Succession fans have flocked to social media to throw support behind Kieran Culkin’s Emmys contention, specifically lauding the actor’s depiction of Roman Roy in the series’ penultimate episode. Titled Church and State, the latest episode of the acclaimed HBO series follows the Roy siblings during the funeral service for their late father Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox), and sees Culkin put on a masterclass in his portrayal of the emotionally wrought Roman.
“Kieran Culkin blew it out of the water,” one fan wrote. “Put his name on that Emmy.” Others praised Culkin’s series-long portrayal, saying the actor has “killed it this season” while declaring that he is “going to win an Emmy for his work on the final season.” Particular kudos were given to Culkin’s ability to depict Roman’s child-like qualities, as well as embodiment of the character “not just break[ing], but shatter[ing] in public after four straight seasons of his fake bravado.”
“You know a show is bound to become a classic when every episode you keep telling yourself cast members have new clips to show off at the Emmys,” another user added. Showering his cast mates with similar acclaim, one Tweet said the episode’s “ 3 main players – Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin – outperform not only everything on TV, but everything I’ve seen so far in Cannes.”
Notably, both Culkin and Snook had their Emmy eligibility moved from Supporting to Lead acting categories earlier this year. Prior to that, Culkin was nominated in the Supporting Actor category for his role of Roman in both 2020 and 2022, while Strong and Matthew Macfadayen (who plays Tom) have both collected trophies for their work on Succession over the years.
The last episode of Succession’s fourth and final season will air on May 28, though showrunner Jesse Armstrong has teased a potential spin-off in the past. An official trailer for the finale episode, titled With Open Eyes, arrived today.