A week from tonight, the Cashmere Mafia vs. Lipstick Jungle battle [1] finally kicks into real gear when Lipstick airs its premiere episode. OK, so it's not as much of a throwdown as I once hoped: Cashmere hasn't been looking so hot in the ratings [2], and thanks to the strike [3], the shows will only overlap for three weeks.
Still, now that I've seen two episodes of Lipstick and four of Cashmere, I can't let the opportunity pass to compare and contrast the similarly named shows. Still confused about which one came from a book (that would be Lipstick) and which one got costume designer Patricia Field [4] (that's Cashmere)? Here's a breakdown of their differences — some serious, some frivolous, just like the shows themselves.
| Cashmere Mafia | Lipstick Jungle | |
|---|---|---|
| Network | ABC | NBC |
| Sex and The City Representative | Darren Star | Candace Bushnell |
| Number of Friends | 4 | 3 |
| Meaningful Character Name | Zoe Burden, overworked mother | Victory Ford, failing fashion designer |
| Series Name Said in Series | Yes | Not yet |
| Most Cringe-Worthy Line | "Kinda like a little bone voyage." | "Do you know how old I am?" |
| Average Age of Its Stars | 38 | 37 |
| # of Affairs in First Episode | One | One |
| Blind Date? | Yes (Mia with a neurosurgeon) |
Yes (Victory with a billionaire) |
| Implausibility (from 1-10) | 9 | 8.5 |