Series “War” | War of the Starlets

Like "Celebrities under Palm Trees" only more aesthetic and sophisticated, but actually you're just watching the rich and famous being disgraced. Photo: Sky How high is the market value of a marriage in the world of the rich and powerful with a celebrity factor? And what does that mean for the huge assets including the economic ties in such a marriage if there is a separation? What mechanisms are used to dissolve such a marriage? The series “War,” co-produced by Sky and HBO, explores these questions. The eight-part series tells of the divorce of London tech mogul Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) and his wife Clara Duval (Sienna Miller), a Hollywood actress. And as the programmatic title suggests, the divorce war being negotiated here definitely takes on the characteristics of a military campaign.

With “War,” the outdated legal series genre is raised to a new level. The lavishly made series with a British star cast presents the City of London as the setting for this conflict in an aesthetically sophisticated way. While the smug tech mogul is represented by the 200-year-old law firm Cathcarts, Clara Duval relies on newcomers Taylor and Byrne, a young, over-ambitious couple who are currently expecting their first child. While Cathcarts meets in dark, wood-paneled rooms, Taylor and Byrne sit with the young team in light-flooded offices with a view of the London skyline.

With “War,” the outdated legal series genre is raised to a new level.

How tough the fight is will only become apparent over the course of the series, which packs this escalation into an incredibly exciting narrative arc. “War” is very dialogue-heavy and shows well how important rhetorical skills are or, in the best case scenario, can be for the legal profession. The dispute revolves around the question of who actually has how much of an economic stake in the man's multimillion-pound company. Because he met the acting star when he was still an unsuccessful entrepreneur himself. How much has his wife enabled his company to succeed? Morgan Henderson feels unassailable.

His tech company Zephyr is a European social media platform founded to counter the right-wing, hateful, racist, sexist and polarizing posts from American platforms. Did he actually found the company because he wanted to protect his wife from verbally violent posts? How close was their marriage? What role did their professional commitment play? And what about the son Carla brought into the marriage, who now celebrates wild parties as a rich, spoiled teenager?

“War” is not a relationship series. The marriage history of the two opponents is not really broken down, but rather is highlighted in discussions and meetings. The long-term marriage is therefore more of the raw material from which the two law firms knit their strategies. Of course, tricks are used as much as possible. One law firm even places an informant on the team of opposing lawyers and is therefore always one step ahead. Then the media gets involved and appearing on a podcast becomes a key moment in a law firm's strategy until the other side makes up for it with a new move. The cards are shuffled again. The economic circumstances of the respective law firm also play an important role.

Not only the spouses, but also the lawyers are playing with high stakes. At some point, the tabloid press even hailed the case as the “divorce of the decade.” The series goes through the individual steps from the attempted out-of-court settlement through preliminary proceedings to the actual trial.

Entire squads of law firm employees are assigned to the case, lugging boxes of files around and sometimes working all night long in shifts. “War” stages this spectacle quite appropriately with aggressive meetings in law firms, with dinners in outrageously expensive restaurants, with the arrogant behavior of the two spouses, with cheeky paparazzi, plenty of sexual desire, with cunning, deceit and villainy. The supposedly intimate look into the world of the super-rich always has a voyeuristic character.

Knowing that those who have everything are also fallible bunglers is one reason why the culture industry loves to engage with this class. But it is also fascinating to know about the moral depths, for example when tech mogul Henderson promises a consultant a million pounds if he immediately strips naked - just for fun. A tough assessment will then be made in court. Viewers seem to really like this, especially when it comes to rich people. If the craftsmanship is also good, like in this series, it has high entertainment value. A second season is already planned.

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