Credit: Netflix

Netflix released an explosive documentary last week, Dynasty: The Murdochs, offering viewers a front-row seat to a real-life cutthroat succession battle.

Co-directed by Liz Garbus and Sara Enright, the four-part docuseries explores one of the world’s most influential legacies at a crucial crossroads, giving viewers an intimate look at the contentious dynamics between Rupert Murdoch and his eldest children.

“[Rupert] wasn’t raising children, he was raising possible successors,” says journalist Jim Rutenberg in Dynasty: The Murdochs about Murdoch’s attempt to secure his legacy by allotting the deserving successor. When the media mogul announced that he was stepping down as chair of mass media companies News Corp and Fox Corporation in 2023, there wasn’t just one potential heir in line, but three: his oldest son, Lachlan; his daughter, Elisabeth; and his younger son, James.

Dynasty: The Murdochs traces the rise of the Murdoch dynasty, including details of the years Rupert Murdoch spent building his empire and the tense battle for succession that followed between his potential successors. The docu-series features interviews with journalists who’ve been covering the family, former employees of Murdoch’s companies, and never-before-heard private family communications from the Murdochs’ public litigation.

Dynasty: The Murdochs spotlights the media titan’s efforts to restructure the family trust to give Lachlan control of his empire. In the court battle that followed, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch attempted to forcibly seize control of the family businesses from Elisabeth Murdoch, James Murdoch, and Prudence MacLeod.

For those wondering about the Murdochs’ current whereabouts, the legal battle culminated in a multibillion-dollar settlement in September 2025, and Lachlan Murdoch formally gained control of the companies until at least 2050. Currently, he serves as the chair of News Corp and executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation.

“Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch are happy to have reached an agreement to settle the litigation initiated by their father, Rupert Murdoch, and brother, Lachlan, in 2023,” Rupert’s other eldest children said in a statement to the filmmakers of Dynasty: The Murdochs.

“Prudence, Elisabeth, and James are pleased that the matter is now behind them.” As for Rupert Murdoch, aged 95 years, he serves as the chairman emeritus of Fox Corporation and News Corp.

So, if you’re yet to catch up on the documentary the Internet cannot stop talking about, do it now as Dynasty: The Murdochs is currently streaming on Netflix.