''Lipstick Jungle'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series created by DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler that aired on NBC from February 7, 2008, to January 9, 2009. The series was produced by NBC Universal Television Studio (now Universal Media Studios). The hour-long series was based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell, who also served as executive producer alongside

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

Oliver Goldstick. The pilot was directed by Gary Winick.

Plot

''Lipstick Jungle'' is a dramedy following the professional and personal lives of three best friends, all of whom are top professionals in their respective careers.

Victory Ford Victory Ford is a lead fictional character of the NBC sitcom/drama '' Lipstick Jungle'', played by actress Lindsay Price. The character was created by Candace Bushnell, who published Lipstick Jungle and ''Sex and the City''. Character history V ...

(Lindsay Price) is a fashion designer, Nico Reilly (Kim Raver) is the editor-in-chief of ''Bonfire'' magazine, and Wendy Healy (Brooke Shields) is the former president of Parador Pictures, currently producing independently. These three powerful women are always there to support one another and navigate the crazy, romantic, and sometimes scary world that is New York City.

Production

The cast initially included Gina Gershon as Wendy Healy, Kim Raver as Nico Reilly, Will Toale as Shane Healy, and Robert Buckley as Kirby Atwood, with Matthew Morrison, Scott Cohen, and Edward Herrmann also attached. The show underwent significant changes, though, with all the aforementioned cast being replaced and with executive producers DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler, writers Rand Ravich and Jill Gordon, and director Nigel Cole all fired. George had been personally cast by Bushnell, but left in early 2007 when she was offered the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' In Treatment''. The show premiered on February 7, 2008. as a midseason replacement taking over '' ER'' spot at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central. The series was slated to have 13 episodes per season, but due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only seven episodes were originally produced for the first season. The first season also competed indirectly with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Cashmere Mafia ''Cashmere Mafia'' is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on ABC from January 6, 2008 to February 20, 2008. The series was created by Kevin Wade, who also served as executive producer alongside Darren Star, Gail Katz, Jeff Rake an ...

,'' created by Bushnell's former creative partner from '' Sex and the City'',

Darren Star Darren Star (born July 25, 1961) is an American writer, director and producer of film and television. He is best known for creating the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000), ''Melrose Place'' (1992–1999), ''Sex and the City' ...

. On February 24, 2008, NBC ordered six additional scripts of ''Lipstick Jungle''. On April 2, 2008, NBC renewed ''Lipstick Jungle'' for a second season when they announced their fall 2008 lineup. The second season premiered on September 24, airing at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central on Wednesdays. One month later, NBC announced that ''Lipstick Jungle'' would move to Fridays at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central effective October 31, 2008. On November 13, 2008, rumors emerged that NBC would cancel the show due to low ratings, but whether the remaining episodes would be aired in the current time slot was unclear. On November 21, 2008, NBC moved ''Lipstick Jungle'' to Fridays at an hour earlier, 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central beginning December 5, for the remainder of the season. On January 9, 2009, the last produced episode of ''Lipstick Jungle'' aired, and it was advertised as the season finale. On January 15, 2009, the show was announced as not yet cancelled, and could be brought back for episodes based on how the new pilots were received. On January 27, 2009, NBC announced that the show would get the "'' Friday Night Lights'' treatment", implying that the show will return on another of NBC Universal's networks for a third season and then replay on NBC midseason. On February 25, 2009, the future of ''Lipstick Jungle'' was once again put in limbo when NBC announced that

Lindsay Price Lindsay Jaylyn Price Stone (born December 6, 1976) is an American television actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Janet Sosna on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' and as Victory Ford on '' Lipstick Jungle''. She is also known for her wor ...

was cast in the pilot for ABC's new drama ''Eastwick''. Had ''Lipstick Jungle'' received an official third-season pick-up from NBC, though, Price would have pulled out of ''Eastwick'' fulfill her contractual obligation to ''Lipstick Jungle''. On March 28, 2009, '' Entertainment Weekly'' reported that the show was officially canceled.

Cast and characters

Main characters

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

as Wendy Healy * Kim Raver as Nico Reilly *

as Victory Ford * Paul Blackthorne as Shane Healy * Andrew McCarthy as Joe Bennett * Robert Buckley as Kirby Atwood (Recurring in Season 1; Main in Season 2)

Recurring characters

* Lorraine Bracco as Janice Lasher (season one) *

David Noroña David Noroña, usually simplified as David Norona, (born December 14, 1972) is a Cuban American actor and director who has appeared in films including ''Though None Go with Me'', TV series including ''The Mentalist'' and '' Jack Ryan'', and various ...

as Salvador *

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

as Dahlia Morales (season two) *

David Alan Basche David Alan Basche (born August 25, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Todd Beamer in the film '' United 93'', directed by Paul Greengrass. He has been a series regular on many TV comedies and dramas, and has also appeared in ...

as Mike Harness * Mary Tyler Moore as Joyce Connor (season two) *

Matt Lauria Matthew Lauria (born August 16, 1982) is an American actor and musician. He made his television debut on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' in 2007. He is best known for his roles as Luke Cafferty on the NBC/DirecTV drama '' Friday Night Lights'', Ryan ...

as Roy Merritt * James Lesure as Griffin Bell (season two) * Vanessa Marcil as Josie Scotto (season two) * Sarah Hyland as Maddie Healy * Carlos Ponce as Rodrigo Vega (season two) * Julian Sands as Hector Matrick (season one)

Episodes

Season one: 2008

Season two: 2008-2009

UK ratings

Below is a table of ratings for UK digital channel Living, the network showing ''Lipstick Jungle''.

Season one

Season one of ''Lipstick Jungle'' began airing on September 22, 2008, on Mondays at 10 pm, following one of Living's most popular US acquisitions '' America's Next Top Model''. The network soon brought in a name for their Monday night schedule, 'I Heart NY Mondays', as both shows are set in New York.

Season two

The second season of the show began airing immediately after the first run's seven episodes had finished.

Home media

International distribution

The series was broadcast on Living in the UK,

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known a ...

in the Republic of Ireland,

Domashniy Domashny ( rus, Домашний, p=dɐˈmaʂnʲɪj, t=Home Channel) is a Russian TV network which targets female viewers aged 25–60. It was launched in March 2005. Domashny was aimed to deliver programming to capture an attractive audience in ...

in Russia, and 7 Network in Australia.

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...

aired the show in Canada, and broadcast by

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

in New Zealand.TV3's 2008 Season Launch , TV3, News
. Throng (October 16, 2007). Retrieved on 2012-05-26.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipstick Jungle (Tv Series) 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American romantic comedy television series English-language television shows Fashion-themed television series NBC original programming Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in New York City