The Murdoch family became “obsessed” with the TV drama Succession, an insider has claimed, when “uncanny” similarities were spotted between the show and the clan’s real-life.
Members of the family are even said to have believed someone from within its ranks had been leaking information to writers of the HBO series, as it imitated reality so closely at times.
McKay Coppins, the journalist behind the shocking and rare interview with James Murdoch published earlier this year that revealed what life as Rupert Murdoch’s son is really like, made the claims at the Hay Festival in Wales on Tuesday, which The Independent is once again partnering with.
When asked by an audience member whether he knew if the family had watched Succession, Mr Coppins said: “It was one of the very first questions I asked James, actually.”
He added: “As I would eventually learn, the Murdoch family is, actually, obsessed with Succession.
“They’re particularly obsessed with who was leaking to the show’s writers. They all were convinced that somebody must’ve been feeding the show’s writers stories because there were scenes that were too uncannily true to life.
“James watched the first episode and found it too difficult to watch. Kathryn, his wife, has seen more. Liz, his sister, has watched all of them.”
Speaking to Guto Harri, former communications director for Murdoch’s News International, at the event, Mr Coppins went on to say the siblings had different beliefs about who was leaking information - with theories ranging from each other to former partners.
He said: “I finally just went to Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the show, and asked him, ‘did you have a mole in the Murdoch family?’
“He laughed and said ‘no, but I’m aware this has become a psychodrama for the Murdoch family.’”
The future of Murdoch’s sprawling media empire, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and UK outlets such as The Sun and The Times, has captivated public attention in recent years.
It has provided partial inspiration for the acclaimed drama, which culminates with a right-wing media tycoon’s family grappling with the fallout of his death.
In an article published in February in The Atlantic, Murdoch’s youngest son, James, laid bare remarkable details about the real-life succession drama within the Murdoch family.
The article’s publication came soon after the patriarch lost his legal battle to ensure his eldest son, the more right-leaning Lachlan, would control the family trust after his death.
Hay Festival, which is spread over 11 days, is set in Hay-on-Wye, the idyllic and picturesque “Town of Books”. The lineup includes Salman Rushdie, Michael Sheen, Jameela Jamil, and more.
The Independent has partnered with the festival once again to host a series of morning panels titled The News Review, where our journalists will explore current affairs with leading figures from politics, science, the arts and comedy every morning.
