'Succession' actor says fans on Reddit are 'on the right track' ahead of series finale

Peter Friedman, who plays Waystar Royco vice chairman Frank Vernon on Succession, says fans might be accurate regarding the iconic show's conclusion. (Photo: Amy Sussman/WireImage)
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Warning: The article below contains spoilers about the final season of Succession.

It seems the die-hard fans of HBO's Succession are "on the right track" when it comes to determining who will take over the show's media conglomerate, Waystar Royco.

Peter Friedman, who plays Frank Vernon, the paternal Waystar Royco vice chairman and longtime confidante of media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox), admitted he sometimes cruises Reddit to see what the dedicated followers are cooking up.

"I’m fascinated to find out. I sometimes look at Reddit and, let me tell you, people are on the right track," Friedman told the Guardian in a new interview. "The darts are all over the board but they’ve been narrowing it down to what’s actually going to happen."

The process of filming the show's final season, which concludes on Sunday evening, was so secretive that some of the stars didn't even know what was happening. Friedman shared that when Harriet Walter, who plays Logan’s ex-wife Lady Caroline, walked onto the set of the episode in which they held the magnate's funeral, she wasn't sure who the ceremony was being held for.

"She saw all the black clothes and said: 'Who died?' It had even been kept secret from her," Friedman shared, noting that he also kept Logan's death a secret from his own wife until he accidentally spilled the beans.

"I inadvertently mentioned something funny that happened in Norway. She said: 'Wait, is Logan dead?'" Friedman laughed.

When shooting the major moments of Season 4, the production had to go above and beyond to keep the details under wraps from the public. That includes not revealing that Logan had died, or that his eldest son, wannabe POTUS Connor, married his longtime partner Willa. Both pursuits were particularly complicated since they necessitated filming heavily populated scenes in public spaces. Friedman revealed that production went as far as creating decoys to hide certain details and throw off the public.

"When you think of all those extras at Logan’s funeral or Connor’s wedding, it’s amazing nothing leaked," Friedman shared. "Some fans online zoomed in on the order-of-service from the funeral — I think Sarah {Snook, who plays Shiv] had it in her hand — and it said: 'Ewan Roy' [Logan's estranged brother, played by James Cromwell]. They did indeed print up a bunch of decoys to put people off."

As far as who he's pulling for to take over Logan's role as the head of Waystar Royco, Friedman said that he is "enamored by what Alexander Skarsgård is doing" in his role as Lukas Mattson, the outlandish billionaire CEO of GoJo who once set an employee a frozen brick of his own blood.

"His acting is so beautiful — blithe and confident yet anxious — I’d go for him," said Friedman, who went on to say that he's not exactly pulling for a member of the Roy family. "As a viewer I’d say: 'These kids aren’t up to it.' I think Frank wishes Kendall would quit and become a musician somewhere. Please, get out of here and go live a peaceful life! He just wants to see them happy, which probably isn’t going to happen."