Civil Wars 

Eli Levinson and Sydney Guilford are top divorce attorneys in NYC. The dynamic changes when Charlie Howell is hired and Eli takes a lower profile. Sydney and Charlie develop a flirtatious ... See full summary »

Creators:

Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein, Bruce Helford

Stars:

Mariel Hemingway, Peter Onorati, Debi Mazar

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Mariel Hemingway	...	Sydney Guilford 36 episodes, 1991-1993
Peter Onorati	...	Charlie Howell 36 episodes, 1991-1993
Debi Mazar	...	Denise Iannello 36 episodes, 1991-1993
Alan Rosenberg	...	Eli Levinson 36 episodes, 1991-1993
David Marciano	...	Jeffrey Lassick 36 episodes, 1991-1993

Storyline

Eli Levinson and Sydney Guilford are top divorce attorneys in NYC. The dynamic changes when Charlie Howell is hired and Eli takes a lower profile. Sydney and Charlie develop a flirtatious arrangement while concentrating on their client's problems.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | client | divorce attorney | lawyer | female lawyer | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batalhas Conjugais

Filming Locations:

Stage 20, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Steven Bochco Productions,20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (36 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the show was canceled, Executive Producer William M. Finkelstein transferred two characters, "Eli Levinson" and "Denise Iannello" (played by Alan Rosenberg and Debi Mazar) to L.A. Law (1986).

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Quotes

Judge: People come to court looking for justice, but sometimes all they get is money.

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Connections

Referenced in Parker Lewis Can't Lose: Civil Wars (1992)

User Reviews

Interesting failure

This drama about a law firm specializing in divorce cases represented a return to normality after producer Stephen Bochco's bizarre "Cop Rock." Peter Onorati (who got perhaps the only positive notices from the earlier show), Mariel Hemingway, and Alan Rosenberg played the lawyers who comprised the firm, with Rosenberg's character having a tenuous grip on mental health. Debi Mazar was the firm's secretary, with David Marciano as her boyfriend, a delivery boy. The plots probably suffered by the limitations of divorce cases, but creatively the show was similar to L.A. Law or The Practice. Unfortunately, the series didn't attract enough viewers to last longer than about a season and a half. After "Civil Wars" ended, Rosenberg's and Mazar's characters moved over to L.A. Law's cast for that show's final season.