Words: Tom Ward
“A lot of research went into Succession,” series creator Jesse Armstrong explained in an interview with the show’s parent network, HBO. “I wrote the pilot solo, so there was a good deal of my own research and life experience in there. Then there’s the writing room, which everyone informs with their stories and backgrounds.”
Armstrong goes on to say the writer’s room “thought of famous media families” including “the Hearsts, to modern-day Redstone, John Malone, Robert Fitz of Comcast, Murdoch, and Robert and Rebekah Mercer, who founded Breitbart. Lots of real-life moguls. We collected a myriad of these kinds of relationships that we knew about. And then like all creative people, you raid a surprising range of relationships that you’ve known from your own life. So, lots and lots of places.”
All of which sounds rather… vague and safe – the least likely words to describe a family ruthlessly vying for control of one of the biggest media and entertainment company in the world.
As the much-loved series approaches its sure to be memorable finale, we peeked behind the curtain at some possible IRL inspirations for the show.
The Murdochs
Yes, Armstrong points to myriad inspirations, including Disney. But, we’d argue Succession’s plots are more Murdoch than Bambi.
Famously, Lachlan, Ann and James Murdoch have been duking it out to be named successor to Rupert Murdoch $17bn fortune, including News Corp, which controls hundreds of media outlets worldwide, including: The Sun and The Times in the UK; The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the US; publisher HarperCollins; and Fox News.
Like Brian Cox’s Logan Roy, Murdoch has resisted appointing a successor, although fourth child Lachlan had been viewed as the heir apparent, until resigning from the board of News Corp in 2020 due to “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions”.
Prior to that, in 2015, all divisions within News Corp reported directly to Lachlan and James, mirroring a season one plot line where Kendall becomes acting CEO, forcing the Roy brothers to work together.
Shady Dealings
Like the Murdochs, the Roy’s largest source of income comes from their cable news network which is show to lean towards right of centre viewers, as per the real life Fox News.
Likewise, Waystar’s attempt to acquire the Pierce family’s empire is said to have been based on the Murdoch’s buying The Wall Street Journal from the Bancroft family – a family of reclusive Boston socialites (is that an oxymoron?) who inherited the paper from the late, de facto WSJ manager Clarence W. Barron. The Bancrofts later said they regretted selling in the wake of News International’s role in the phone hacking scandal.
The connection to the real-life Murdoch succession story is well established but, as Armstrong points out, there are connections to other wealthy families. In the US, of course, there are plenty of infamous business tycoons to choose from.
Like Disney, the Roys own Brightstar Adventure Park (part of the Waystar Royco company). Disney Land/ Universal, it ain’t.
Meanwhile, the Pierce family are said to be based on the Sulzbergers, who have maintained ownership of The New York Times since 1896, with journalist Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. serving as chairman of The New York Times Company from 1997 to 2020.
The Storylines
It’d be difficult to pinpoint exactly which plot draws inspiration from which real life scandal (and of course, like all good drama, most of the stories are made up entirely, or only draw the thinnest of inspirations from real events).
Season one’s plot line involving Kendall abandoning a car after it crashed into water – leading to the death of a member of waitstaff – clearly draws inspiration from Senator Ted Kennedy’s 1969 car crash in Chappaquiddick, Mass. Similar to Kennedy, Kendall abandoned the vehicle and sought help in covering up the accident.
Meanwhile, the plot line in which Kendall tried to resuscitate digital platform Vaulter came out at a time when staff from real life media outlets like BuzzFeed and Vice were attempting to unionise amid major layoffs.
Similarly, Alexander Skarsgård has fielded questions over his character Lukas Matsson posting antisemitic tweets, and whether this was inspired by Elon Musk, who has been under fire for likening billionaire philanthropist George Soros to a Marvel supervillain, Magneto who, like Soros survived the Jewish Holocaust.
“Life imitates art!” was Skarsgård’s response. With season four marking the end of the show, it’s going to be interesting how much of art will imitate real life.
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