CURB YOUR SUCCESSION

‘Succession’ Used a Hilarious Codeword to Keep Its Big Spoiler Secret

The show’s writers decided on that sudden death months ago. To keep the story under wraps, they chose to swap in a specific HBO reference while describing it on their whiteboards.

This post contains spoilers for Succession and should also be read while listening to the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme song.

Succession writers knew they were on to something big when they decided to kill off Logan Roy in “Connor’s Wedding”—the third installment in the beloved HBO drama’s fourth season. And so, they chose to protect their big secret spoiler with a codeword.

Georgia Pritchett, a longtime Succession writer, tweeted out a still of Brian Cox as Logan Roy on Tuesday and included a brief explanation. “This was a tough secret to keep!” Pritchet wrote. “We decided it in the #Succession writers' room in Jan 22. So nobody found out we used code on the whiteboards.”

As it turns out, Succession writers chose to reference another HBO series as their magic words.

“Larry David meant Logan Dies,” Pritchett continued. “So episode 403 said Connor's Wedding, Larry David. Mind you, that would also have been a great episode.”

Succession is not the first series that’s said to have used extreme measures to protect precious spoilers. HBO head Casey Bloys once said that Game of Thrones would film multiple endings to protect its series finale, although he later said he did not believe that actually happened. In 2016, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that in preparation for Negan’s big kill scene at the start of The Walking Dead Season 7, each of the 11 cast members on the chopping block shot a death scene—supposedly to throw off spoiler hounds.

Speaking with Variety, “Connor’s Wedding” director Mark Mylod said the show filmed “dummy scenes” with Logan Roy actor Brian Cox “as a misdirect.” During his own interview with Deadline, Cox confirmed showing up to the filming of his own character’s funeral just to throw snoops off the scent.

“As soon as I got out of the car, there were paparazzi shooting me left, right, and center,” Cox said. Because he was there filming, he said, the reporters assumed his character was in attendance at the funeral scene. “If I hadn’t done that … they would’ve gone, it’s Logan’s funeral,” Cox told Deadline. “And I was the one who took that responsibility. They didn’t even think of it.”

Sex and the City fans might also recall that And Just Like That showrunner and executive producer ​​Michael Patrick King had Chris Noth pull the exact same stunt while filming Mr. Big’s funeral. As he put it, “We had to have some red herrings!”

Logan’s death is a game-changing moment for Succession. Logan Roy’s children must now figure out how to grieve their abusive father and decide what to do with their share of his legacy. The episode drew Emmy-worthy performances from several actors and was apparently shot in one 27-minute take. Aptly enough given its title, the episode is also our best showcase yet for Connor and Willa—a strangely symbiotic couple that just might also be this show’s most functional.

With Logan out of the way, however, the Roy kids (and Tom) are going to need to brace themselves. The “Coronation Demolition Derby” begins this Sunday at 9 p.m.

‘DON’T GO, PLEASE, NOT NOW’

‘Succession’ Just Taught Us How to Grieve an Abuser

Laura Bradley

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Laura BradleySenior Entertainment Reporter

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