The True Story Behind 'Succession'

The Big Picture

• Waystar Royco is loosely inspired by the Murdoch family and News Corp, with similarities in their media empires and right-wing networks.
• Logan Roy and Rupert Murdoch share similarities as patriarchs of powerful business families with ties to the Republican Party.
• Kendall Roy and Lachlan Murdoch both face challenges as potential successors to their fathers, with Lachlan's hiatus from News Corp resembling Kendall's departure from Waystar Royco.

With Succession basking in the glory of its final awards season, it’s the perfect time to look at the real-life inspiration behind the series and its characters. While only loosely inspired by the Murdoch family and its vast media empire, Succession nonetheless inhabits a world that is Murdochian to its core, from its New York City setting to its right-wing news network to its familial conflicts and never-ending succession controversies. As we take a look at how Waystar Royco compares to News Corp and how the core Roy family members relate to the Murdochs, we’ll see how surprisingly accurate the show can be, despite the fact that it’s a satire.

Succession

The Roy family is known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. However, their world changes when their father steps down from the company.

Waystar Royco and News Corp Share Uncanny Similarities

As a company, Waystar Royco is more extensive and more diversified than News Corp, which has always been primarily a media company. Waystar owns theme parks and a cruise line, which are entities that Rupert Murdoch has never had much interest in. Murdoch’s News Corp has dipped its toes into some tech ventures, such as its disastrous 2005 acquisition of MySpace, but for the most part, it controls TV networks, newspapers, websites, magazines, streaming services, and a book publisher. News Corp used to own the 21st Century Fox movie studio but sold it to Disney in 2019.

Despite these differences, the two companies have so much in common that it’s impossible to conclude that News Corp isn’t the biggest inspiration for Waystar Royco. Waystar’s conservative news network ATN is clearly based on Fox News, the fictional book publisher Northstar Publishing is akin to News Corp’s Harper Collins, and the right-wing tabloid New York Globe is modeled after the New York Post. Logan Roy’s obsessive pursuit of Pierce Global Media, a prime competitor to Waystar Royco, bears many similarities to Rupert Murdoch’s successful acquisition of Dow Jones (publisher of The Wall Street Journal) in 2007.

While Alike, Logan Roy & Rupert Murdoch Aren't the Same

Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and Rupert Murdoch are both patriarchs of powerful business families who immigrated to America (Roy is from Scotland, Murdoch from Australia). While Roy seems to have come from more humble beginnings, Murdoch’s father founded the media empire that Rupert would inherit and grow into a behemoth. Both have multiple divorces under their belts (Roy has been married three times, Murdoch four). Politically, both are prominent conservatives with ties to the Republican Party. And perhaps most importantly, both have a handful of children (Roy has four, Murdoch six), many of whom work in the family business.

Perhaps the biggest discrepancy between Logan and Rupert is that Logan is brash and loudmouthed, whereas Rupert, by most accounts, is more soft-spoken and unassuming. While Logan seems primarily interested in wielding power and expanding his business empire, Rupert is more of a newspaperman who has utilized other business ventures to help keep his papers afloat.

Kendall Roy and Lachlan Murdoch Have Both Left the Family Business

Lachlan Murdoch is the eldest son of a media tycoon and is often named as a possible successor to his father, much like Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong). Lachlan currently serves in multiple influential positions within the Murdoch empire, including co-chairman of News Corp and CEO of the Fox Corporation. Lachlan has been in the family business since he was 18, although he took a multi-year hiatus before eventually returning to the News Corp orbit. This sabbatical from News Corp may have inspired Kendall’s departure from Waystar Royco.

Although Lachlan has never waged an aggressive war against his own father as Kendall Roy did in Succession, he is nonetheless a pretty obvious inspiration for the Kendall character. Much like Kendall, he is often assumed to be the heir apparent but has faced some tough competition from his younger siblings.

Roman Roy and James Murdoch Are No Strangers to Scandal

Like Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin), James Murdoch is a younger sibling with a history of rebelliousness and controversy. James was tied up in perhaps the biggest misstep in Murdoch family history: the News International phone hacking scandal. James was eviscerated by the UK government and fellow members of the press for an apparent lack of concern about misconduct occurring at newspapers he was at least nominally tasked with overseeing. The level of blame he received for the scandal hurt his status as the frontrunner to succeed his father.

While Roman is seen as more of an outsider due to his embrace of the unorthodox and anti-establishment (in the show, he embraces a right-wing, MAGA-esque presidential candidate), James is a rebel due to his more centrist or liberal political views (he and his wife were prominent supporters of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential bid). Nonetheless, both Roman and James share the distinguishing trait of being a wild child whose propensity for rebellion may hurt their chances of one day reining over their father’s empire.

Shiv Roy and Elisabeth Murdoch Share the Least in Common

Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) and Elisabeth are very different people, with perhaps their only similarity being that their fathers own media empires. Elisabeth founded the TV production company Shine Group, which was responsible for shows such as The Biggest Loser, Lilyhammer, and MasterChef. Shine was purchased by News Corp in 2011 for around £415m. Since then, Elisabeth has started a second production company called Sister, which produced Chernobyl and has a 9/11 drama in the works starring Succession actor Jeremy Strong.

Shiv’s resume mostly revolves around business and politics, with little in the way of TV-producing credits. Shiv’s husband, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew MacFadyen), may be loosely based on Elisabeth’s first husband, public relations executive Matthew Freud (great-grandson of Sigmund). Although Elisabeth was at one time rumored to be a potential successor to her father, she has largely carved out her own career path away from News Corp.

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'Succession' Finally Crowns a Successor

At various points in time, all three of the Murdoch children mentioned above have been considered the top choice to succeed their father. Lachlan, as the eldest, was initially seen as the most obvious candidate, much like Kendall. But when Lachlan took a hiatus from News Corp, public perception was that James had stepped in as the new frontrunner. Then the phone hacking scandal seriously injured James’ reputation and credibility. Elisabeth has not been involved in the day-to-day operations of News Corp, but some have speculated that her success outside the family business and lack of involvement in any controversies could make her a safer bet to succeed her father. Today, Lachlan seems best positioned to fill his father’s shoes — but as we’ve seen with the ending of Succession and the Roys, anything could happen in the Murdoch family.

Succession is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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