HBO's hit series Succession is currently airing its fourth and final season on HBO and HBO Max. The Emmy-winning workplace drama follows Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the patriarch of the Roy family and CEO of multi-billion dollar media company Waystar Royco, and his four children who desperately want control of the family business. Over the course of the four seasons, viewers have seen each Roy sibling try to convince their intimidatingly powerful father that they are the rightful heir to the throne by screwing each other over and throwing colleagues under the bus. Season four started with Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) plotting to take their father down by buying Pierce Global Media for $10 billion, a deal he had wanted since season two. Obviously, circumstances have changed since the shocking third episode of this season, but that doesn't mean the Roys don't have any tricks up their sleeves still.
The Roys are without a doubt the center of the show, but where would they be, and what would they have accomplished without the help of their fellow Waystar employees? Or literally anyone else who works for them? Company acquisitions, political deals, and the handling of PR crises wouldn't be possible without the help of the non-Roy members of the Waystar bunch. Almost every character on this show is morally bankrupt, which makes the show even more fascinating. They are all despicable, but we can't stop watching them. The Roys are smart, cunning, ruthless, and determined to a fault, but the show wouldn't be as compelling without the other characters who help the powerful family achieve their goals, even when it causes them to abandon any morals they still have. Here are the most important characters from Succession not directly related to the Roys, ranked:
9 Colin Stiles
Colin (Scott Nicholson) is Logan's trusted security guard, driver, and fixer. He is loyal to a fault and the only person Logan trusts completely. Colin's duties have ranged from handing out NDAs to cleaning up a vehicular manslaughter crime scene, and even removing an imaginary cat that Logan had hallucinated. Colin has never questioned his boss nor has he stuck his nose in any business ventures that Logan didn't directly ask him to be involved in. One of the reasons that Logan trusted Colin so greatly is that he was the only person in his life not angling for something more. He is satisfied with his life and just does his job. If there's anything Logan Roy respected, it was people serving their purpose.
8 Jess Jordan
Jess (Juliana Canfield) has been loyal to Kendall since the beginning of the show. She helps him coordinate every press conference, party, or event that he wants to host and does so with ease. She follows him through every change of mind he has and every business venture he wants to take on. From the vote of no confidence against his dad to him and his siblings purchasing PGM to undermine their dad, Jess has been there for all of it. Jess has seen Kendall at his absolute worse and still kept on top of all his business and personal needs. She even took on the responsibility of face-timing with Kendall's kids, so they could see their bunny when they were not with their dad.
7 Kerry Castellabate
A more recent addition to the show, Kerry (Zoe Winters) is Logan's personal assistant who was clearly having an affair with him. Kerry is seen with Logan frequently, and he clearly enjoys her presence. He even let her stay in the room when he was talking to Shiv, Kendall, and Roman about not pushing Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard) for more money in the GoJo sale, a conversation that turned more familial than business related that he likely wouldn't have let anyone else be part of. She does want to be a news reporter for ATN, but other than that, her motivations for being Logan's close, personal assistant remain unclear. Although, her place in Logan's life certainly helped him keep his temper in check, and she was probably the one who persuaded him to have a more emotional conversation with his children the night before Connor's wedding.
6 Hugo Baker
The Senior Vice President of Communications for Parks and Cruises, Hugo Baker (Fisher Stevens) has become a more prominent figure in the immediate Roy circle over the last two seasons. He has helped them navigate the Cruises fiasco, coached the Waystar members who were to be seen by Congress, and assisted with the proxy battle. He puts Waystar's needs first and advises his ill-tempered boss in a respectful, sometimes clumsy, manner. Hugo often works with Karolina to ensure that the company is seen in the best light, which has proven to be incredibly difficult given its rather disgraceful track record for being truly awful to its employees.
5 Karl Muller
Much like Hugo, Karl Muller (David Rasche) works tirelessly to help the team navigate their usually bumpy waters. As the Chief Financial Officer, Karl has been integral in advising Logan on the many deals and acquisitions he has wanted Waystar to make. He assisted Logan with the PGM acquisition before that fell through, advised him on GoJo buying Waystar, helped him prepare for the shareholder's meeting, and gave him advice on working with Sandi and Stewy. One of Logan's many, many character flaws is that he doesn't appreciate what the people who work for him do to save his company time and time again. Karl has definitely kept Waystar above water for years.
4 Karolina Novotney
No company can survive in the eyes of the public without someone heading a public relations team that deals with every crisis quickly and swiftly. Karolina (Dagmara Dominczyk) is that person for Waystar Royco. She has helped them fool the press, paparazzi, and the public countless times by drafting well-written statements and getting ahead of every scandal that the company and the Roys have been a part of. She may not have actively participated in the Cruises coverup, but she certainly helped Waystar and Logan overcome the situation with the press and with the DOJ investigation without so much as a flinch of emotion. Whether it's a good character trait or not, Karolina always remains professional and never lets her true feelings show.
3 Frank Vernon
Logan's confidant for over 40 years and the Chief Operating Officer at Waystar Royco, Frank Vernon (Peter Friedman) has been unbelievably loyal to the company and the family, even when they have kicked him to the curb. Frank is perhaps one of the few characters other than the Roy kids that actually attempted to tell Logan how he actually felt about certain business decisions. He has advised Logan against decisions that would greatly impact the future of the company but usually ended up siding with him because it is simply the easier option. Even so, Frank has always had the company's best interest at heart and has tried to wrangle the kids back in each time they have tried to undermine their father. Logan never appreciated Frank's loyalty, but Frank continued to be a solid support beam for the entire company and for the Roy family.
2 Gerri Kellman
Gerri Kellman (J. Cameron-Smith) is also a seasoned employee of the Waystar company, as she has worked there for over 30 years. Most of her time spent there she has served as the general counsel, but season three saw her become the interim CEO when Logan had to step back due to the DOJ investigation. She has continuously prevented and fixed countless problems the company has faced with determination and intelligence. Similar to Frank, she rarely has issues with confronting the family or being candid about their multitude of personality flaws. She did have some inappropriate escapades with Roman that she probably should have reported, and she definitely glossed over the Cruises scandal, but Gerri is one of the most grounded characters on the entire show. She is probably more deserving of the CEO title than any of the Roy kids.
1 Tom Wambsgans
Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) has come a long way from the Twin Cities. He worked his way up through the ranks of the Waystar Royco company and has made himself perhaps a contender for the coveted CEO position. Tom is certainly not without his faults and wrongdoings, specifically regarding his moving yet toxic relationship with Greg (Nicholas Braun). He has manipulated Greg repeatedly, blackmailed him, and physically assaulted him by throwing things at him and hitting him. Yet, he also took Greg under his wing and genuinely seems to care about Greg's wellbeing. Tom has the ability to compartmentalize the dark, despicable things that the company does which has aided him in his quest to get closer to the top spot.
The only reason he has to compartmentalize to begin with is that Tom actually does have a moral conscience that he has to ignore if he wants to make it at Waystar. In addition to Greg, Tom has been a trusted ally to Shiv (even though she constantly emotionally manipulates him) and to the boss-man himself. He has done the grunt work that none of the other inner circle members of the Roy clan have wanted to do and even offered himself up to be the one to go to jail if it would save the company.