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'Succession' grew out of real-life media mogul quips: creator
The show follows the acrimonious power struggles within the Roy family, which controls the fictional media corporation Waystar, as patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) battles to retain control.
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A still from 'Succession.' (HBO/File)
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uccession, the fictional TV show depicting bitter feuding within an all-powerful family running a media conglomerate, was born out of real-life quips by legendary industry moguls Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone, its creator has revealed.
Jesse Armstrong, a British television writer and executive producer who created the hit HBO series, said his interest in chronicling a media dynasty was sparked by the two tycoons both joking that they "didn't plan to die" when asked about their succession plans.
"It just struck me: what's going on for these men in their 80s and 90s who are still packing the diaries every day?" Armstrong told a recent event at the London Film Festival.
The first episodes of the show's third season screened at the British capital's film and TV showcase last week, days before airing in the US and UK.
"It felt like something quite basic about not wanting to give up and feeling that loss of influence at the end of your life. And I started to feel there was a show about what those people are like in general."
Redstone, who rose from modest beginnings to lead one of the most powerful Hollywood and TV empires that merged US network CBS with media conglomerate Viacom in 2019, did in fact die in August last year aged 97.
Meanwhile Murdoch, 90, still controls his sprawling global enterprises.
