TV Review (1)

Read my take on a new show on ABC during an exchange with a Globe and Mail columnist here:

The City Gal from Toronto: I watched the first episode of the new show Cashmere Mafia apprehensively. My suspecions were correct. This show seems to be a cheap attempt at recreating Sex 'n the City (without the originality and autheticity that made Sex 'n the City a hit). This new show is more like Desperate Housewives, even though it is made by the same producers as Sex 'n the City. It has no chance of becoming a hit in my opinion. What is your take on this show?

Andrew Ryan: Cashmere Mafia stands as proof that there's really nothing new on TV today. In press materials, ABC has been describing the show as a "a thinking-woman's Sex and the City mixed with the wit of The Devil Wears Prada," which is a bit much. As you say, the show is closer in TV species to Desperate Housewives. The four female principals—Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville—present wildly idealized versions of the modern working woman. Each is single and looking, more or less, and each has a fabulous wardrobe. Most of what airs on television is more style than substance, but Cashmere Mafia is off the charts in terms of frivolity. Like yourself, I believe the show has no chance of survival, but keep in mind that many critics predicted Housewives would only last a few weeks.

Prediction at City Gal Headquarters: Forget Desparate Housewives and Gray's Anatomy, if the writers end the strike soon, amongst the hit shows of the season will be Brothers & Sisters for its political content and portrayal of the all-American family.