‘Succession’: 2 Ways Shiv Roy Could Become CEO According to Sarah Snook
Succession began with the premise that Logan Roy (Brian Cox) had to name a new CEO of Waystar Royco. He’s delayed that for three seasons and counting. His children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook) are all vying for the position. Snook thinks Shiv would have to do two things to earn her place.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Succession Season 3.]
Snook was a guest on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast on Aug. 19. Discussing her Emmy-nominated role on Succession and teasing a bit of season 4, the final question was: would becoming CEO make Shiv happy? This led Snook to analyze Shiv’s qualifications. Succession Season 4 is now in production.
Sarah Snook thinks Shiv needs more experience to achieve ‘Succession’
Shiv has done some dirty deeds on behalf of Waystar Royco on Succession already. Most notably, she convinced a whistleblower to retract her testimony about misdeeds. Logan is still unlikely to trust his daughter with the company. Even Snook thinks Shiv needs more experience to qualify for CEO.
“It would make me happy,” Snook said on Awards Chatter. “I really want Shiv to get CEO but I don’t think she’s probably very good for it. She hasn’t got enough experience really, does she?”
Shiv needs a mentor to become Waystar Royco CEO
Shiv probably can’t gain all the experience she needs on her own. So Snook suggests she look for allies among the Succession ensemble. Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) has been Logan’s right hand woman as general counsel. Snook thinks Gerri could teach Shiv a thing or two.
“And logically she shouldn’t be CEO but maybe if she’s with the right mentor,” Snook said. “Maybe Gerri could mentor her and she could really take the company in a different direction. She’s got the guts to do it.”
CEO is not the end of ‘Succession’
Whether Logan ever appoints his successor or not, that still doesn’t have to be the end of the show. At the end of season 3 he sold Waystar Royco to Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). The siblings will have to find their place in the company after their mother took away their shares. So actual succession is a long way off, and even then Snook thinks Shiv will never be satisfied.
“Would I be happy? Yes,” Snook said. “Would Shiv be happy? Maybe for a month. Would Shiv ever be happy?”
Snook believes those terminally unsatiated people are part of the appeal of Succession.
“There’s a hate watch element,” Snook said. “I can’t believe they’ve got so much money and they’re still unhappy. But there’s also the familiarity as well. All these characters exist in every strata of wealth. Just because you’re an *sshole doesn’t mean you have to be wealthy. There are plenty of *ssholes in the world. And also, there are plenty of people who are struggling financially who want more and who will do anything to get it. It doesn’t change when you’re a person who has everything. You still probably, if you’re like any person, want more.”
