BBC documentary delves into Murdoch’s real-life Succession battle

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Viewers watching a new BBC documentary on global media mogul Rupert Murdoch have compared it to hit HBO television series Succession – saying the bitter war that ensued in the Murdoch family is simply a real-life version of the recent popular series. 

BBC2’s The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty explores how Rupert, now 89, came from humble beginnings and, fired on by an early-life slight, has gone on to become one of the most influential figures in the world’s media industry.  

The three-part series, the first episode of which aired on BBC2 on Tuesday, details how children Lachlan, James and Elisabeth, fiercely fought for control of the conglomerate in the late 90s, before their father’s shock decision to remain head of the empire. 

Viewers noted the similarities between the documentary and the HBO series Succession, which follows the lives of the Roy family as they plot the future of their entertainment empire as their ageing father, played by Brian Cox, starts to slow down.  

The BBC’s documentary explores how ‘natural favourite’ Elisabeth, ‘charming’ Lachlan and ‘the brains’ of the family, James, all vied for the loftiest position in their father’s dynasty. 

On social media, many watching admitted they were utterly gripped with the first installment, with one saying: ‘So far, so Succession’. 

Andrew Neil, who served as editor of The Sunday Times from 1983 to 1994, appears in the first episode highlighting just how much passing over the business to one of his offspring matters, saying: ‘Family has always been very important to Rupert Murdoch, particularly from the point of view of forming a dynasty. 

‘He had always wanted at least one of his children to take over from him. He used to like to play them off against each other, to see how they would survive.’  

The documentary portrays Elisabeth, now 51, as the ‘natural favourite’ to proceed her father, as a ‘smart and humble executive’, who the media mogul has often described as being most similar to him.

Meanwhile, at the age of 25, ‘charming’ Lachlan who was known as ‘the Prince’ had just been appointed Deputy CEO of News Limited, one of Australia’s largest media conglomerates. 

Many viewers couldn’t get the Succession series out of their minds while watching, with some pointing out even the theme tune was similar. 

@n5cyclist wrote: ‘Is it me or does the BBC #Murdoch documentary have a Succession-esque theme song? #justsaying’. 

@MrNeilB added: ‘Can’t watch this #murdoch thing without thinking of #succession’. 

In the programme, Sarah Ellison, a reporter for The Washington Post and former special correspondent for Vanity Fair is seen saying of the children: ‘I’ve met all the kids, Elisabeth is the child that Rupert has told people is the most like him. 

She later added: ‘Elisabeth is really such an interesting and humble, smart executive.’

‘Lachlan is someone who wants his father’s approval, he spent a lot of time modelling himself after his father, he was known as the Prince.’ 

James was running rap label Rawkus Records, a dominant label in the underground hip-hop scene established by pals Brian Brater and Jarret Myer, with his father’s financial backing.  

The first episode of the series ‘The Kingmaker’  begins in July 1995, when the mogul hosted a News Corporation summit in Australia on the family’s private Hayman Island retreat. 

With speculation of Murdoch’s retirement rife, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James are all present at the retreat, which saw the likes of Tony Blair and Piers Morgan in attendance. 

Piers, now 55, told of drinking into the early hours of the morning with Lachlan and James at the retreat, and discovering that James, then 24, allegedly kept a secret gun for ‘lively negotiations’ with rap artists. 

‘I was then 28 and Lachlan and James were both in their mid 20s, said Piers, ‘I got out to Australia and we went out one night. 

 ‘We were having dinner we ended up playing snooker in a snooker room, until about four or five in the morning and I thought they were fantastic, the sons. 

‘James was telling me he was running this rap label and it got lively in negotiations with rappers, who would be armed, and at one stage he told me he had gun under his desk just in case, but said don’t tell dad that.’ 

By 1996, Rupert is still deciding which of his heirs apparent will eventually take over the family business, with daughter Elisabeth appearing to be the favourite to succeed him. 

Elisabeth was Fast tracked to head of all programming at BSkyB, and oversaw the company’s £12 million sponsorship of the troubled Millennium Dome.    

New York Times journalist Ken Auletta said: ‘When I profiled her, I thought she was the real deal.  She spotted shows in England and said to her father you have to put this on in America and she made him a lot of mone. 

‘You could argue in a lot of ways she was the favourite, she would be the natural person to succeed Rupert Murdoch. ‘ 

 Rupert had bought James’ record label and Lachlan was running newspapers in Australia, it still seemed likely Elisabeth would become heir apparent of the media empire. 

Ken went on: ‘Murdoch has always created this sense of family first, I love my kids I want all my kids to work with me at the company, it’s always been a dream of his. 

‘My impression is Lachlan has the charming personality that James lacks, James has more bandwidth and brain power and Elisabeth has both charm and brains.’ 

However in 2001, Elisabeth married public relations executive Matthew freud the great-grandson of Sigmund Freud, who freely voiced ‘negative’ opinions on the Murdoch empire. 

Ken explained:  ‘I do remember sitting in the kitchen and Matthew was making sausages and Matthew was more dominant a figure. I was stunned at how freely he discussed Murdoch in a negative way and it was quite blunt. 

‘The relationship with Matthew was driving her away from her family and making them very unhappy.’ 

Murdoch’s elder son Lachlan, formerly the Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the News Corporation and publisher of the New York Post, became Murdoch’s suspected heir apparent. 

Elisabeth went on to act as a non-executive chairperson for Shine Group ,a UK-based TV programme production company she had founded in 2001.  

In 1999, Rupert’s marriage to Anna Murdoch, the mother of Elisabeth, James and Lachlan dissolved, and 17 days after divorcing his second wife, the mogul married Chinese-born Wendi Deng, who was 37 years his junior. 

After having two children with Wendi, Grace and Chloe, Rupert made the shock revelation that all plans of retirement where off the table, and it wasn’t until 2015 he announced he would leave his post as CEO of 21st Century Fox

In July 2005, following a reported disagreements with Rupert over management,  Lachlan resigned from his executive posts at the global media company. 

Lachlan’s departure left James as the only Murdoch son still directly involved with the company’s operations, however Lachlan agreed to remain on the News Corporation’s board 

Elisabeth had enjoyed independent success, in conjunction with her second husband, and in 2015 her father’s 21st Century Fox merged its Shine division with ApolloGlobal Management’s Endemol and Core Media production houses. 

In 2015, Murdoch passed the baton of leadership of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc his sons James and Lachlan as CEO and chairman respectively while remaining co-executive chairman. 

Rise of The Murdoch Dynasty airs on BBC2 this evening at 9pm