Sophia Michaels
It looks like Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Shiv (Sarah Snook)’s marriage is coming to an end in the season four premiere of “Succession”. This brings up the question of what’s in their prenup, which was a plot point in season one. To refresh viewers’ memories, in episode five, the Thanksgiving episode titled “I Went to Market”, Tom jokes with Shiv about his lawyer/mom’s opinion on the document, saying, “She’s got all excited about tiered-share-option tie-ins for my sperm count, and I’m goin’, ‘No, no, no.'” He continues, “But she did notice that re: infidelities, there’s no clause for that.” Shiv responds that they don’t need to do that because “nothing’s gonna happen”. Tom’s mom also calls the prenuptial agreement “a little unconscionable,” but Tom signs it anyway. Cheating continues to come up for the couple in the days before their wedding, and after their wedding Shiv asks Tom for an open marriage.
Besides the lack of infidelity clause and Tom’s mom’s feeling that it’s unfair, we don’t know what else is in the prenup Tom signs. As for the financial consequences of the divorce, if Shiv and Tom’s prenup doesn’t hold, could he get some of her ownership stake (and some of the money the siblings are trying to use to buy Pierce Media)? Viewers will have to wait and see. New episodes of “Succession” premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
