‘Succession’ Star Brian Cox Takes Swipe at ‘Billions’: It’s ‘Past Its Sell-by Date’

Brian Cox always speaks his mind. And the 76-year-old star of Succession was not holding back when asked whether there would be a fifth season of the HBO hit TV show about a particularly dysfunctional media dynasty.

“I don’t know,” Cox told The Times Of London. “No one’s had their contracts renewed. Who knows how long it will go on? We don’t want it to overstay its welcome, like [Showtime’s] Billions; that’s past its sell-by date. That will not happen with our show.”

Fans of Succession won’t be too happy to hear his opinion, because if Succession ends after the upcoming fourth season, we may never see how many Greggs it takes to make a Tomlette. Cox’s opinion on the matter is rather pointed, but truly, when is it not? You’ve got to be a little blunt to play Logan “F**k Off” Roy. He’s made blunt comments about other actors in the past, and even shared his take on co-star Jeremy Strong’s intense acting methods, telling The New Yorker, “The result that Jeremy gets is always pretty tremendous. I just worry about what he does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through in order to prepare.”

Cox also isn’t the only one who sees the end in sight for the Emmy-winning series. Writer Georgia Pritchett told previously told The Sunday Times Season 4 could be the last, saying creator Jesse Armstrong could want one more.

“I think the maximum would be five seasons but possibly more like four,” she said, per Deadline. “At this point [Armstrong] is saying only one more [season]. But that happens every time. We’ve got a good end in sight.”

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Succession, returning this spring for Season 4, won Outstanding Drama Series at the 74th Emmy Awards on Monday, September 12. Matthew Macfadyen also took home an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Tom Wambsgans, plus Armstrong won for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, and the series at large won for casting. Billions wasn’t even nominated.

As a matter of fact, Billions has never been nominated in its entire six-season run. Not for Outstanding Drama Series, not for Paul Giamatti or Damian Lewis (before he left at the end of Season 5), or for any of the other talented supporting cast.

Succession, meanwhile, not only has two Outstanding Drama Series Emmys now, but also awards for Outstanding Directing (2020), two more Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (in 2019 and 2020), and a pile of other awards in acting categories and beyond.

Here’s hoping we see a lot more awards for this show before they “overstay their welcome.”

Succession, Season 4 Premiere, Spring 2023, HBO