Cashmere Mafia: Pilot (series premiere)

(S01E01) Meet Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte. Oh wait, I mean, meet (from the left) Juliet, Caitlin, Zoe and Mia. These are the ladies of Cashmere Mafia, ABC's new show that premiered last night but will be running at its regular time on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. So, this show is basically "diet" Sex and the City (you can use "watered down" SATC if you like). And if you watched last night, it shouldn't surprise you that Darren Star is one of the producers behind the show and that Patricia Fields is the costume designer.
Some similarities to the HBO classic series include: four girlfriends who counsel each other over lunch and drinks in New York City, quick (sometimes pithy) dialogue, good acting (for the most part), and great clothes courtesy of Fields. Differences? For starters, it's on network TV, so no sex. The other biggest difference however is that all the women are uber-successful. They all met in business school and now conquer the worlds of publishing, hospitality, advertising, and finance.
I think I'll review this episode by discussing each of the four main characters. Let's start with Mia Mason who is played by Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal, Charlie's Angels, Kill Bill). Mia gets engaged in the very beginning of the episode only to find that she must compete against her fiance for an important job. She, of course, wins the promotion using some sneaky tactics to land clients and her fiance Jack calls it off. Her story was a little predictable but Lucy Liu is great. The last scene with Mia and Jack played really well. I believed her that she wanted to be a wife and have children but that she also wanted to be successful in her career. I thought audiences could empathize with her position. 
Next there's Juliet Draper played by Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings). Just a quick note--can you believe this is the same woman from LOTR? The icy COO of a hotel chain, Juliet finds out that her husband is cheating on her during this episode (well, she knew he was cheating, she just didn't know about this one). Zoe spots Davis kissing Cilla Grey. Cilla is a kind of rival for the four ladies and gives them their name "Cashmere Mafia" at the end of the episode. I wonder what will happen with her. Cilla mentioned that she possessed some information about Juliet.
Just when I was wondering where the "mafia" was in the show, Juliet dropped a bomb on her husband Davis. She's decides to get even by telling him to look around at all their friends because one of those lucky guys will be sleeping with her soon. Caitlin helped Zoe get revenge too. Remember early in the episode when Caitlin told Cilla that she would help out with Cilla's purchase of a co-op? Well, apparently, Caitlin did put in a word for Cilla (it just wasn't the word Cilla wanted). 
My two favorite characters so far are Zoe and Caitlin. Caitlin Dowd, played by Bonnie Somerville (Kitchen Confidential) is the wild one of the bunch. She's a little irreverent and will be the woman who says what the others are thinking. Also interesting about Caitlin is her confusion about her sexual orientation. She even discusses it with her brother who's a priest (that will make for a good dynamic later on).
Lastly there's Zoe Burden, played by Frances O'Connor (Mansfield Park). I think I like her the best. She reminds me of Lynnette on Desperate Housewives (back when Lynette was an advertising executive). Zoe is trying to balance her mega-career and her two children. In the beginning of the episode, her nanny has left her for a family across the street (who offered more money and a whole lot of perks). She's basically in the same position at the end of the episode with her new nanny (no, ex-nanny--that one quit too).
Overall, I liked it. Of course, it's not as magical as Sex and the City but who can really tell after one episode. And with Desperate Housewives all wrapped up for now, this will be my "diva-drama" for the winter. What did you think of Cashmere Mafia?
| Mia (Lucy Liu) | |
|---|---|
| Caitlin (Bonnie Somerville) | |
| Zoe (Frances O'Connor) | |
| Juliet (Miranda Otto) |

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