# Noble House (1988)

> A besieged tai-pan in colonial Hong Kong fights to save his trading house from a ruthless rival and a secret American backer.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/12900

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 4
- Episode runtime: 94 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, mystery, crime
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Deborah Raffin, John Rhys-Davies, Ben Masters, Julia Nickson, Burt Kwouk, Nancy Kwan, Khigh Dhiegh
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094521/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, glossy, intense, melodramatic

## What critics say

Audiences rate this 1988 miniseries positively, praising its lavish scope and Pierce Brosnan's commanding lead as a Hong Kong trading tai-pan.

## Synopsis

Noble House (1988) is an American miniseries created for NBC, a four-episode business drama set in colonial Hong Kong. Pierce Brosnan plays Ian Dunross, the new tai-pan of the venerable trading company Struan's, who must raise capital while his company is overextended. John Rhys-Davies plays his arch enemy Quillan Gornt, who will stop at nothing to destroy Struan's, and Ben Masters plays American billionaire Linc Bartlett, the private investor who secretly backs Gornt. The engine of the story is a race against ruin, as Dunross scrambles for alliances, rearranges old loyalties and navigates the rivalries of the trading houses. Each episode builds tension through boardroom maneuvering, negotiation and shifting power, with a sumptuous period texture of colonial business life. Its tone is intense and glossy, a soap-inflected prestige drama in the vein of Shogun and Dallas, with fans of Dynasty finding familiar corporate melodrama here.

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