Will 'Cashmere Mafia' Soon Be Sleeping With The Fishes?

Molly Friedman — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:42:33 EST

As soon as deals were signed, sealed and delivered for SATC brainchildren Candace Bushnell and Darren Star to helm their own interchangeable shows on rival networks, the claws were out. Rumors of fights between the former successful partners, publicly voiced dismissals of the others' futures in primetime, and an overall tension among loyal SATC viewers concerned about their iconic creators' feud led to a predictable race-to-the-finish come winter pilot season. And now, according to the NY Daily News, we may have a winner. Today's rumor on which Menopause And The City spinoff is most likely to bite the dust first, after the jump...

According to the News, the ladies of Darren Star's Cashmere Mafia on ABC are not going to be blessing us with their rapid, frantic chats, supposedly enviable lives, and tired slurping of Cosmos for much longer:

A source...tells me the suits aren't confident the show will stick around. 'He just said about the show, 'Yisgadal v'yitkadash', the Jewish prayer for the dead,' laughs the ear-witness."

Um, hilarious? But why did Cashmere take the fall instead of the nearly identical Lipstick? One might consider producer Star's rap sheet when it comes to failed dramas; 1995's Central Park West, 2003's Miss Match, and 2005's Kitchen Confidential all got booted after one season each. To his credit, he was the creator of both Melrose Placeand Beverly Hills: 90210, but the 90s fed on Aaron Spelling's soapy LA-centered dramas.

But perhaps the reason behind Cashmere's reported demise has more to do with casting? While Lipstick marked the return of sorely missed stars Brooke Shields and on-set dreamboat diarist Andrew McCarthy, Cashmere relied on the always dependable character actress Lucy Liu to hold down the court as his glossy heroine. And the man candy (handsome but dull Peter Hermann and bright young thing but dull Julian Ovenden) didn't stand a chance in comparison. But in the end, all the suits care about are ratings: with the News reporting the latest numbers as Lipstick's 6.4million viewers to Cashmere's 5.7 million, the rumored shutdown may be a simple case of disappointing numbers.

'CASHMERE MAFIA' MIGHT BE TAKEN FOR A RIDE [Gatecrasher]

Jennifer Connelly Takes the Keanu Reeves Co-Star Challenge

Mark — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:38:19 EST

· Hollywood Out of Ideas, Can't Blame the Writers For the Current Idea Shortage Edition: Jennifer Connelly—an actress we'd pay $14 dollars to watch knitting a sweater or making peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches—will join monosyllabic, paparazzi-punishing superstar Keanu Reeves in Fox's remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. [Variety]
· Big Love polygamist Jeanne Tripplehorn is on board for HBO's movie version of Grey Gardens, playing Jackie O opposite Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore's Big and Little Edies, respectively. THR]
· ABC's Cashmere Mafia might be the first primetime victim of the strike, as the network yanks the new series from its schedule before its originally planned November 27 debut. But good news for those craving Sex and the City-inspired entertainment: NBC hasn't yet abandoned nearly identical project Lipstick Jungle. [Variety]

· Here's a question: does accepting the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship's $30,000 prize technically make the winning scribes scabs? Just wonderin', thanks. [THR]
· Spider-Man 3's strong third-quarter earnings provide a much needed to financial boost to the impoverished movie business. [Variety]

Gawker: defamer, cashmere mafia

Will 'Cashmere Mafia' Soon Be Sleeping With The Fishes?

Jennifer Connelly Takes the Keanu Reeves Co-Star Challenge