The real-world drama that is said to have inspired the hit HBO show Succession is set for its own four-part series when Netflix debuts Dynasty: The Murdochs on 13 March.
The docuseries, based on thousands of pages of documents, emails and text messages, presents an exhaustive history of Rupert Murdoch’s rise while homing in on the tensions that have built for decades between him, his chosen heir Lachlan, and Rupert’s three other adult children: James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod.
Those tensions exploded recently in a Nevada court battle over the trust that will determine control of the Murdoch media empire when Rupert dies, with the 94-year-old patriarch and his eldest son aligned against the other three. While the siblings had won a positive initial ruling from a county commissioner, both sides ended up reaching a multibillion-dollar settlement last September that will ensure that Lachlan Murdoch will remain in control until at least 2050.
While no Murdochs participated in the documentary, as has become standard for projects about the secretive family, the series includes interviews with many of the journalists who covered them most closely, including the New York Times reporters Jim Rutenberg and Jonathan Mahler, the definitive chroniclers of the trust battle. McKay Coppins, the Atlantic writer who wrote a seminal profile of James Murdoch last February, is also featured heavily in the series, along with media personalities and commentators such as Kara Swisher, a tech journalist. Many former employees of Murdoch-owned publications are also interviewed.
The series focuses on the creation, rise and power of Fox News, including interviews with former network employees such as Alisyn Camerota and David Shuster. And it thoroughly recounts the hacking scandal, first exposed by the Guardian, that led to the closure of the News of the World tabloid and damaged James Murdoch’s standing in his father’s media empire.
While the series may not break new ground on the Murdoch story, it’s a worthwhile watch for media obsessives, Succession super-fans and anyone interested in the travails of family dynasties.
The series was primarily directed by Liz Garbus, an acclaimed documentarian, and produced by Story Syndicate, which she co-founded with Dan Cogan, her husband. (The final episode is co-directed by Sara Enright.)
The project is perhaps the most significant streaming domestic-focused project based on the Murdoch family. In 2022, CNN produced an original series called The Murdochs: Empire of Influence – though that was before the trust battled ensued. There was also a documentary about Lachlan Murdoch from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2024.
