CNN
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“Inheritance” It takes viewers into the high-stakes world of running a media empire and all the secret deals, failed coups, and shocking scandals that come with it.
The actors and creators of the award-winning series, which will compete for more statues at Monday’s Emmy Awards, claim the characters are inspired by a long list of family-owned dynasty enterprises, both past and present. Runner Jesse Armstrong Said In behind-the-scenes interviews, the writers “from famous media families like the Hurst family to modern-day Redstone, John Malone, Comcast’s Robert Fitz, Murdoch, and Breitbart founders Robert and Rebecca Mercer.” was picked up.
But among all the ramifications, the fictional Roy family, led by patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox), who plays the CEO of media company and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco, is a real-life and It seems to overlap the most. Murdoch, Australian media mogul family Rupert Murdoch.
Here’s why:
(Major spoilers from Season 3 of “Succession.”)
Airing on HBO, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the premise of the series is practically ripped from Murdoch’s playbook.
Ruthless dealmaker and friend of the president, Logan Roy certainly has a Murdoch vibe.
Rupert Murdoch has grown the small newspaper business he inherited from his father in 1952 into one of the most powerful conservative media empires in history. With a market cap of $13.5 billion, News Corp is one of the most influential companies on the planet.
He always intended to pass his company on to one of his children, but the 91-year-old has never named a successor.
Like Roy, Murdoch, who has been married three times, has several children from two marriages.
Prudence MacLeod is Rupert’s oldest child from his first marriage. Prudence has shown little interest in running his family business and has little involvement in the succession battles that plague his brothers.
Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, from his second marriage, quickly rose through the ranks to become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Ltd in 1997.
At the time, his father described Lachlan as: his legal heir, “The first of equality”. Then, in 2005, he abruptly quit after a dispute with Fox News Channel CEO Roger Ailes over the direction of the cable news network. Lachlan returned to his family business in 2014.
The family also includes James Murdoch, the youngest son of Rupert Murdoch, who dropped out of Harvard in 1995 to start his own hip-hop record label.
James Murdoch joined News Corporation and became seen as the new successor after Lachlan Murdoch resigned in 2005. After a hiatus of several years, he eventually returned to the family business. in front Retired in 2020, It cites “disagreement regarding certain editorial content and other certain strategic decisions published by our media outlets.”
Elizabeth Murdoch is the only daughter of her father’s remarriage.
“She’s so smart and cunning. She’s probably the most Rupert-like,” New York Times writer Jim Rutenberg says of Elizabeth in CNN’s original series “Murdoch: Empire of Influence.”
Rupert Murdoch has scoffed at her attempts to take the throne, saying he needs to figure out how many children he wants to have before planning further promotions in the company.
In 2000 she left the family business to found one of the UK’s largest independent production companies.
In ‘Succession’ Logan Roy has four children. The eldest Connor his Roy (Alan Luck) has been mostly out of the business and had his eye on the presidency in recent seasons. Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) ostensibly sat as his father’s heir at first, but fell out of his father’s grace after a series of blows.
The youngest member of the Roy family, quick-witted Roman Roy (Kieran Culkin) struggles to prove himself worthy of the top spot. Meanwhile, Sarah Snook’s Siobhan (or Shiv) has the skills and favors of her father (even if they’re in a bitter position), but faces resistance.
There is some overlap between Wayster Royko in “Succession” and Murdoch’s News Corporation.
In “Succession,” Waystar Royco’s assets include conservative cable news network ATN. This is the show’s version of Fox News.
Throughout the series, Logan Roy talks to the president, his advisers and the network’s White House coverage, making their access flexible.
Fox News co-wrote How Rupert Murdoch’s Empire of Influence Remade the World, Jonathan Marler, an influential tool for Rupert Murdoch and described in Murdoch: The Empire of Influence. increase.
“Rupert always dreamed of having an intimate relationship with an American president,” says Mahler.
In Season 2 of “Succession,” news leaked that Waystar’s cruise ship division covered up internal reports of possible sexual harassment, assault and murder. The scandal forced Logan Roy and his son Kendall Roy to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee. This dealt another blow to Kendall’s pursuit of power.
This debacle has similarities to the 2011 News Corp. hacking scandal. hack the royal phone, Hear stories from celebrities and crime victims. Like a mirror image of the show, Rupert Murdoch, along with his son James, testified before Congress’s Committee on Culture, Media and Sports.
In the aftermath, James resigned as chairman of Newscorp’s UK publishing division.
“In a situation like this, you would imagine that a father’s instinct might be to protect his son, but James is actually being thrown under the bus by his father,” Mahler said. It’s a humiliating and devastating time for him.”
Both Rupert and Logan pulled off moves that left people stunned. They sold the empire they built.
In the season 3 finale, Logan announced plans to sell Waystar Royco to streaming company GoJo, giving control of the company to technology founder Lukas Matsson.
“Now is the best time to sell. What’s the point if I don’t get the best deal at some point? I’m not out, I’m leaving $5 billion on the table,” Logan told his kids. He said, “Create your own mountain. This is an opportunity for children to get an education in real life.”
Rupert also chose to cash out in 2018. Sold most of 21st Century Fox to Disney.
“Once the deal with Disney was completed, Fox remained the shell of its former self. No more movie studios, no more cable networks like FX. What was left was the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports, and Fox News, which Rupert cares about more than anything else,” Matthew Belloni, former editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter and founding partner of Pac News, said on the Murdoch series. rice field.
Ludenberg says the move was seen as a vote of no confidence for his children.
“By making the family a business and the business a family, Rupert dissolved the family in the same way he did when he sold the company to Disney,” said Rutenberg. “Teared apart by decades of succession battles, it was also a zero-sum battle for his father’s love.”
Lachlan Murdoch is now the CEO of Fox Corp, and his father serves as co-chairman. James and Elisabeth quit the family business.
As the series heads into its fourth season, the future of Logan’s children is highly uncertain.
A premiere date has not been announced.
Source: www.cnn.com
