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TV series
Poster for War and Beauty

War and Beauty

2004 · 1 season

A slow-burning, emotionally intense palace drama where every smile hides a scheme and every alliance is fragile.

Overview
Fifteen years after Qing Emperor Jiaqing was crowned the country appears to be in harmony. However, fights between the imperial concubines escalate. All the imperial concubines including the emperor's beloved Yu-Yue understand this and becomes nervous when the triennial imperial concubine election approaches. Yu-Yue's position is threatened by an imperial descendant, Yuk-ying, a powerful eunuch's adopted daughter, Yi-Sun, and an experienced imperial servant maid On-Seen. They are friends and enemies in the war for the emperor's love. The four beautiful women are either friends or lovers of an imperial physician Sun Bak Yeung and a trooper Kong-Wu. Plots and lies undermine their love and friendships in the palace.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • power
  • betrayal
  • corruption
  • obsession
  • grief
Places
  • single country house
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • serialised
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour2
Realism6
Romance5
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity8
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Created by
Jonathan Ki-Yee Chik
Written by
Chow Yuk-Ming
Starring
Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Charmaine Sheh Sze-man, Gigi Lai Chi, Sheren Tang Shui-man, Bowie Lam Bo-yee, Moses Chan Ho, Jade Leung Tsang, Rebecca Chan Sau-Chu
Length
1 seasons, 30 episodes, 60 min each
Network
TVB Jade
Country
Hong Kong
Languages
Cantonese

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