The Ruthless Logic of Succession: Why Logan Roy Would Sacrifice a Country to Prove He’s Right

Succession’s ruthless patriarch Logan Roy doesn’t just crush rivals—he bends nations. Season 2’s finale This Is Not for Tears underlines the terrifying reach of his empire, with a casual aside hinting he once toppled a Canadian government over grain.

If you have been haunted by that one throwaway line about Logan Roy nuking a Canadian government over grain subsidies, you are not alone. The show never explains it, but fans did what fans do: they built an entire political backstory out of it. It is surprisingly specific, pretty bleak, and honestly very on-brand for Logan.

The line that launched a thousand think pieces

'You brought down a Canadian government over grain subsidies.'

Connor tosses that out in Season 2, Episode 10 ('This Is Not for Tears') while shamelessly angling for good reviews of Willa's play. The show moves right along. Reddit did not.

The fan theory: not business, just pure spite

The popular theory ties that line to a real-world policy fight: the end of the Canadian Wheat Board's Single Desk system, a monopoly that, per the theory, favored farmers — especially in Quebec. The pitch is that Logan did not scorch-earth a government to make a buck; he did it to get at his brother, Ewan.

• Ewan Roy inherits a massive Canadian farm from their abusive uncle and hates the idea of dismantling the Wheat Board.
• Logan, being Logan, allegedly leans on his media empire to help topple a Liberal government.
• That clears a lane for Conservatives who want to kill the Wheat Board outright.
• Result: policy changed, Ewan humiliated, Logan proves a point — not about grain, about dominance.

Fans frame it as one of the show's darkest plausible backstories: Logan using national politics as a cudgel in a family feud. Petty enough to be personal, big enough to be devastating. It tracks.

Brian Cox on Logan: great role, terrible guy

Logan Roy turned Brian Cox into an awards-season regular — he has three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role — but Cox has never sugarcoated who Logan is. In a 2022 NPR interview, he said flat out: 'I don't defend Logan in any way.' He also explained how he approaches playing him without judgment, calling Logan a misanthrope who is deeply disappointed in the human experiment.

Cox does recognize the rage fueling the character — and some of it in himself, given his own background. Over four seasons, he saw Logan as a father who does love his kids, but feels used: they treat him like a walking ATM. That inability to express love, Cox says, comes from Logan's brutal upbringing, which warped everything that followed.

So, is Succession coming back?

Succession premiered in 2019 and wrapped after four seasons in 2023. Since then, the rumor mill has been busy. HBO chief Casey Bloys poured cold water on the revival talk, telling Variety the chances are 'pretty unlikely' — unless creator Jesse Armstrong walks in with a killer idea. In Bloys' view, Armstrong told the story he wanted to tell and does not seem eager to revisit it, though he's excited about whatever Armstrong does next.

Armstrong himself has been clear about ending it when he did, telling The New Yorker: 'I've never thought this could go on forever.'

Post-Succession, Armstrong released the satirical comedy-drama TV film Mountainhead, which pulled strong reviews and, per Deadline, became the most-watched HBO original film.

Where to watch

Succession is streaming on HBO Max.