Sunday, February 3, 2008

Lipstick Jungle

Thursdays at 10:01 p.m. on NBC

Basic story: In the mighty Manhattan jungle, three high-powered women try to conquer the professional world while managing their more fragile personal lives. Wendy (Brooke Shields) is a movie executive and mommy just discovering that her marriage isn't perfect. Magazine editor Nico (Kim Raver) struggles with an inattentive husband and a much younger admirer, and Victory (Lindsay Price) has seen her fashion line crash even as her romantic prospects rise. "Lipstick Jungle" is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell (author of "Sex and the City"), who is an executive producer.

What it faces: "Eli Stone" on ABC and "Without a Trace" on CBS.

What you'll love: An endearing Shields is particularly effective as someone torn between her family and her career. Raver puts on perhaps the most believable front as a professional force to be reckoned with, but it's nice to see her deal with the emotional fallout of her relationships as well. And Price injects the right amount of cute into her role without laying it on thick.

What you won't: Some of the circumstances strain plausibility -- Victory's rich-beyond-belief boyfriend, Wendy's mostly absent children and Nico's work on a sexy photo spread with a young royal. Plus, with all of their personal dramas, how do these women find the time to look so fab?

Bottom line: With zippier dialogue and more likable protagonists than its ABC rival "Cashmere Mafia," this trio could earn some loyal fans. And in the strike-ridden schedule, "Lipstick Jungle" could be the show you watch without wanting to admit it.

-- Becky Krystal