‘Succession’ Star Kieran Culkin Is Onboard With Season 3 Being All About America’s ‘Favorite Dirtbag’ Roman Roy

The first two seasons of 'Succession' have focused on the other two Roy children, so season 3 is rumored to focus on Roman Roy, and star Kieran Culkin is totally on board.

by Perry Carpenter

Published on October 27, 2019

3 min read

So far, each new season of HBO’s hit drama, Succession, has been about one heir to the Roy family’s Waystar Royco — and Kieran Culkin believes his character is next in line. The first season followed Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and then we took a closer look at Shiv (Sarah Snook) in season 2. Producers haven’t said anything about season 3, but Culkin would love to see the show explore America’s favorite “dirtbag” Roman Roy.

Succession Kieran Culkin — ‘Succession’ star Kieran Culkin | Photo by Hannah Turner-Harts/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Culkin dishes on season 3 of ‘Succession’

With season 2 of HBO’s hit series in the bag, Culkin discussed some theories about what’s ahead next year.

According to Vulture, the actor revealed that he and co-star Brian Cox agree that each season has focused on one heir to the family business and that Roman could be next.

“I said, ‘Well if you look in the first season, [it seemed] that Kendall was going to be his guy, and then he wasn’t,” Culkin shared. “Then this year, it seems like Shiv is going to be the guy and now it’s starting to look like she’s not.’ And this is before I knew where it was going. I said, ‘So, maybe next year is Roman’s turn.’”

It might be. In the penultimate episode of season 2, Logan admitted that Roman is a likable guy, despite his antics. If Succession puts Roman at the forefront, then he’d likely get more screen time with Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), the general counsel’s resident “stone-cold killer bitch” — which we would love.

I will never not be obsessed with Gerri and Roman #Succession pic.twitter.com/eJ3m6wrqFf
— ‎ ✨???✨ (@RaelynnKahani) October 23, 2019

Speaking of Gerri, Culkin revealed that the character was developed in the editing room after producers watched him and Smith-Cameron interact.

The two have known each other for years and Culkin would often mess with her backstage while he was still in character. Executive producer Mark Mylod caught wind of their playful banter and decided to put it in season 2.

This experimental nature of Succession is one thing Culkin loves. It also makes for an unpredictable storyline, so there’s really no telling what we’ll get next year.

Inside Roman’s journey in season 2

While it would be great to see Roman take the lead in season 3, the character had a rough journey this year. The sophomore season kicked off with Roman worrying about his standing in the business following the announcement that he and Kendall would be co-CEOs.

Roman then went through grueling management training before landing himself in Turkey, which turned out to be a mess.

The one bright spot for Roman was his strange romance with Gerri, and we’re hoping their twisted relationship continues.

As far as the season 2 finale of Succession goes, Culkin revealed that his jaw dropped several times during the original table read. He thought he knew where the season was headed, but there were still a lot of surprises in the final episode. Although he didn’t give specifics, fans can only assume he is talking about Kendall’s big move against his father Logan Roy.

Is Roman the best dirtbag on television?

With a lot to look forward to in season 3 of Succession, there is a good argument to be made that Roman is one of the best “dirtbags” on television. As the youngest member of the Roy clan, Roman is the type of person who believes he is a visionary, yet hates doing actual work.

He also thoroughly enjoys being the rotten egg of the family and has absolutely no filter. While he usually is not the focus of a scene, Roman tends to steal them with his quick wit, which tends to lean towards the more sadistic side of things.

Who can forget the very first episode of Succession when he offered a kid a million-dollar check if he could hit a home run during his family’s annual baseball game. When the child failed to score, Roman ripped up the check right in front of him.

And when Kendall relapses and found himself hooked on meth with some New Mexico tweakers, Roman was more upset by the fact that his brother was doing such a low-class drug than him falling off the wagon.

While Roman is cruel by nature, Culkin has managed to portray him without being too one-dimensional. There is also still a lot of mystery surrounding the character, including the nature of his sexuality and whether or not he is serious about inheriting the family business.

We still do not know if season 3 will focus solely on Roman, but there definitely could be worse directions to take. Given how Roman has been a delightful creep so far, we can only hope he gets the spotlight soon.

HBO has not announced when season 3 of Succession will air.