Logan Roy
The patriarch
Power, hierarchy, and a conservative media empire.
Traditional ConservativeOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Conservative hall →- Role
- Media patriarch (fiction)
- From
- Succession
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Traditional
- Placement
- +60 · +36 · −44
§ Where Logan Roy stands
3 axesLogan is a ruthless capitalist who treats Waystar Royco as personal property to be defended against regulators, rivals and his own children. His politics follow his business interests, from fighting off a hostile takeover bid joined by his son Kendall in Season 1 to agreeing a sale to the Swedish tech giant GoJo in Season 3 that cuts his children out.
Logan is authoritarian by temperament and a kingmaker by trade. He rules his family and company through fear and humiliation, uses ATN to shape American politics, and in Season 3 personally anoints the far-right congressman Jeryd Mencken as the Republican presidential candidate, preferring a strongman who will serve his interests to democratic norms.
Logan's conservatism is temperament as much as ideology: an old-school patriarch, he despises weakness, mocks his children's liberal pieties and treats tradition as a matter of hierarchy and dominance. His ATN network trades in right-wing populism, and the candidate he backs is a nationalist hostile to immigration and liberal institutions.
How close are you to Logan Roy?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
FictionLogan Roy is the patriarch at the centre of Succession, the HBO drama created by Jesse Armstrong that ran for four seasons from 2018 to 2023, and is played by Brian Cox. A Scottish-born, self-made tycoon, he founded and controls the media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco, whose businesses include the right-wing news channel ATN, theme parks and cruise lines. The series follows his four children, Connor, Kendall, Roman and Shiv, as they scheme to succeed him while he refuses to let go.
Logan dramatises the fusion of capital, media and political power in the era of the Murdochs, with whom the series was constantly compared, and his dynastic cruelty turns a boardroom drama into a study of how such power reproduces itself. His death on a plane early in the final season sets up its climax, in which ATN helps install a far-right president. Brian Cox won a Golden Globe in 2020 for the role, and his dismissal of his children as not serious people became one of the show's most quoted lines.
Notable for
- 01Built Waystar Royco (in-story)
- 02Right-wing news kingmaker
- 03Dynastic succession drama
Key works & moments
- 2018HBO premieres Succession, with Brian Cox as Logan Roy.
- Season 1Survives a brain haemorrhage and defeats Kendall's attempts to oust him.
- Season 2Sacrifices Kendall over a cruise-line abuse scandal; Kendall publicly turns on him.
- 2020Brian Cox wins the Golden Globe for best actor in a television drama.
- Season 3Anoints Jeryd Mencken as presidential candidate and agrees to sell Waystar Royco to GoJo.
- Season 4Dies aboard his private jet; ATN's election-night call helps put Mencken in power.
In Logan Roy's words
“I love you, but you are not serious people.”
§ Minds closest to Logan Roy
All minds →
§ Also in the Conservative hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Logan Roy's political ideology?
Logan Roy is a hard-edged media conservative for whom politics serves power and profit: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Traditional Conservative. Economically he sits well to the right (+60), a ruthless capitalist defending his family's empire against regulators, rivals and his own heirs. On governance he leans authoritarian (+36), ruling by fear and backing a far-right strongman for president, and socially he is traditional (−44), an old-school patriarch whose ATN channel peddles right-wing populism.
Is Logan Roy left-wing or right-wing?
Right-wing. Logan owns a right-wing news network, mixes with Republican power brokers and, in Season 3, personally picks the nationalist Jeryd Mencken as the party's presidential candidate. The show presents his conservatism as transactional rather than principled: he backs whoever protects Waystar Royco, and he despises the liberal leanings of his children, especially Shiv, who works for a progressive senator early in the series.
Is Logan Roy based on Rupert Murdoch?
Partly. Succession's creator, Jesse Armstrong, had earlier written an unproduced screenplay about the Murdoch family, and Logan's right-wing news channel, dynastic succession fight and transatlantic background drew constant comparisons with Rupert Murdoch. But the writers also drew on other media dynasties, such as the Redstones, and on tycoons like Robert Maxwell, so Logan is best seen as a composite rather than a portrait of any one mogul.
Which minds are closest to Logan Roy?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Logan Roy are John Howard (96% alike), Nigel Farage (96% alike) and Winston Churchill (96% alike). The furthest is Emma Goldman (5% alike).