"Cashmere Mafia" (2008) TV series

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Creator:

Kevin Wade

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A group of successful female executives who have been friends since college turn to each other for guidance as they juggle their careers with family in New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Career | Executive | New York City | Ambitious Woman | Lesbianism

Cast

Lucy Liu	...	Mia Mason (7 episodes, 2008)
Frances O'Connor	...	Zoe Burden (7 episodes, 2008)
Miranda Otto	...	Juliet Draper (7 episodes, 2008)
Bonnie Somerville	...	Caitlin Dowd (7 episodes, 2008)
Julian Ovenden	...	Eric Burden (7 episodes, 2008)
Peter Hermann	...	Davis Draper (7 episodes, 2008)
Lourdes Benedicto	...	Alicia Lawson (6 episodes, 2008)
Addison Timlin	...	Emily Draper (5 episodes, 2008)
Nicholas Art	...	Luke Burden (5 episodes, 2008)
Kate Guyton	...	Tracy (5 episodes, 2008)
Noelle Beck	...	Cilla Gray / ... (4 episodes, 2008)
Kate Levering	...	Katherine Cutler (4 episodes, 2008)
Kevin Kilner	...	Clayton (4 episodes, 2008)
Daniel Gerroll	...	Clive Hughes (4 episodes, 2008)
Griffin Matthews	...	Patrick (4 episodes, 2008)
Peyton List	...	Sasha Burden (4 episodes, 2008)
Emily Reed	...	Chic New Yorker / ... (4 episodes, 2008)
Tom Everett Scott	...	Jack Cutting (3 episodes, 2008)
Jack Yang	...	Jason Chung (3 episodes, 2008)
Purva Bedi	...	Juliet's Assistant (3 episodes, 2008)
Cuyle Carvin	...	Publisher (3 episodes, 2008)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | USA:TV-PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Back East Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood (#33.5)" (2008)

Desperate Business Women In The City

Let's see, there are four close female friends who struggle at their private lives, while they're highly successful in their jobs:

Mia(Lucy Liu) who loses her fiancé who couldn't deal with not being able to keep up with her. Zoe (Frances O'Connor)who tries not to neglect her children, while balancing her career. Juliet (Miranda Otto) who has to deal with a rebellious teenage daughter, while her husband has an affair. Caitlin (Bonnie Sommerville) who discovers that the person with whom she might spend her life with, might be a woman.

Poor "Cashmere Mafia" just premiered on ABC and has already to prove itself. With four women as leading ladies and stories which focus on sex, friendship and love, the show draws comparisons to successful cult favorites like "Sex and the City" and "Desperate Housewives", not to mention the upcoming similar themed "Lipstick Jungle".

While "Cashmere Mafia" might look like a cheap knock-off of "Sex and the City" , the show actually tries to achieve something else and differentiate itself from its successful ancestors by addressing real life issues like gender rivalry or successful family/business management. Unfortunately the show suffers from stereotypes and a pretty clumsy execution of a concept that might look promising on paper.

Especially the plot which revolves around Caitlin realizing that she might be gay is executed in the most unbelievable way you could imagine. While it's not a bad idea to include a Lesbian/Bisexual in a show which focuses on four women, the execution of the whole storyline lacks of realism. In the beginning of the episode Caitlin breaks up with her boyfriend just to fall in love with a woman the next morning, who magically appears to be a Lesbian as well. The moment in which Caitlin realizes that she might have an interest in this woman is executed very ridiculously with silly music in the background, a long focus on Caitlin's face with a dorky smile.

The dialogue of the show feels forced at times, especially when the male writers want to underline how close and "female" these four women are. The actresses do their best, but lack of chemistry. So far they don't really feel like close friends, but if you look back at the premieres of shows like "Desperate Housewives", you see that it wasn't there from the beginning either. There is still the possibility that they develop more chemistry over the course of the series.

The show is not really male-friendly. The male characters are pretty much undeveloped in opposite to the women and fall into clichés. There has to be a cheater, a man who can't deal with his girlfriend being more successful than he is and the loyal puppy-husband. It's understandable that they focus more on the ladies, but it wouldn't have harmed the show if they treated the male characters equally well and had made them a little bit more complex.

After watching the pilot, the show feels like an underwhelming mix of "Desperate Housewives" and "Sex and the City". Two characters of the show even strongly reminded me at characters of "Desperate Housewives". Juliet is very similar to Bree since she is the readhead who tried to keep up appearances all the way through the pilot, while Zoe feels like a younger Lynette since she has to struggle with the same issues.

The show definitely has some potential to get better, but so far, the show hasn't really been very impressive nor realistic. It definitely needs a chance to grow and I am not sure whether audiences give the show enough time to get better.