Unscripted

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

'Addicted to Succession? Well, here's the real thing.' Hollywood Reporter

The shocking inside story of how dysfunction, misconduct and scandal almost brought down one of Hollywood's greatest companies.

Unscripted is the inside story of the struggle to control one of the world's great entertainment empires.

It is the story of the last great Hollywood mogul, Sumner Redstone: the ninety-something founder of Paramount Global who, well into his dotage and facing a scandalous lawsuit, proves increasingly unable to run the sprawling company he has built.

It is the story of his daughter, Shari Redstone: Sumner's heir apparent who, despite being groomed for power for six decades, struggles to assert her authority over the company and her family's legacy.

And it is the story of her challenger, Leslie Moonves: the well-liked CEO of CBS who plots a coup to take control of the business - until news leaks that he is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct (allegations he has spent years trying to hush up).

The result is damning portrait of how money and power works in Hollywood now. It illuminates an industry struggling to adapt to the revolution brought by streaming, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. And it reveals the lengths people will go to in pursuit of power - and the carnage that ensues when they do.

©2023 James B. Stewart & Rachel Abrams (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • A racy tale of big money, bigger egos and #MeToo disgrace . . . Like a real-life blueprint for the TV show Succession

    The Times

  • Jaw-dropping . . . an epic tale of toxic wealth and greed populated by connivers and manipulators.

    New York Times

  • A real-life Succession . . . A deeply reported account of one of the trashiest episodes in recent business history . . . Masterful.

    Financial Times

  • Has a business book ever made you blush? . . . With soap-operatic twists and turns, Unscripted makes the amped-up historical fiction of Babylon feel downright chaste by comparison

    Washington Post

  • The sordid family saga that makes Succession look tame

    Esquire

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