Kendall Logan Roy is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American HBO satirical dark comedy-drama television series Succession.

As heir apparent upon Logan's retirement, Kendall is struggling to prove his worth to his father amid bungling major deals and battling with substance abuse, as well as trying to maintain a relationship with his estranged wife Rava and his children.

[2] Armstrong, said of the audition: "He just felt completely Kendall from the very first read, he just had it all internalized—Kendall's ambition and competency, but also that Achilles heel of always feeling his father's watchfulness.

"[8] Armstrong has said that Kendall and his siblings were inspired by real-life magnates' offspring such as, Ian and Kevin Maxwell, Shari and Brent Redstone, as well as Murdoch's children.

"[4] Aside from Murdoch's biography, Strong also read other books in that realm, such as Sumner Redstone's "A Passion to Win," and Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal, he also researched on the question of legacy by looking at the Redstones, Conrad Black, the Koch brothers, the Newhouse family, and the Sulzberger family, as an attempt to understand the world Kendall inhabited.

[11] Before the first season started filming, Strong recalled visiting the writers room in Brixton and picking up on a wall covered in note cards, plotting out the story.

"[6] Some objects were added by the actor such as cards that were in Kendall's office, handwritten by Strong, based on conversations with the show's business consultant.

"[18] His clothes fit his role in the show of "uber-wealthy businessman", often wearing labels like Brunello Cucinelli, Gucci, Tom Ford, Armani, and Loro Piana.

In the third season his hair becomes shorter and uneven, eventually turning into a buzzcut, Angelis said this change depicted what the character was going through, "He doesn't have to look a certain way anymore, so he just let it go.

At the age of seven, while at a candy kitchen in Long Island, Logan promised Kendall he would take the reins of the company after his retirement.

[27] With his wife, Rava, Kendall has an adopted daughter, Sophie, and a son Iverson, who is implied to have been conceived via artificial insemination.

A bitter Kendall relapses on drugs during a family therapy retreat, and spends the following weeks aggressively investing in startups while on a binge.

Over the following months, Kendall, still reeling from the trauma of the accident, becomes staunchly loyal to Logan, who names him his co-COO alongside Roman in order to help fight the takeover bid.

The Roys are called to testify before the Senate, and Kendall delivers a combative performance that wins them the case but sets the company back against the shareholders, who demand accountability.

Despite being privately advised by investors to accept responsibility himself, Logan chooses Kendall to take the fall for the scandal, as he was across the cover-up during his tenure as CEO.

Kendall obliges, and asks his father whether he ever saw him fit to run the company, but Logan tells him he is not the "killer" he must be in order to succeed.

The following morning, Kendall gives a press conference where he is set to accept the blame for the scandal, but he suddenly deviates from his prepared remarks and names Logan personally responsible for overseeing the cover-up of the crimes.

Kendall takes on a manic, self-aggrandizing zeal following his announcement, frequently ignoring the advice of his lawyers and PR consultants in favor of chasing publicity.

Six months later, Kendall, Roman and Shiv are estranged from Logan and planning an independent media venture they call "The Hundred".

Kendall is profoundly affected by this news, but agrees to run the company alongside Roman to honor the stipulation that COO take over.

Drawn to the power of being CEO and skeptical of Matsson's vision for the company, Kendall enlists Roman's aid in sabotaging the GoJo deal.

He delivers a bombastic product launch at Waystar's Investor Day in hopes of driving up the company's valuation and rendering GoJo's acquisition untenable, and later attempts to block the sale on regulatory grounds.

On election night, Kendall is uncomfortable with Mencken due to blowback from his extreme politics affecting his daughter Sophie.

Kendall ponders backing Jiménez for his family's sake, but learns from Greg that Shiv is working with Matsson; hurt by his sister's betrayal, he throws in his support for Mencken.

Tom is appointed CEO with Shiv by his side; Kendall, followed by Colin, takes a stroll down Battery Park and contemplates his future.

Strong's performance in the role has received universal acclaim from critics, having won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2020.

[29][30][31][32] In a review of the show's first two episodes, Jake Nevis of The Guardian described Strong as, "an impressive lead, possessed of a toxic masculinity complex to rival that of Patrick Bateman or Gordon Gekko.

Beneath the machismo, though, is a fragile prodigal son, recently back from rehab and still acclimating to the dick-measuring contest that is venture capitalism.

"[33] In 2019, Kyle McGovern of GQ wrote, "Tuning out Succession obviously also means you're robbing yourself of Strong's performance, which belongs in the conversation for most complex and committed work on television right now.

"[34] Upon the series finale, Michael Schulman of The New Yorker, said of Kendall Roy: "We'll be saying goodbye to one of contemporary television's great characters, arguably the protagonist of Jesse Armstrong’s stacked ensemble,"[26] while TVLine wrote, "it was a fittingly grand final act for Strong, as he found an exquisite pathos in Kendall’s downfall and put the finishing touches on one of the best TV performances of the past decade.