A new Netflix docuseries tells the story of a family dynasty far more dramatic than that of any ’80s primetime soap. Dynasty: The Murdochs, debuting on Friday, March 13, is a four-part documentary piecing apart the complicated legacy of Rupert Murdoch, his children, and the media empire they control.
Netflix says that Dynasty: The Murdochs, directed by Liz Garbus and Sara Enright, “offers an unprecedented look at one of the world’s most powerful families” and “poses the ultimate question: Is a dynasty a family or a business?”
And even four hour-long episodes can’t even cover all the scandals the family has accumulated in the 21st century so far. Here are our picks for the worst of the bunch:
The family’s succession battle
In late 2023, family patriarch Rupert Murdoch mounted an effort to change the family’s irrevocable trust to ensure that only his son Lachlan Murdoch and not the three other eldest Murdoch children — Prue, Liz, and James — would control the family’s media empire, which includes Fox News, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal. In court, Rupert argued that the other children’s influence would make the family’s media outlets more politically moderate and thus less commercially valuable than they are with their current conservative bent, as The New York Times reported.
Rupert’s legal effort didn’t immediately pay off, but it did set off a years-long negotiation process that culminated in a deal the family announced in September 2025, per the Times. A new trust was set up to grant Lachlan control of the family business until 2050 — with younger sisters Grace and Chloe joining Lachlan in that trust — while Prue, Liz, and James walked away with $1.1 billion apiece for their shares.
Fox News sexual harassment scandals
In July 2016, Rupert Murdoch had to cut short a family vacation to respond to a mounting scandal at Fox News: Former anchor Gretchen Carlson and then-current anchor Megyn Kelly alleged that then-Fox News CEO Roger Ailes had sexually harassed them, according to The Guardian.
Ailes ended up resigning, leaving his post days before a deadline the Murdoch family had reportedly given him to resign or be fired. Ultimately, at least 20 women came forward with complaints about Ailes, who denied the allegations against him, according to Time.
Then, in April 2017, the Murdoch family’s media empire took another hit as Fox News forced anchor Bill O’Reilly out amid another sexual harassment scandal. The New York Times had reported that month that Fox News had kept O’Reilly on its payroll even after he and the company reached settlements with five women who accused him of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior. After an internal investigation, the Murdoch family opted to oust O’Reilly. And in November 2017, 21st Century Fox Inc. agreed to pay $90 million to settle shareholder claims related to Fox News’ sexual harassment scandals, according to Reuters.
Dominion defamation lawsuit against Fox News
In March 2021, Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, accusing the cable news network of purposely airing false claims that Dominion had rigged the 2020 presidential election, per The Washington Post.
“Fox engaged in this knowing and reckless propagation of these enormous falsehoods in order to profit off these lies,” the lawsuit read. “Fox wanted to continue to protect its broadcast ratings, catering to an audience deeply loyal to President Trump.” Dominion’s suit also alleged that Fox tried to lure viewers back “by intentionally and falsely blaming Dominion for President Trump’s loss by rigging the election.”
Fox News, for its part, said at the time it would “vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit in court.”
In June 2022, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis rejected Fox Corporation’s motion to dismiss the suit, adding that the plaintiffs showed the Murdochs may have acted with “actual malice” by airing the claims, as the Los Angeles Times reported.
“These allegations support a reasonable inference that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch either knew Dominion had not manipulated the election or at least recklessly disregarded the truth when they allegedly caused Fox News to propagate its claims about Dominion,” Davis said.
As the case progressed, Rupert Murdoch said in a sworn deposition that some Fox News personalities endorsed false claims about election fraud, according to BBC News. And court documents revealed that Rupert had referred to the claims about Dominion as “really crazy” but did not take action, BBC News reported separately.
In April 2023, hours before a jury trial was scheduled to commence, Fox News settled the case by agreeing to pay $787.5 million. In a statement, Fox News “acknowledge[d] the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”
Phone hacking at News of the World
Rupert Murdoch abruptly shut down News of the World in July 2011 amid renewed scrutiny into allegations that the British tabloid had gathered information on politicians, celebrities, and newsmakers via phone-hacking, per CNN. Days later, Rupert apologized to the public for “serious wrongdoing,” “the hurt suffered by the individuals affected,” and “not acting faster to sort things out.”
In the heat of the scandal came the resignations of Rebekah Brooks as chief executive of News International, Les Hinton as head of the Dow Jones division of the News Group Corporation, Paul Stephenson as Metropolitan Police commissioner, and John Yates as assistant police commissioner. And months later, James Murdoch stepped down as executive chairman of News Corp’s U.K. publishing unit.
In May 2012, a British parliamentary panel said in a report that Rupert “exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications,” The New York Times reported. The panel also concluded in the report that Rupert was “not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company.”
In July 2014, former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was sentenced to 18 months behind bars for conspiracy to hack phones, according to BBC News, which had previously reported that the list of potential phone-hacking victims included more than 4,000 people.
Dynasty: The Murdochs, Series Premiere, Friday, March 13, Netflix
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