Nine
is pinning a lot of hope on its new comedy-drama Cashmere
Mafia – and with good reason. This year, Nine and arch-rivals
Seven and Ten have each secured shows out of the US dealing with
the theme of successful women seeking balance in their lives.
While Seven plumbed for Lipstick, and Ten went with Women's
Murder Club, Nine has gone for Cashmere Mafia, a
show that might have a slight edge due to the heavy presence of
Australian talent in the line-up.
Cashmere Mafia follows the fortunes –
or perhaps, misfortunes – of four Manhattan women. The first
episode introduces us to Mia Mason (Lucy Liu), a publishing executive
who’s just gotten engaged but is almost immediately thrown
into a contest with her fiancé for a prime position in
the company they both work for. Faced with this personal and career
crisis, she does what she always does – calls on her network
of powerful female friends. These consist of Zoe (Frances O’Connor),
a merchant banker and working mother dealing with a nanny crisis;
Juliet (Miranda Otto) a high flying COO with a dozen deals on
the go at any one time and a rebellious teenager at home; and
Caitlin (Bonnie Somerville), a marketing director who’s
having a relationship meltdown.
Essentially, the series focuses on how the bonds
of friendship between these women carry them through their various
personal and professional tribulations. The difficulty for Nine
is that this female-bonding theme has all been done before –
and better (Sex and the City; Desperate Housewives).
Indeed, the presence of Darren Star as executive producer on the
show throws up immediate comparisons with his far more successful
Sex and the City.
Those who follow such things will know that Star
was originally working with SATC creator Candace Bushnell on a
new series (which became Lipstick). Star bailed on that project;
only to pop up at a rival US network with this series –
thus providing a real-life reference point for the various business
shenanigans explored in the series.
Despite
Star’s track record, there’s little about Cashmere
Mafia that doesn’t feel forced – from the way
the women announce their corporate roles to the oh-so-serious
lunch table conversations between them. In fact, this series has
strayed so far from the smarts and edginess of Sex and the
City, that a more accurate comparison is probably Seven’s
dreary Brothers and Sisters.
The other key issue for Nine is that I can’t
see too many people relating to the show on a personal level.
I mean, the number of people who have direct experience of the
kind of lives depicted in the series is likely to be fairly small,
especially outside the capital cities. So it relies on “real
life” problems to keep people sticking with the series.
These issues (relationships, family etc) are pretty stock-standard
TV fare these days, and I have doubts that the characters just
aren't strong enough, nor the situations “real” enough,
to keep viewers coming back.
The show rotates its focus through the four women,
so all the leads get a chance to shine. I have to say I was impressed
by Frances O’Connor; not just because of her flawless American
accent, but because she makes her character the most down-to-earth
of the four. Miranda Otto seems to be trying to channel Marcia
Cross’s Desperate Housewives character as Juliet; Lucy Liu
is essentially playing a corporate version of her Charlie’s
Angels character; and Bonnie Somerville struggles to elbow
in on the action. As for the men, well, they’re essentially
window-dressing here.
Cashmere Mafia isn’t a great start
to the new television year. While the show has its moments, it’s
a tepid pastiche of previous Darren Star shows, with little to
suggest it can provide any real impetus of its own. It’s
a shame, because it clearly had potential; but sadly ends up being
several dollars short of a deal.
Phil James
To see a preview of Cashmere
Mafia, click the play button below:
Nine
is pinning a lot of hope on its new comedy-drama Cashmere
Mafia – and with good reason. This year, Nine and arch-rivals
Seven and Ten have each secured shows out of the US dealing with
the theme of successful women seeking balance in their lives.
While Seven plumbed for Lipstick, and Ten went with Women's
Murder Club, Nine has gone for Cashmere Mafia, a
show that might have a slight edge due to the heavy presence of
Australian talent in the line-up.
Despite
Star’s track record, there’s little about Cashmere
Mafia that doesn’t feel forced – from the way
the women announce their corporate roles to the oh-so-serious
lunch table conversations between them. In fact, this series has
strayed so far from the smarts and edginess of Sex and the
City, that a more accurate comparison is probably Seven’s
dreary Brothers and Sisters.