Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you're probably aware that Lipstick Jungle premieres this week (Thursday at 10 EST). After all, NBC has been promoting the bejeezus out of it at every possible opportunity. Jungle is the second of this season's Sex and the City knock-off, mid-season replacements to premiere. (The first, of course, is Cashmere Mafia, which I was less than impressed with.) Way back in November (before Mafia's premiere was pushed back by the WGA strike), I handicapped both series based on their potential for bitchery, and put my money on Cashmere Mafia coming out on top. Considering how that show has turned out, I sincerely hope that I was wrong, and that Lipstick Jungle will be the juicy, bitchy show that we all could use to spice up our prime time viewing.

Lipstick Jungle is based on the novel by Candace Bushnell (author of Sex and the City). I have not read the book, myself, but I took a look at some of the reader reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com, and let's just say that they don't tend towards the glowing end of the spectrum (various editions seem to average about 2.5 out of 5 stars). The general consensus is that it's a poor substitute for Sex and the City with older characters who are more successful in their careers. I'd imagine that we can expect to hear similar complaints about the television series.

Lipstick Jungle stars Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price. Shields is Wendy, a movie executive with a young son. Raver is Nico, editor of a fashion magazine, and Price is Victory, a fashion designer (and therefore the "free spirit" of the group). Each struggles to balance career and personal life. Sound familiar? Like Cashmere Mafia, it looks like the over-arching theme of Lipstick Jungle is going to be the struggle women face when trying to balance a high-powered career with their personal lives. Is it me, or did Diane Keaton cover this territory 20 years ago in Baby Boom? Shouldn't we be past this by now? (But then, what do I know? I have a low-powered career and live alone with my cats.)

I'm just hoping that Lipstick Jungle will be good and juicy. In one of the previews, Kim Raver's character announces that she's sleeping with a 25-year-old, and there's a sexual harassment suit pending, which seems to be a good start. Cashmere Mafia turned out to be a beige pashmina. Nice enough, comfortable, pretty...but not too exciting. Here's hoping Lipstick Jungle will have more in common with a Chanel lipstick in Vamp than a Cosmo-flavored Bonne Bell Lip Smacker.

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Amy Kane spends as much quality time with her television as possible, when she's not busy at her day job as a cube dweller.

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