Two Major HBO Shows End Tonight
A major era in television history closes Sunday night, with two beloved HBO shows meeting their ends. Succession and Barry will reach dramatic conclusions that promise to leave fans breathless. Bill Hader will show fans the final fate of Barry Berkman, while Succession viewers will learn who ends up leading WayStar RoyCo, or if the company even survives Logan Roy's death. Both shows are streaming on Max.
Succession kicks things off at 9 p.m. ET, with an epic 88-minute finale. "With Open Eyes" is the longest episode in Succession's run, and was directed by executive producer Mark Mylod. "It's a huge episode... like a movie," composer Nicholas Britell told Variety on May 3.
"Ahead of the final board vote on the Waystar-GoJo deal, Kendall and Shiv try to shore up their opposing interests...and get a fix on the whereabouts of a physically and emotionally bruised Roman," reads the official logline. This hints that Roman (Kieran Culkin) has gone off somewhere unknown after he ran out into the streets among protesters at the end of "Church and State" last week. Meanwhile, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) will work to shore up their futures.
Succession was created by Jesse Armstrong, who surprised many by announcing that Season 4 would be the final season before it premiered. The show earned Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmys in 2020 and 2022. Jeremy Strong won Outstanding Lead Actor In a Drama Series in 2020, and Armstrong won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series three times.
Barry will wrap up its own four-season run on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET. The episode, titled "Wow," runs 36 episodes and has an even more cryptic official logline. "That's it," it reads. The finale is only the 32nd overall episode of the series.
Barry was created by star Hader with Alec Berg. Hader plays Barry Berkman, a Marine veteran working as a hitman. At the start of the show, he moves to Los Angeles and found a new purpose in life as an actor when he follows a target into an acting class. He spends the rest of the series trying to run from his past, which impacts his present. Hader won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the Emmys in 2018 and 2019, while Henry Winkler won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2019.
Hader told Variety that a "very clear ending presented itself" when he and Berg began writing the new episodes. "To me, there are still so many questions with the other characters, and with Barry – and there's so many things unsaid," Hader explained. "What happens in Season 4 is structurally radical in some ways, but it made sense for what I think the characters needed to go through, and what I think the whole show is always kind of headed towards."