Succession Creator Settles the Final Season’s Crossed-Out vs. Underlined Debate

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has set the record straight on the crooked pen stroke that caused much consternation midway through the acclaimed HBO drama’s farewell season.

Final season spoilers ahead, of course!

About midway through Season 4, in the wake of family patriarch and Waystar Royco CEO Logan Roy’s sudden and abrupt death aboard a PJ, Frank called the Roy kids in to show them a letter that detailed Logan’s final wishes… and it said that he wanted Kendall to take over as CEO (!). Thing is, it looked like Kendall’s name may have later been crossed out, as if Logan was changing his mind? Or was it underlined, affirming his pick?

Kendall wound up snapping a pic of the tell-tale scrawl with his phone, and later studied it in private, as the fight to establish new leadership for the company and its future started roiling.

Well, wonder no more, Kendall. Because as series creator Armstrong noted this weekend at a Financial Times event, “If you were going to cross out [a name], you wouldn’t start underneath, would you?” — as seen in the prop used on the show and shown on Kendall’s phone (above).

Watch Armstrong — who drew the pivotal underline himself, on the prop! — drop that bit of wisdom below, and hear the attendees’ reaction.

And Cousin Greg, if you’re reading this, sorry — still no word on what the “?” next to your name was all about.