Succession Makes Emmys History With 3 Lead Actor Nominations

It’s absolutely no secret that HBO’s Succession has created its own legacy as one of the most acclaimed drama series in the history of television, and certainly one of the network’s greatest…well, successes. Not only has the final season presented one of the most dramatic and cataclysmic finales in recent years, but now the show is set to become serious competition at the upcoming Emmy Awards, already breaking a record on the nomination front. Among Succession‘s gargantuan lineup of 27 nominations, 3 of them are for Lead Actor, a first for any television show. Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, and Jeremy Strong all stand to win the award.

Succession is the brainchild of creator, writer, and executive producer Jesse Armstrong, the first season premiering on HBO back in 2018. The show has miraculously garnered and kept universal acclaim among critics and fans from day one, with no less than a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for every single season. Its accolades have put it on par with some of the greatest drama series to date, such as HBO’s The Sopranos, AMC’s Breaking Bad, and The Wire. The premise, which is said to be loosely based on Rupert Murdoch and his family, encircles the Roy family, helmed by the ruthless patriarch Logan Roy who founded and owns the NYC-based global media company Waystar RoyCo. As his health declines, his four adult children who all embrace varying degrees of dysfunction begin to prepare for the very real possibility of ascending to the top in their father’s place. The finale of the final season saw a very unexpected outcome to the literal succession after Logan’s passing, with some of the most outstanding performances of the entire series from its incredibly talented cast that brought the story of the Roys to a bittersweet close. Now with Emmys soon to come around the corner, those performances are already being commended with an avalanche of nominations across the board.

Related: Succession Leads the 2023 Emmy Award Nominations

Succession Set to Dominate Almost Every Category This Year

For anyone that’s looked at the Emmy nomination list released today, it’s pretty hard to miss Succession grabbing an incredible 27 nominations across seven of the biggest categories. The competition is definitely steep this year, with the likes of HBO’s other recent groundbreaking dramas The Last of Us and The White Lotus following close behind with 24 and 23 nominations respectively. While the network is no doubt celebrating its dozens upon dozens of nominations in a single year, it’s a tad peculiar that its hugely popular high fantasy series House of the Dragon is almost entirely absent from the roster, with only one nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.

Nonetheless, Succession is already reaping the rewards, breaking a record for the most nominations in the Lead Actor category in a single year. They include Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, and Jeremy Strong, who play patriarch Logan Roy and his sons Roman Roy and Kendall Roy respectively. This is undoubtedly bolstered by all of their performances in the final season, which is being heralded as potentially the best of all four seasons.

The Primetime Emmy Awards will be presented later this Fall on September 18.