Set in the opulent Manhattan backdrop, Lipstick Jungle debuted on February 7, 2008 to a mild fan base of only 7.54 million viewers. Television creators DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler captured the essence of this well written novel by Candace Bushnell (Sex in the City author) and transcribed it with crafty precession.
Lipstick Jungle is centered on the lives of three powerhouse
Femme Fatale women who are driven towards success, and prove the male dominants of their industry that it’s no longer a man’s world. The protagonist, Wendy Healy – played by
Brooke Shields, is movie executive at Parador Pictures. Attempting to juggle both work and family, she finds herself tangled in a web of strained relationships with spouse, and at times, friends. Her counterparts, Nico Reilly (
Kim Raver) and Victory Ford (
Lindsay Price), show off their own triumphs and tribulations while continuing the encouragement and loyalty of friends. Nico Reilly, the editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Bonfire Magazine struggles with a staled marriage and her own infidelities with photographer Kirby Atwood (Robert Buckley). The third in the trilogy, Victory Ford, is a struggling fashion designer who happens upon a billionaire named
Joe Bennett, “Mr. Big” (Andrew McCarthy). Timid at first, Victory is won over by Joe’s suave persona and his ability to pull strings in her favor.
Although Lipstick Jungle seemed to be off to a great start, by second season, NBC had decided to cancel the show for lack of viewers. With a failed attempt to reposition timeslots, Lipstick Jungle’s audience dropped to 3.4 million and aired its finale on January 9, 2009.