science and innovation | January 17, 2026

Who Is Logan Roy Based On? – Celebrity

We do not know much about Logan’s early family other than his brother Ewan Roy, with whom Logan had a falling-out. He was raised by his aunt and uncle in Quebec, Canada before moving to America. At some point after moving to the United States Logan married his first wife, who gave birth to his first son, Connor.

Brian Cox initially had reservations about playing his singular character of Logan Roy on Succession because he would have to pay “this horrible man for all this time.”

More recently, Brian Cox, who plays Logan Roy in the show, reiterated this point to Radio Times magazine when asked whether he based his character on Murdoch or even the late Robert Maxwell, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Silvio Berlusconi. “There are bits of all of them in Logan,” he said. “But also the family have increasingly become their own thing.

Early on, it’s demonstrated that Logan Roy, at 80 years old, is in poor health—there’s even a confused urination scene to open the series. At the end of the first episode, Logan suffers a near-fatal stroke, which causes his children to discuss who should take over the company should he not make it through.

Where was Logan Roy born?

Logan Roy was born into humble circumstances in Dundee, Scotland, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War on October 20, 1937. Logan grew up in poverty, his widowed mother took the decision to send him to be raised in Quebec, Canada. There he was rasied by an Uncle Noah, with a print shop and a few advertising billboards and an aunt with a herd of cattle. He was beaten savagely as a young man by his uncle, the scars of which he still bears on his back. Logan himself has made a decent way for himself over the next 60 years. He started what is now the fifth-largest media conglomerate in the world, Waystar Royco. He is now friends with prime ministers and presidents.

We do not know much about Logan’s early family other than his brother Ewan Roy, whom Logan had a falling out with. He was raised by his aunt and uncle in Quebec, Canada before moving to America. At some point after moving to the United States Logan married his first wife, who gave birth to his first son, Connor.

Shiv was brought into Waystar Royco for her hands-on training with [Logan. Kendall Roy shoplifting is an open-secret to Gerri, Logan, Shiv, Jess, and Colin. It’s unknown what happened to Rose Roy, beyond the fact that she is a very sensitive topic and Logan has blamed himself for her death.

At the annual RECNY Ball, Logan discovers that Kendall was planning to announce his retirement. Logan goes to speak in place of Kendall and announces “I’m back”. Thanksgiving. Upon Ewan Roy arriving at his house, he is kindly greeted by Marcia and his children.

Logan wants Shiv to work with Gerri, another six months in Hong Kong, and 12 months with him, along with other strategy projects, that would take up to three years before Logan feels she’s ready.

After the game Logan fires Frank to make room for Roman, as part of their agreement. He instructs all his kids to fly in his helicopter, and after a fight breaks out, he sustains a stroke. After Logan’s stroke, the brothers are all trying to do damage control.

Logan arrives in Washington to meet with the President, but worries he’s been snubbed following a last-minute cancellation at The White House as the President claims he has an act of terrorism to deal with. At the eventual board meeting, Kendall, who is stuck in traffic, announces the vote over the phone.

What are the similarities between the Redstones and the Roys?

Similarities: Like the Roys, the Redstones control a media conglomerate. Through their National Amusements holding company, the family controls majority stakes in CBS and Viacom. There’s also been some real-life succession drama: Shari Redstone, the 64-year-old daughter of patriarch Sumner, filed a lawsuit on May 29 that alleges CBS has inappropriately attempted to strip her of control of that company. (The suit was a response to one filed by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves on May 14.)

ADVERTISEMENT

Jesse Armstrong, the creator, executive producer and showrunner of Succession, has said that the characters on the new HBO show are a fictional family. But a few years ago Armstrong also wrote a screenplay about the inner workings of the Murdoch family that was never produced, so that comparison is inevitable.

Sam Dangremond Contributing Digital Editor Sam Dangremond is a Contributing Digital Editor at Town & Country, where he covers men’s style, cocktails, travel, and the social scene. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

What episode does Logan Roy buy PGM?

But in season two, episode three, “Hunting,” a new kind of player enters the game. Logan Roy announces his intention to acquire PGM, a media company owned by the Pierce family, which opens the door for Armstrong to aim his razor-sharp wit at what Logan calls “those blue-blooded fucks” of the old media world.

Save this story for later. When Succession creator Jesse Armstrong set out to make his HBO series about power and family conflict in the world of New York media he had a very specific type of business mogul in mind.

Even the Bancroft family —which sold the Wall Street Journal off to Rupert Murdoch in 2007—was known to consist of some “restless socialites and horse enthusiasts whose hobbies required access to substantial funds,” as New York magazine put it in 2008.

Roman tries to reach out to Naomi to get the ball rolling on a deal, but Naomi alerts the rest of the family, who shut negotiations down before they start. This infusion of great actors, alone, is fantastic news for such a masculine-power-heavy show.

In other words, if Succession ’s Pierce family works like the real-life Sulzbergers, then Logan Roy will need to get a family consensus before he can buy the company out from under them. And if the Pierces are anything like the Sulzbergers, then there’s plenty of material for the Succession writers to work with.

Related