War and Beauty

War and Beauty (Chinese: 金枝慾孽) is a Hong Kong television period drama serial that originally aired on TVB Jade from 23 August to 2 October 2004, consisting of 30 episodes. It stars TVB Best Actress winners Sheren Tang (2009/2010), Maggie Cheung (2003), Charmaine Sheh (2006/2014), and Gigi Lai (2004 - she won the award for her work in this drama). It also stars TVB Best Actor winners Bowie Lam (2004 - he also won the award for his work in this drama) and Moses Chan (2007). It received widespread praise among critics and audiences for its acting and plot. It continues to remain one of the most popular TVB dramas and is often referenced as the first drama series that sparked the popularity for palace scheming dramas in Hong Kong such as Beyond the Realm of Conscience and Mainland Chinese dramas including Empresses in the Palace, Story of Yanxi Palace and Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. In 2022, the drama was selected as one of ten classic TVB dramas being honoured for a new joint Youku and TVB programme. In 2022, Tang, Cheung, and Sheh reprised their roles for the Zhejiang Television, Youku, and TVB-produced variety show Memories Beyond Horizon.