Succession, HBO’s hit drama-comedy hybrid series, has quickly earned critical acclaim since debuting. Starring Brian Cox as media mogul Logan Roy and chronicling their family’s struggle for control of Waystar Royco empire.
Kendall from The Roys has many similarities with Rupert Murdoch while his daughter Elisabeth can be compared to Siobhan Roy from Murdoch’s first marriage, James Lachlan and Connor have some resemblances with some Roy siblings as well.
Logan Roy
Logan Roy is the curmudgeonly CEO of Waystar Media Corp, an enormous American media conglomerate with interests spanning news, theme parks and cruise lines. Although ruthless in nature and well connected, Logan also deeply values his family members and wants them to take his place at the helm of Waystar in time.
Kendall, Roman and Shiv from his first marriage are each eager to inherit his position at the firm; though all love him dearly. Meanwhile Connor from his second marriage leads a more detached life; at times deluded into thinking he is his father’s favorite candidate for love and admiration.
Siobhan, known by her nickname ‘Shiv,’ is an experienced political fixer with leftist politics who previously distanced herself from Logan and their business until Logan offered her leadership. Known for her sophisticated style and graceful grace, Shiv often displays anger against competitors while married to Tom Wambsgans who works at Waystar Royco.
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has stated clearly that the fictional Roy family doesn’t reflect any one family; yet there are striking parallels between this powerful dynasty and Rupert Murdoch’s real-life empire. Both men serve as formidable patriarchs at the head of vast media conglomerates with right-wing news channels, both have powerful sons from multiple marriages who compete for power within these conglomerates, and both boast power-hungry children fighting over succession to their positions at the top. Let’s explore these parallels further.
Kendall Roy
Succession has often been likened to real-life billionaire families such as the Murdochs; however, showrunner Jesse Armstrong has repeatedly stressed that Succession does not take inspiration from any one family in particular; in fact he originally wrote a screenplay detailing the inner workings of Murdoch empire but decided against producing it. Instead, Succession draws its inspiration from various powerful media dynasties.
Kendall Roy, Logan’s firstborn, possesses an astute business sense. He was instrumental in the re-launch of Waystar Royco and an active investor in other businesses – yet his indecision often results in costly consequences.
His most notable missteps included taking on an embattled former senator and driving his car off a bridge, killing Mary Jo Kopechne. Yet Kendall insisted he hadn’t done anything wrong, maintaining that he is an upstanding family man. In the final season of the series, Kendall showed this by doing drugs with one of Logan’s recently fired waiters before colliding their car when that waiter tried swerving around an animal in order to avoid collision with an oncoming deer.
Kendall Roy stands out as the most intriguing of the Roy children, for his unique qualities as both an innocent and an expert at running large companies – though some of these might not always mesh together perfectly! While he may not always make wise choices himself, his naivete makes for fascinating viewing; plus his desire to help out his family makes him absolutely charming. With more experience managing a company and managing large employees under him than any of the others. With only some learning necessary when making important decisions though!
Roman Roy
Though Logan Roy has four children who all resemble James Murdoch to some degree, Roman may be his closest doppelganger. Like Lachlan and Connor, Roman has an exuberant confidence but also is somewhat unconventional – like Lachlan he’s known by name but always trying to break away from what his father provides for the company.
This was evident in the series’ penultimate episode, “Church and State.” When Kendall arrives wearing sunglasses to their father’s funeral wearing them instead of mourning them with him, he accuses her of betraying him – then makes an offhand comment that sounds similar to an ancient grave horoscope and predicts his own demise (we know, just stop with all the fan metaphors!).
Kieran Culkin shines brilliantly here as Roman, and this scene provides us with the clearest illustration yet of his character being formed by his family and their tumultuous relationships. Roman is the youngest member of his group, yet while hungry for power he also possesses an inherent sense of self-preservation that prevents him from going too far in pursuing it.
Jesse Armstrong has made it clear that no single family is at the core of this show’s characters; yet plenty of media tycoons live lives reminiscent of these ones, and we find great pleasure in following their drama offscreen. Below are a few noteworthy examples.
Shiv Roy
Shiv Roy was raised under the shadow of Logan and Caroline, her three aggressive brothers Connor, Kendall, and Roman – each of whom wield power over her with equal authority. This led her to develop an intense sense of entitlement as well as an appetite for power that she finds herself struggling to reconcile both within the family and her personal ambitions.
Shiv is in search of new business partners, yet meeting with an unorthodox presidential candidate might put her directly against her family’s conservative politics. Additionally, she must decide if she wants to continue his legacy at Waystar Royco; Logan and Kendall’s power struggle has brought Shiv back into its fold.
As she navigates her new world, Shiv becomes embroiled in her family drama. While trying to distance herself from politics within her family, she becomes drawn into their power play – ultimately marrying Waystar Royco employee Tom Wambsgans but soon realizing she would rather pursue an open marriage option instead.
Succession is a captivating tale of contemporary corruption, featuring media moguls, private equity fund managers, and Wall Street scoundrels who all use corruption for personal gain. Out of all these powerful characters stands one out: Shiv. While she may often come up against entrenched misogyny in her workplace, fighting back does not make her an anti-misogynist hero; Shiv is complex yet morally fallible person who plays games to her own advantage while showing that her ruthlessness is more than just skill set – it’s part of her identity.
Connor Roy
Succession’s first three seasons, and now halfway into its fourth and final one, have featured some rather disgraceful behavior from members of the Roy family. From engaging in sexually explicit images to endorsing fascism, their members have engaged in all manner of illicit actions to achieve power – but which member stands out as being particularly evil?
Brian Cox plays Logan Roy, a curmudgeonly media mogul who owns and runs Waystar Royco – an expansive American media conglomerate with its fingers in news, entertainment, theme parks, cruises and beyond. Logan doesn’t particularly care for his children Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook), yet all three want to take over from him one day.
Although it remains unknown which high-profile families the Roys are based upon, series creator Jesse Armstrong has disclosed that they take inspiration from an assortment of media dynasties. According to Armstrong, characters found within this show represent elements from various media families including Hearsts, modern-day Redstones, John Malone of Comcast Robert FitzSimmons Rebekah Mercer of Breitbart among many others.
Karolina and her husband have endured much on the show, most notably her arrest for stealing millions from Logan’s business – which caused many viewers to question whether the family resembles one in real life; Jesse Armstrong has assured fans that it does not, though Armstrong wrote a screenplay called Murdoch about Rupert Murdoch before creating this hit HBO show.