million. The viewership figures are compiled by HBO and tallied up from a combination of views from Max, HBO’s streaming service, and ratings from the live airing and repeat telecasts on traditional cable television.