Hidden messages and 'wealth consultants': 10 things you didn't know about Succession.

Our favourite dysfunctional family is back, with season four of Succession premiering on Foxtel and Binge this week. 

The premiere episode was about as good as TV gets and it gave us moments like Tom referring to Cousin Greg's date's Burberry handbag as a "ludicrously capacious bag" she could "slide across the floor after a bank job". 

Every episode of the family drama/backstabbing fest gives us plenty of watercooler moments, but there are even more juicy tidbits from behind-the-scenes. 

Watch the trailer for season four of Succession below. Post continues after video.

Here are 10 things you didn't know about Succession: 

1. Logan is supposed to be dead. 

Logan was supposed to die in the first season, leaving those crazy kids to battle it out to be the heir to the throne. After having conversations with Brian Cox, the writers decided it would be more dramatic to keep the patriarch of the family alive.  

And thank god they did, otherwise we wouldn't have such classic Logan Roy lines as "Romulus, when you laugh, please do it at the same volume as everyone else. We didn’t get you from a hyena farm". 

2. The series was originally going to be a movie about the Murdochs. 

Creator Jesse Armstrong initially pitched Succession as a film about the Murdochs that would be released on Rupert Murdoch's 78th birthday. Simply titled Murdoch, the movie was going to cover the News of the World phone-tapping scandal. He later decided it would work better as a family drama. 

Imagine a world without Cousin Greg! 

3. The show hired 'wealth consultants' to get into the minds of the super rich.

It turns out the uber rich do a lot of things the rest of us plebs don't. 

The wealth consultants advised the crew and cast on clothing choices, interior design, dining etiquette, how to behave at social events and even how to exit a helicopter. 

“They told us, ‘You would’ve been doing this your whole lives. You know where the propeller is. You wouldn’t duck your head, you’d just walk right the f*ck out'," Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman in the series, said. 

4. Kieran Culkin was originally going to play Cousin Greg. 

Yep, there's another universe where Cousin Greg is a short king who swears a lot. 

Culkin first read the script for the part of Cousin Greg but found he clicked a lot more with the character of Roman. 

"I didn’t feel like I clicked with that character, but I liked the script enough to continue reading. [In the script] Roman walks in the room and says, “Hey, hey, motherfuckers!” There was something that clicked with me and this character that’s something I still don’t understand, and probably don’t want to understand, considering the kind of guy he is," he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. 

5. Kieran Culkin just started flirting with Gerri and they added it into the script. 

Kieran Culkin is close friends with J. Smith-Cameron (the actress who plays Gerri) and her husband, the playwright and director Kenneth Lonergan. 

He decided to just started flirting with her on set and the writers wrote it into the script. 

"For whatever reason I've just been always really flirty with J," he told Esquire. "And I thought it would be funny, just in character, for Roman to like Gerri or to try to throw her off and I just kept making really inappropriate comments to her because, you know, she's general counsel and, you know, it's like the person you really don't do that to." 

"At the end of season one, the director Mark Mylod was in the edit, and was like 'oh that's funny' and then it was kind of written in." 

6. Frank Ocean liked Kendall's “L to the OG” rap. 

You might remember a lil scene in season two where Kendall serenaded Logan with a rap with the lyrics "L to the OG". 

It was truly frightful stuff. 

Jeremy Strong has since shared that Frank Ocean sent him a crying emoji after the episode aired. 

"Frank’s one of my heroes... It was small props but meant the world," he told Variety. 

Bless him. 

Image: Binge. 

7. Jeremy Strong listens to 'Kendall-themed' playlists to get in the mood.

Of course, our good friend and method actor Jeremy Strong listens to 'Kendall-themed' playlists to prepare to play Kendall, a character who is basically a richer version of himself. 

His music selection for season four includes 'Moon' by Kanye West, 'New Level' by A$AP Ferg and 'I Don’t Care Anymore' by Phil Collins.

Interesting. 

8. Yes Nicholas Braun is exactly like Cousin Greg. 

In news that will come as a surprise to precisely no one, of all the cast Nicholas Braun is the most like his character. 

So tall, awkward and bloody adorable? 

9. There's hidden messages on their phone screens.

The dynamics between the characters are so multi-layered, even their phone screens hint to drama between them. 

Roman’s lock-screen is a photo of him giving Shiv the middle finger. And her caller ID for Logan is a photo of Saddam Hussein. 

10. The siblings' names might have hidden meanings. 

Redditors have theorised that the Roy kids' names actually reflect their personalities. Shiv is slang for a prison knife (as in she'll stab you in the back), Kendall sounds like 'Ken Doll', Connor is a con artist, Roman is always... roaming.

Season four of Succession is streaming on Foxtel and Binge now, with new episodes dropping weekly. 

Feature image: Foxtel. 

Keryn Donnelly is Mamamia's Pop Culture Editor. For her weekly TV, film and book recommendations and to see photos of her dog, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.