‘Succession’ actor says fans on Reddit are ‘on the right track’ ahead of series finale

Peter Friedman, who plays Waystar Royco vice president Frank Vernon in Succession, says fans could be specific about the iconic show's conclusion.  (Photo: Amy Sussman/WireImage)

Peter Friedman, who plays Waystar Royco Vice President Frank Vernon on Succession, says fans could be specific regarding the conclusion of the iconic show. (Photo: Amy Sussman/WireImage)

Warning: The article below contains spoilers for the final season of Succession.

It seems die-hard HBO fans Succession are “on track” when it comes to determining who will take over the show’s media conglomerate, Waystar Royco.

Peter Friedman, who plays Frank Vernon, the paternal Vice President of Waystar Royco and longtime confidant of media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox), admitted that he sometimes browses Reddit to see what dedicated followers are up to.

“I’m fascinated to know that. I look at Reddit sometimes and, let me tell you, people are on the right track,” Friedman told the Guardian in a new interview. “The darts are everywhere, but they’ve limited themselves to what’s actually going to happen.”

The filming process for the show’s final season, which ends Sunday night, was so secretive that some stars didn’t even know what was going on. Friedman shared that when Harriet Walter, who plays Logan’s ex-wife Lady Caroline, walked onto the set of the episode in which they held the tycoon’s funeral, she didn’t know who the ceremony was for. .

“She saw all the black clothes and said, ‘Who died?’ It had even been hidden from him,” Friedman explained, noting that he had also hidden Logan’s death from his own wife until he accidentally spilled the beans.

“I inadvertently mentioned something funny that happened in Norway. She said, ‘Wait, is Logan dead?'” Friedman laughed.

While filming the major moments of Season 4, the production had to go above and beyond to keep the details a secret from the public. This includes not revealing that Logan had died or that his eldest son, wannabe POTUS Connor, married his longtime partner Willa. Both chases were particularly complicated because they required filming heavily populated scenes in public spaces. Friedman revealed that the production went so far as to create decoys to hide certain details and shake up the audience.

“When you think about all those extras at Logan’s funeral or Connor’s wedding, it’s amazing nothing leaked,” Friedman shared. “Some fans online zoomed in on the funeral service order – I think Sarah[Snook, who plays Shiv]had it in hand – and it read, ‘Ewan Roy’ [Logan’s estranged brother, played by James Cromwell]. They did indeed print a bunch of decoys to put people off.”

As for who he’s looking to reprise Logan’s role as head of Waystar Royco, Friedman said he’s “smitten with what Alexander Skarsgård does” in his role as Lukas Mattson, GoJo’s extravagant billionaire CEO who has already established an employee a frozen brick of his own blood.

“His game is so beautiful – cheerful and confident but anxious – I would pick him,” said Friedman, who went on to say he wasn’t exactly shooting for a Roy family member. “As a viewer, I’d say, ‘These kids aren’t up to the job. I think Frank wants Kendall to quit and become a musician somewhere. Please get out of here and live a peaceful life! He just wants to see them happy, which probably won’t happen.”

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