Kieran Culkin's Reason for Not Watching the 'Succession' Finale Makes a Lot of Sense

My wife and I have absurd TV/Movie-watching habits molded around several jobs, having four-year-old twins, and being tired all the time. Sometimes, we get our kids down for bed with grand plans of watching a show or film we’ve been waiting for, and instead, we sit on the couch, say, “Let’s watch that tomorrow,” and proceed to stare at the wall or some void of equal or lesser value. However, sometimes, we are dialed in with the rest of society and can participate in all the water cooler talk we want!

This was the case during the final season of Succession. We spent most of the season watching the new episodes on Monday instead of Sunday when they were released. Feeling like our old selves one night, we said, “F*** it, let’s watch the new episode right now as it airs.” We popped it on, and it happened to contain one of the show’s pivotal deaths. News of that death spread like wildfire and was inescapable on social media. Had we not watched when the show came on, it surely would have been spoiled for us.

There was an overwhelming sense of relief. We got so lucky! We went right back to watching on Mondays for the remaining episodes, including the finale. If the death had been spoiled for us, that may have killed all of our momentum. Instead, we were able to discuss it with friends and family, being in the know about one of our favorite cultural touchstones. It was a real win for parents trying to reclaim normalcy, and I understand anyone in a less-than-normal situation who misses something because it doesn’t jibe with their schedule.

That was the case for Kieran Culkin. The actor won an Emmy for his performance on the series, and he has yet to see its finale. “I’ve heard!” he explained to Stephen Colbert when told about its positive reviews. “I mean, I was there. I read it, I was there for it, I know what happens — at least I think. That wasn’t really on purpose — at least, not at first. I guess it sort of is now.” Culkin had recently admitted to missing the finale in an interview with Rachel Handler at Vulture.

Still, his reason makes a lot of sense (especially to this tired, time-strapped parent). “I was in Poland shooting this movie when the last three episodes were airing, and I couldn’t log into my Max account,” Culkin explained. “So my wife actually went on Instagram and said hey, if there’s anyone who can give your sign-in so Kieran can watch the last couple episodes? And people did!” The Igby Goes Down actor continued, “Everyone just gave over their email and password and stuff. I was able to watch the eighth and ninth episode, but then before the last one I moved to a different hotel that didn’t have a smart TV, so I just couldn’t watch it then.”

Now, Culkin doesn’t seem to have any plans to finish the show, glibly noting “then I went home, did a vacation, blah blah blah. You know when it’s like a couple months old? I kinda missed the moment. Does that not make sense? Maybe it doesn’t make sense.” It does make sense, Kieran! Yes, I was not directly involved in Succession and may have continued it eventually had I missed the pivotal episode I happened to witness. Still, the moment has passed. Culkin has moved on. Maybe, in the future, when the DisneyMAXVerizon chip is implanted in his frontal lobe, he’ll watch it. Until then, who has the time?