Critic Reviews

Because it's fun to watch the rich and mighty stumble and scheme, which novelists as diverse as William Thackeray and Judith Krantz have long known. In the first two episodes at least, the quality of the acting and the writing brings depth to what could so easily be the fetid shallows of life issues of the rich and famous

It seems Darren Star has moved away from the fantasy of the upwardly mobile professional woman who seizes life's pleasures for everything they're worth; his ABC dramedy proves, time and again, that every treasure we hunt for comes with a higher price not listed on any receipt.

It affects a frisky aura of gamesmanship with its tight-knit friends (played by Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville) as they send their distress-text signals to each other, meet up, hash out their obstacles--cheaters, competitors, cads and the clock--and plan their counterattacks.

One reason it all works is the quality behind the concept.

Mostly the series functions as an entertaining if pale sequel to its HBO prototype.

The new show from "Sex and the City" producer Darren Star, is a strained attempt to build another hit about four peacocky New York women who sip martinis and use the word "penis" as often as possible.

Ignoring all that, shallow Mafia entertains in key moments.

Strictly viewed on its merits, though, Cashmere Mafia suffers from a too-familiar feel.

Cashmere Mafia, on the other hand, proceeds as if it were written by someone very far away imagining a cold, hard city in which a woman can get a schmaltzy marriage proposal on a Monday and then be dumped five days later because she beats her fiancé out for a job.

Sadly, though, the cliches rack up even faster than the wardrobe changes.