The media landscape has been largely dominated by Rupert Murdoch and the looming presence of his many right-leaning publications for decades. Former chairman of News Corp and its many offshoots (The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and others) as well as Fox News, the 94-year-old is king of a media empire. And his four adult children all want a piece.
The tumultuous succession battle for the Murdoch empire has, naturally, become a point of public fascination. In fact, the Murdochs are widely thought to be one of the main sources of inspiration for HBO's much-loved Succession, inspiring the turbulent succession battle between the fictional Roy siblings for their father's media empire.
Now, Netflix is offering new insight into the real-life media mogul family with a four-part docuseries. So, if you loved watching power-hungry billionaire Roy siblings being horrible to each other, this one might be for you. But, you know, even more chilling considering it's all true.
Here's what you need to know about Dynasty: The Murdochs.
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When is Dynasty: The Murdochs on Netflix?
Mark your calendars for 13 March, when all four episodes of the docuseries will drop on Netflix.
What is the documentary series about?
Prepare to delve into the not-so-wholesome world of the Murdoch dynasty. The series will trace the rise of Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-American businessman who eventually headed up News Corp and Fox, effectively controlling much of the right-wing media landscape.
Drawing from thousands of pages of documents, emails and text messages, along with interviews with political commentators, media personalities and former employees of Murdoch-owned publications, the series will explore the much-publicised succession battle for Murdoch's empire. (Yes, succession. More on the HBO show later!)
For the past few decades, tensions have been bubbling between Rupert, his son and chosen heir Lachlan, as well as Rupert’s three other children, James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod, all of whom are seemingly jostling for a piece of the dynasty.
Let's just say there has been some “I am the oldest boy!” levels of drama.
In 2010, for instance, Rupert brought his children to a family counselling retreat, which, according to McKay Coppins, a talking head in the new docuseries, “devolved into posturing, gaslighting, and recriminations.” James told the author, “It was a car crash. Everyone was more alienated from each other at the end.”
Then there's the recent Nevada court battle that saw the siblings fighting over the trust that determines who takes control of the family empire when the now 94-year-old Rupert dies. The messy court proceedings ended in a multibillion-dollar settlement, leaving Lachlan in charge until at least 2050, per his father's wishes.
Is Succession really based on the Murdoch family?
If all of this sounds familiar, you'd be right. The Murdoch family succession battle is thought to be one of the main inspirations for HBO's Succession, which followed Logan Roy, head of a fictional media empire, and his four grown-up children, Connor, Kendall, Roman, and Siobhan ("Shiv"), who spent years vying for the top CEO position at Logan's Waystar Royco.
Series creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong actually wrote a lauded 2011 screenplay about Rupert Murdoch and his family that never made it to production. Armstrong was later insistent that Succession only drew from the Murdochs a little. “This is a fictional family,” he said, citing the Maxwell clan and Queen Elizabeth and her son Charles. “There are a lot of succession stories to draw on. We wanted to draw on all the rich stories…about succession and all the stories about media and politics," he said.
But, apparently, even the Murdochs could see the similarities. “The Murdoch family is, actually, obsessed with Succession," Coppins previously revealed.
“They’re particularly obsessed with who was leaking to the show’s writers. They all were convinced that somebody must’ve been feeding the show’s writers stories because there were scenes that were too uncannily true to life," he added.
“James watched the first episode and found it too difficult to watch. Kathryn, his wife, has seen more. Liz, his sister, has watched all of them.”
So, make of that what you will. And Succession fans, prepare for your next obsession.
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