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Logan Roy. The ruthless, narcissistic, machiavellian billionaire and the CEO of a media conglomerate.
A man who would much rather be feared than loved, who sees life as a series of power games to be won, coercing his children to compete with one another to be the heirs of his throne, doesn’t sound nearly as fictitious as some might come to think.
In fact, it’s only a diluted version of a real-life media mogul whose travails are even more compelling and incredible than his small-screen avatar’s.
When Succession’s writer Jesse Armstrong, was asked if he was inspired by the media tycoons Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch he said:
“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.”
It turns out the reality is more toxic, more dysfunctional, and far more complicated than any TV script.
At the peak of his power, Sumner Redstone controlled two of the planet’s most influential companies, Viacom and CBS, as well as Paramount Pictures, movie-theater chain National Amusements, MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.
He was something of a monster who evoked an oversexed combination of Shakespeare’s King Lear and Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son.”
This Sumner Redstone documentary is based on the book Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy by James B Stewart and Rachel Abrams.
If you've ever wondered if succession show was based on a true story or who was Logan Roy was based on then this video will answer your question.