Power, Privilege And Consequence Collide In Netflix Thriller ‘Anatomy Of A Scandal’

Salacious news headlines involving powerful married men having affairs with beautiful work colleagues are nothing new and though this dynamic is the basis for the Netflix drama Anatomy of a Scandal, in this case, there is so much more to the story.

In this psychological thriller, based on Sarah Vaughan’s bestselling novel of the same name, nothing is as it first appears. This story goes well beyond the typical he-said, she-said headline as the truth unravels throughout the six-episode limited series. The suspense begins as the news breaks and shatters the marriage of James and Sophie Whitehouse (Rupert Friend and Sienna Miller). The viewer is then privy to the lies and cover-ups that are unearthed during the court case that follows.

The couple is the epitome of Britain’s elite. James is a Minister in Parliament and Sophie is his perfectly-poised counterpart. They have everything in the world going for them including a beautiful home and well-behaved children. Everything is under control until the scandalous news is leaked to the media. Initially, James believes he can contain the damage but soon their personal and political lives crumble. As if things aren’t dire enough, he has to go against hard-hitting Barrister Kate Woodcroft (Michelle Dockery) as she ruthlessly rips him apart in court.

In a joint phone interview, executive producers Liza Chasin (The Loudest Voice, Baby Driver) and Bruna Papandrea (Gone Girl, Big Little Lies, The Undoing) spoke about the complexity of this particular story where lines are blurred and the truth is buried under layers of privilege and old money.

The longtime friends were both sent Vaughan’s book at the same time and instead of competing against one another, they decided to band together to get the rights. This was the first project Chasin wanted to do after leaving Working Title and starting her own company, 3dot Productions.

“It was very competitive,” Chasin reflects. “There were a lot of heavy-hitters vying for this book. So, we teamed up and had to fight for it but we felt confident that we knew what it could be.”

Papandrea, whose production company Made Up Stories is focused on female-centric storytelling, felt compelled to tell this tale about wealth and power mixed within a toxic male culture. “Sarah’s novel and this show take a very complex look at systemic privilege which is a real problem in our society. The #MeToo movement has made it so everyone is talking about it but this is still happening all over the world.”

Both describe James Whitehouse as an entitled man who is used to getting what he wants and they explained that the question of consent was a heavily-discussed topic of conversation during filming. We have certainly seen this play out in numerous real-life news stories.

“I believe no means no and that shift can come at any point,” Papandrea says. “This was a challenging story to tell and as we’ve discussed with Sienna, this is a show people will be arguing about at dinner tables. Anything that provokes a debate is a good thing and I’m very interested to see how audiences react.”

The topic of consent comes up again. “If no one has ever told you no, can you understand the meaning of the word?” Chasin asks. “James has always had what he’s wanted. People have always said yes. It feeds into what this show is really about which is privilege and ultimately the corruption of privilege. There are moments we see that he wants to be a good person but he’s clouded by entitlement and his position. I’m certainly not saying this is forgivable by any means but it’s much more complex than asking if he’s a good person or not. We are looking at this culture of feeding the monster of entitlement and what that breeds. This is part of the question we have to ask when talking about this.”

Papandrea points out that Sophie is also partly to blame. “She fed into the privilege and game they all played and this makes you ask a lot of questions about her, as well. It’s not black and white.”

Each of the characters in Anatomy of a Scandal is forced to grapple with split-second decisions and the consequences that follow. “Isn’t a split second sometimes the difference between life and death? That’s the crazy thing about life,” adds Chasin.

Starring alongside Miller (American Sniper, The Loudest Voice), Dockery (The Gentlemen, Downton Abbey) and Friend (Homeland, Death of Stalin) are Naomi Scott (Aladdin, Charlie’s Angels), Josette Simon (The Witches), Geoffrey Streatfeild (The Other Boleyn Girl) and Joshua McGuire (Lovesick).

Anatomy of a Scandal comes from creators, writers and executive producers David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Goliath) and Melissa James Gibson (House of Cards, The Americans) with S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones, The Defenders) executive producing and directing all episodes. Vaughan and Allie Goss of Made Up Stories also executive produce with Margaret Chernin as co-executive producer.