The reel Succession may have not have ended with one of the Roy siblings at the helm of the billionaire global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco, but the real succession drama around media baron Rupert Murdoch and his children has finally reached its conclusion.
HBO's satirical black comedy drama Succession, created by Jesse Armstrong, was loosely based on the Murdochs and their race to the top of the management of Waystar Royco.
Two years after the acclaimed show ended, the verdict is out for the real-life family on whose inside story it served as the inspiration from. Rupert Murdoach's eldest son Lachlan Murdoch set to control the media clan's Wall Street Journal, HarperCollins book publishing and the Fox broadcast network.
Touted as one of the greatest TV series of all time, Succession was praised for its irreverent writing, dark humour, cast performances, direction, and music.
Similarities Between Succession's Roy Family And The Murdoch Family
In Succession, Brian Cox's Logan Roy is the ageing, ruthless patriarch of Waystar Royco who firmly controls the reins of his empire. His is a classic rags-to-riches story about a rough ruler. His company is dearer to him than his children Connor, Kendall, Roman, and Siobhan (Shiv). Clearly, Waystar Royco is the fictional twin of News Corp and Fox Corporation.
Logan Roy, much like Rupert Murdoch, is a powerful media tycoon with conservative leanings who has multiple children involved in the business of media and entertainment.
Plot elements such as succession battles and rivalry among Logan's children are very much in the same vein as what went on among Murdoch's children -- Lachlan, James, and Elisabeth.
The character of complex and vulnerable Kendall Roy, played by Jeremy Strong, comes closest to the real-life heir of Murdoch family, Lachlan Murdoch. Much like Lachlan Murdoch, Kendall Roy is the eldest son and heir apparent of media mogul Logan Roy from his second marriage.
Both Lachlan Murdoch and Kendall Roy have experienced conflicts with their fathers over the control and administration of the family's media empire and controversies in public.
Other Murdoch siblings also have their Succession twins - Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) feels like James Murdoch, while Shiv (Siobhan) Roy is pretty much like Elisabeth Murdoch, Lachlan's sister.
How Succession Ended
In the fourth episode of the third season of Succession, while on a private jet to Sweden, Logan Roy dies from a pulmonary embolism which causes his heart to stop. The makers, interestingly, chose to kill off Logan Roy offscreen during his eldest son from his first marriage, Connor Roy's wedding, something which mirrored the suddenness of death in life.
After the death of the patriarch, Kendall Roy and Roman Roy become CEOs for a short period of time but are unable to remain at the helm.
No matter how much the Roy siblings try, Waystar Royco does not remain in the family. Alexander Skarsgard's Lukas Matsson, the CEO of GoJo, who takes over the company in the Succession series finale. Tom Wambsgans, Shiv Roy's estranged husband played by Matthew Macfadyen, becomes the CEO as Matsson's frontman in the US.
How Has The Real-Life Murdoch Drama Unfolded
Unlike Succession's Logan Roy, Rupert Murdoch, at 94, is very much alive. In 1999, after he beat prostate cancer when was 69, the media baron famously announced, "I'm now convinced of my own immortality".
In 2018, US media reported that he fell on his yacht in the Caribbean and suffered fractured vertebrae and an almost fatal spinal haematoma. This injury was hidden from the public for weeks.
Rupert Murdoch's estate initially established that his four eldest children would take control of the trust upon his death, with each getting one vote. It seems that the patriarch always wanted Lachlan Murdoch to succeed him. So, the legal feud among the Murdoch siblings started in 2023 when Rupert Murdoch first sought to change the family trust and put Lachlan Murdoch in charge.
Now his favoured son Lachlan Murdoch, who is believed to share the same political views as his father, has officially been declared as the in-charge of the global media empire.
Under the deal announced on Monday, a new family company controlled by Lachlan Murdoch will have a 36% voting stake in Fox and 33% of News Corp.
Rupert Murdoch still holds a 40% voting stake in both companies. It's a win-win.