Remember when Tina Fey announced she was doing a comedy about the behind the scenes shenanigans of a "Saturday Night Live"-like show, and then Aaron Sorkin was doing a drama about the behind the scenes shenanigans of an "SNL"-like show, and so for many a week we had both a comedy and a drama about the behind the scenes shenanigans of an "SNL"-like show?
Remember that? Well, I hope back then you managed to differentiate "30 Rock" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip", because that 'huh? They're different shows?' confusion is coming right back at ya.
In the next surprisingly estrogen-filled month, we have two big-hitting shows, seven women, and one poetic match-up. Darren Star will lead off the femme-fest with a special January 6th premiere of "Cashmere Mafia", his follow-up to his HBO cultural zeitgeist "Sex and the City".
Chronicling the lives of four ambitious and sexy New Yorkers - female best friends who've formed the eponymous 'Cashmere Mafia' - you'd be forgiven for wondering whether Star is treading old ground. Hell, even I still can't tell "City" and "Mafia" entirely apart. Sure, the women in "Mafia" are mostly married and/or parents, but I'm still a little wary about the possible recycling factor involved.
That being said, if this is a thinly-disguised tell-all of what happened to Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda after the curtain fell on "City" - I could buy into that. One of the things I liked about "City", especially as the seasons went on, was how the women matured, even if only in little ways. Hopefully "Mafia" will continue that trajectory, and not be a backslide - or retread - for Star and his special niche in television.
Even if "Mafia" is quality television, though, there's always the chance it'll be overshadowed by "Lipstick Jungle", Candace Bushnell's own entry into the vacuum left by "City". Even if Star's genius is undeniable in crafting the "City" HBO series, let's not forget it was Bushnell who literally wrote the book on it - and first. Without Bushnell's best-selling book, Star would have had nothing to adapt.
Bushnell's "Lipstick Jungle" is also vying for the exact same eyeballs as "Mafia": according to network NBC's press notes, "Jungle" 'follows three high-powered friends as they support each other through the triumphs and tears that are part of making it big in New York' - sound familiar? Yep, that's right. Four or three women, these two shows might be entirely too much alike. Echos of the Fey-Sorkin death-match? You bet your Nielsen ratings.
Which makes this match-up even more poetic, of course. Although Star was the part of the brains behind soaps "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place", there's no doubt that "Sex and the City" was his crowning achievement for this viewing generation. And although "Jungle" is Bushnell's first writing foray into television, she's practically the founder of the genre involved here. So the fact that it's these two who are going up against each other - it's like Mr. Sex and the City versus Madam Sex and the City. The Protege of the Genre versus the Mistress of the Genre.
Can't you already see the marquee headlines?
Whether one of them crashes and burns ala "Studio 60", whether they're both good but still too overlapping, whether all the whether's that plagued "30 Rock" and "Studio 60" - this is one catfight you won't want to miss. Let's hope that the competition spurs both creators to polish their gems even brighter, even sharper, and even more dazzling to our lucky eyes.
Besides: the fashion. The shoes! And last but definitely not least: where seven beautiful women go, how many ho-o-tt guys do you think will follow...?
"Cashmere Mafia" premieres on Sunday January 6th at 10 / 9 pm central, following the final pre-strike episode of "Desperate Housewives". "Mafia" then airs every Wednesday at 10 / 9 central, beginning January 9th.
"Lipstick Jungle" premieres Thursday February 7th at 10 / 9 pm central, and airs every Thursday thereafter at the same time.
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