'Succession' EP was 'not ready' to continue series sans Brian Cox

Succession director Mark Mylod opened up about the fourth season's shocking third episode.

In a chat on The Hollywood Reporter’s Director Roundtable, the series executive producer and Connor’s Wedding, (in which Logan Roy died), director Mark Mylod remembered his shocked reaction to the death and, later hesitancy to break the news to Brian Cox.

“When we told him that the character was dying relatively early in the season, we felt bad. And, obviously, he did too,” the filmmaker added.

"I think his expectation — well, I know it was — was that his character would pop his clogs much later. So he was a little bit discombobulated. I’m sure he’d psyched himself up for a seven-month shoot, and suddenly it wasn’t that.”

Moreover, the director was also somewhat unsure about the series continuing its winning streak without Cox's powerful character.

“We were all obviously sad to leave him, and, on a work level, insecure about carrying on without him — without that centrifugal force at the heart of the tension and the dynamic,” he continued. “So there was something reassuring about having him around. It was slightly surreal when he turned up at his funeral, but mostly it was just lovely.”