The real family drama that everyone compared to the hit show Succession is now getting its own documentary series. Dynasty: The Murdochs arrives on Netflix next month, and it promises to show viewers the true story behind the headlines. The four-part docuseries pulls back the curtain on the Murdoch family, the people behind some of the world’s biggest news outlets. Using thousands of private documents, emails, and text messages that have never been shown on television before, this series tells the story of a powerful family fighting over control of a media empire.
The streaming giant released the official trailer this week, and it gives a taste of what is to come. Viewers see a family torn apart not just by money and power, but by politics and personal struggles. The timing of this release comes after a very public legal battle between Rupert Murdoch and three of his children last year. That fight ended in a settlement that will keep his chosen heir, Lachlan Murdoch, in charge for decades to come.
When Does Dynasty: The Murdochs Start on Netflix?
Dynasty: The Murdochs will be available to stream globally on Netflix starting March 13, 2026. All four episodes will drop at the same time, which means subscribers can watch the entire story in one go if they want. This is a common practice for Netflix documentary series, letting viewers decide their own pace.
For viewers around the world, the release times will follow the typical Netflix pattern. In the United States, the series will be available starting at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on March 13. That means East Coast viewers can start watching at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. United Kingdom audiences will get access at 8:00 a.m. GMT. In Canada, it follows the same schedule as the US. Australia viewers on the East Coast can watch from 7:00 p.m. AEDT. For India, the show will be live from 1:30 p.m. IST. No matter where you are, if you have a Netflix subscription, you will be able to stream Dynasty: The Murdochs on that date.
Who Made This Docuseries and What Makes It Different?
The person behind the camera is Liz Garbus, a documentarian with an impressive track record. She has been nominated for Oscars and has won Emmy awards for her work. Her films often dig deep into complicated subjects, from the musician Nina Simone to the world of prison systems. For this project, she teamed up with Sara Enright, who co-directed the final episode. Together, they lead a team from the production company Story Syndicate. You might know Story Syndicate from another big Netflix project, the Harry & Meghan docuseries .
What sets this series apart from other stories about the Murdochs is the material the filmmakers got to use. The series draws from thousands of pages of private communications. These include emails, text messages, and documents that have never been seen by the public before . This access means the story is not just based on news reports or interviews. It goes directly to the source material, showing the real conversations that happened behind closed doors.
The docuseries also features interviews with people who know the family best. Since no Murdoch family members agreed to participate, the filmmakers talked to the journalists who have covered them for years. This includes Jim Rutenberg and Jonathan Mahler from The New York Times, who wrote extensively about the trust battle. McKay Coppins from The Atlantic, who profiled James Murdoch, is also featured. Viewers will hear from media personalities like Kara Swisher and former employees of Murdoch-owned news outlets, including Alisyn Camerota and David Shuster from Fox News .
What Story Does Dynasty: The Murdochs Tell?
At its heart, this series asks a simple but powerful question: Is a dynasty a family or a business? For the Murdochs, the answer is complicated because the two have never been separate .
The story follows Rupert Murdoch, now 94 years old, who spent more than 80 years building a media empire. He started with newspapers in Australia and grew his holdings to include some of the most powerful news organizations in the world, including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post. But building the empire was only half the battle. The real fight has always been about who would take over when he is gone.
The docuseries focuses on the tensions that have been building for decades between Rupert and his four adult children: Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence . For a long time, the family kept these struggles private. But everything changed last year.
In 2025, the family fought a legal battle in a Nevada court. The fight was over a family trust that controls the media empire. Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan stood on one side. The other three children, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence, stood on the other. At first, the three siblings won a ruling from a county commissioner. But the case never went to a full trial. Instead, the family reached a settlement last September .
That settlement was huge. It ensures that Lachlan Murdoch will remain in control of the empire until at least 2050. This deal effectively ends the public fight for power, at least for now, and guarantees that Rupert’s chosen heir keeps his position long after his father is gone.
How the Series Connects to Succession and Real Life
If the Murdoch story sounds familiar, that is because it served as inspiration for the hit HBO drama Succession. The show, which ran for four seasons, followed the Roy family and their fight over a media conglomerate. Viewers and critics alike noticed the parallels between the fictional Roys and the real-life Murdochs.
The trailer for Dynasty: The Murdochs does not shy away from these comparisons. One person in the series says that Rupert Murdoch “wasn’t raising children, he was raising possible successors” . Another observer calls the family drama a “‘Hunger Games,’ Murdoch-style” . These comments drive home the point that this is not just a business story. It is a personal story about a father and his children.
The docuseries also covers major events that shaped the family’s history. It looks at the rise of Fox News and the role it played in American politics and media. It also revisits the phone hacking scandal in the UK, which was first exposed by The Guardian newspaper. That scandal led to the closure of the News of the World tabloid and hurt James Murdoch’s standing within the company . These events help explain how the family dynamic shifted over time and why the children ended up on different sides.
Why This Docuseries Matters Now
The release of Dynasty: The Murdochs comes at a time when media ownership and family dynasties are topics of intense public interest. The Murdoch family controls outlets that reach millions of people every day. Their newspapers and television channels influence politics in multiple countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
By telling this story, the docuseries gives viewers a chance to understand the people behind those outlets. It shows the human side of a family that has shaped how millions of people see the world. The private documents and emails add a layer of authenticity that previous documentaries could not offer.
The timing also matters because of the recent legal settlement. With the family feud seemingly resolved, at least for now, this series serves as a record of what happened. It captures the emotions, the betrayals, and the power struggles that defined this chapter of the Murdoch story.
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What Viewers Can Expect from the Four Episodes
Each of the four episodes runs about an hour long. Together, they build a complete picture of the family’s rise and the battles that followed. The first episodes likely cover Rupert Murdoch’s early years and how he built his empire. Later episodes dig into the family dynamics and the legal fight over the trust.
The filmmakers promise an “unprecedented look” at the family . By combining never-before-seen documents with interviews from top journalists and former employees, the series aims to show the private machinations of a family torn apart by power and politics. It also explores the personal side, including the children’s desperate desire for their father’s love and approval.
For viewers who followed the Succession series, this docuseries offers a chance to see how close the fiction came to reality. For those new to the story, it provides a clear and detailed account of one of the most powerful families in the world.
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If you enjoy stories about power, family, and the media, this new docuseries gives you a front-row seat to a real-life drama that shaped the world we live in today. Stay with VvipTimes for more updates on the biggest entertainment releases and the stories behind them.
