You’ve seen the show. You’ve watched the Roy siblings tear each other apart for four seasons, and you’re probably looking for the real deal. People search for the Murdoch family Netflix connection constantly because they want to know where the documentary is, or if Succession is secretly a biography.
Honestly, it’s complicated.
The Murdochs are private. Terrifyingly so. While Netflix is the king of the "unauthorized documentary," the Murdoch family remains one of the few giants they haven't quite pinned down in a definitive, multi-part original series. If you're looking for a Netflix-produced deep dive into Rupert, Lachlan, and James, you're going to find a bit of a void. But that void tells a story of its own about power, influence, and how certain dynasties manage their image.
Is There a Murdoch Family Netflix Documentary?
Not exactly.
Netflix doesn't have a "Murdoch Series" in the same way it has one for the Beckhams or Bill Gates. If you search for the Murdoch family Netflix catalog right now, you’ll mostly see Succession recommended to you. Except, Succession is an HBO show. The algorithm is just smart enough to know what you’re actually looking for: rich people behaving badly.
There was a massive BBC documentary titled The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty. It’s phenomenal. It covers the 2011 phone-hacking scandal, the rise of Fox News, and the internal friction between the children. But it isn't a Netflix Original. In various regions, Netflix licenses third-party content, so it pops up occasionally depending on where you live, but it’s not their "baby."
Why? Well, Rupert Murdoch isn't exactly signing off on a "behind the scenes" look at his life. Unlike the British Royals, who occasionally play ball with streaming giants for a paycheck or a PR pivot, the Murdochs tend to fight back. They use their own media arms—News Corp and Fox—to control the narrative.
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The Succession Connection
You can’t talk about this family without mentioning Jesse Armstrong’s masterpiece. While it’s an HBO property, the DNA of the Murdoch family is all over it.
James Murdoch famously resigned from the News Corp board due to "disagreements over certain editorial content." That’s a very polite way of saying he couldn't stand the direction the company was taking. If that doesn't scream "Kendall Roy," nothing does.
The Missing Pieces of the Story
Most people don't realize how much the Murdochs actually own—or owned.
When Disney bought 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71 billion, it changed the landscape of streaming forever. That deal is the reason why Netflix is currently fighting a war for subscribers. By selling off the entertainment assets, Rupert Murdoch basically bet that "content" (the movies and shows) was a losing game compared to "live news and sports."
He was partly right.
But it also meant that the family's influence over what you watch on Netflix shrunk. They aren't the creators of the shows you binge; they are the people the shows are written about. It’s a weird, meta relationship. You have writers at Netflix or HBO drawing inspiration from real-life events—like the time Rupert reportedly sent an email to his third wife, Wendi Deng, telling her he wanted a divorce—and turning it into high-stakes drama.
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Why the Murdochs Avoid the "Netflix Treatment"
The Netflix model relies on access.
To make a great documentary, you need the subjects to talk, or at least you need their enemies to be loud. The Murdoch inner circle is tight. Even the ex-employees are often bound by non-disclosure agreements that would make a spy agency blush.
- The Fox News Factor: The family has their own platform. Why go to Netflix to tell your story when you own a news network that reaches millions?
- Litigation: They are notoriously litigious. Any documentary filmmaker stepping into this arena has to have a legal team ready for a decade-long war.
- The "Succession" Shadow: Because Succession did such a good job of satirizing the family, a straight documentary almost feels redundant to the general public.
It’s actually kinda fascinating. The very people who shaped the modern media landscape are the ones most effectively hiding from the newest form of media.
The Real Power Players You Won't See on Camera
If Netflix ever does land the big one, the focus won't just be on Rupert. It’ll be on the "kids."
Lachlan Murdoch is the heir apparent. He’s often described as the most aligned with his father’s conservative views. Then there’s James, who is the "liberal" outcast, investing in climate-tech and staying far away from the Fox News machine. Elisabeth Murdoch is perhaps the most interesting—she’s a highly successful media mogul in her own right, often staying out of the direct line of fire that hits her brothers.
Prudence, the eldest daughter, is the "forgotten" one who stays out of the headlines. In a Netflix world, she’d be the narrator. The one with the perspective.
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What to Watch Instead
Since the Murdoch family Netflix search results are a bit thin on "official" documentaries, you have to look at the fringes.
- The Great Hack: While it focuses on Cambridge Analytica, it covers the intersection of data, politics, and the media environments that the Murdochs helped build.
- Get Me Roger Stone: This gives you the vibe of the political world the Murdoch family inhabits. It’s gritty, cynical, and very "New York media."
- The Loudest Voice (Miniseries): This stars Russell Crowe as Roger Ailes. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a Murdoch biopic without it being titled "The Murdochs."
The reality is that the Murdoch story is still being written. Rupert is in his 90s. He recently stepped down as chairman, handing the reins to Lachlan. This is the moment when the "Netflix ending" usually happens—the transition of power.
But in real life, there are no credits. There’s just the next board meeting.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you really want to understand the Murdoch family without waiting for a Netflix series that might never come, you have to look at the primary sources.
- Read the Financials: Look at News Corp’s annual reports. It sounds boring, but that’s where the real "plot" is. It shows where they are moving their money—away from traditional print and into digital real estate and specialized data.
- Follow the "Exiles": Keep an eye on James Murdoch’s investment firm, Lupa Systems. His moves often signal a direct counter-protest to his father’s legacy.
- Monitor the Legal Battles: The Dominion Voting Systems settlement and ongoing Smartmatic lawsuits tell you more about the family’s current state than any scripted show ever could.
The Murdoch family Netflix presence is a ghost. They are everywhere in the themes, the tropes, and the villains of modern streaming, but they are nowhere in the credits. To understand them, you have to read between the lines of the shows that claim they are "fictional." Because honestly? The truth is usually much weirder than anything a writers' room could come up with.
Don't wait for a documentary to tell you who they are. They've been showing us for forty years through the news we consume and the way our politics are shaped. The "Next Episode" button in their lives is pushed every morning when the papers hit the stands and the news alerts go off on your phone.