The internet is joking that Lachlan Murdoch “won” ‘Succession’

21 September, 2023

Lachlan Murdoch and Succession

Succession fans are making the same joke after Lachlan Murdoch was appointed the new chairman of News Corp and Fox Corporation.

As announced on Thursday (September 21) in a note to employees, media mogul Rupert Mordoch said he was stepping down as chairman of both companies, with his eldest son Lachlan set to take over.

Rupert Murdoch, who will transition into the role of chairman emeritus for both firms in mid-November, wrote in a note (via the Guardian): “For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles.”

Murdoch has been married four times and has six children, the majority of which have followed their father’s footsteps in working for the family business.

Succession finale
Sarah Snook as Shiv in the ‘Succession’ finale. CREDIT: HBO

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong previously confirmed the HBO series is partially based on the Murdochs, along with other media mogul families like the Redstones and Mercers. In the series, family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) leads media company Waystar RoyCo, as his children vie to become his successor.

“The amazing thing about this stuff is that it’s everywhere,” Armstrong told The New York Times in 2019. “Sumner Redstone’s family. The Mercers. The Murdochs. Conrad Black. Sometimes people have said, it’s really about these people, isn’t it? It’s based on them. And: No. We read widely and we do take elements of stuff.

“Hopefully, if you’re writing in the right area, you end up hitting reality. But there are no moles.”

While the show came to an end with its fourth season earlier this year, many users on X (formerly Twitter) have since joked the news of Lachlan’s claim over the media empire is the true season finale.

“Succession finally ended today,” one user wrote. “Lachlan Murdoch ‘won’.”

Another added: “Lachlan Murdoch taking over Fox is a beautiful story for everyone who felt bad for Kendall on Succession.”

You can check out more reactions below.

In a statement to commemorate his father, Lachlan said: “On behalf of the Fox and News Corp boards of directors, leadership team, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career.

“We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted.”

Succession’s fourth season racked up 27 nominations at this year’s Emmys, including nods for Outstanding Drama Series. The ceremony was originally meant to air in September, but will now take place on January 15, 2024 due to the Hollywood strikes.

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