The Evolution of Female-Driven Comedy Shows

As Bob Dylan once put it "the times they are a-changin'." What he did not have in mind when he sang this was that his words could be used to explain the depiction of comedy shows as well.

For decades, shows, like The Honeymooners and The Dick Van Dyke Show, were only headlined by larger than life men who controlled the room as they soon as they entered it. Women were usually portrayed as the token spouse giving her husband too much grief over everything. Due in large part to the importance of women in the workplace, shows such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and That Girl showed career ladies struggling to balance their lives rather humorously. Since those shows, the average comedy show has evolved tremendously. The line between comedy and drama has also blurred with a fair share of comedy shows running to an hour while mixing up their storylines with some dramatic moments as well.

The biggest change is that more shows are being headed up with a predominantly female cast, while the men are more background players searching for the occasional scene to steal. A few primary examples of this would be the relatively recent unveiling of both Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle, which have similar plot elements that would make some argue that they are the same show. In an attempt to break down those similarities, there are eleven plot points that demonstrate what both shows have in common. Let's see how both of them fare in depicting each of them.

Inspired by Sex and the City: Many believe that both Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle are only clones of the classic HBO series. They both have similar themes and issues. Both were created by people once involved in the show. Sex and the City's creator Darren Star now runs Cashmere Mafia, while Lipstick Jungle was inspired by Sex's author Candice Bushnell's book of the same name.

Strong neurotic female lead character: The evolution of the female lead now depicts their many different facets. They are no longer one dimensional supporting characters. They are portrayed as individuals searching for the American Dream, and either succeed in one area and fail in another. Jungle's main focus is on Brooke Shield's Wendy, a power player Hollywood movie executive, as she guides her way through her work day and home life. Each episode shows how she struggles to be at the top game in an industry where someone younger and hungrier is willing to knock her off her pedestal. Mafia has Lucy Liu's Mia dealing with being a newly promoted publisher and suffering through her recent broken engagement.

Ironically, some shows are even making their male leads appear more feminine. Take for instance, ABC's Big Shots. The four male protagonists basically complain about their messy personal lives, and bemoan their lovers as control freaks. The twist is that behind closed doors they beg their love interests to love them. The women on the show are portrayed more masculine by being cool, detached, and keeping their men at arm's length. Talk about playing around with gender stereotypes, but in the case of Big Shots the result is less than flattering.

Supportive friends with messy personal lives: In Sex and the City, Carrie was usually supported by three best friends through fun nights out or harsh criticism in her poor taste in men. Shield's best buds in Jungle are Kim Raver's Nico and Lindsay Price's Victory. Like Wendy, both women are high profile women in their given profession: magazine editor and fashion designer. Their personal lives are their only weak link. Nico's marriage to her professor husband is floundering so much that she starts up an affair with a younger man for him to notice her again. In the first few episodes of the show, Victory begins dating a billionaire with a tendency to let his money speak for him. Eventually, that is going to become an issue in their relationship. In Mafia, Mia's three best friends Juliet, Caitlin, and Zoe all endure struggles in their love lives. Juliet's troubles are just beginning as she goes through a nasty divorce with her cheating husband. Their marriage was once based on love, but now it's based on lies. Hopefully, her friends will be there to support her, while Nico's slap some sense into her for committing adultery.

Bevy of potential male suitors: During Sex and the City's run, the four main characters had numerous male suitors to keep their beds warm at night, which were mainly for Kim Cattrall's sexual tigress Samantha. The show basically had a revolving door of men that could never be repeated, especially since Jungle and Mafia air on network television while Sex was an HBO mainstay. Carrie had Mr. Big, while Andrew McCarthy plays Victory's eccentric billionaire boyfriend on Jungle. His character has Mr. Big potential, but it is too early to tell. Mia's ex-fiancé, Jack, could have Mr. Big possibilities based simply on their relationship constantly switching from on again to off again. Unfortunately, audiences won't be able to see if the couple reunites yet again since the number of original episodes remaining for Cashmere Mafia has run out until who knows when.

A benevolent boss/father figure: Both shows have a boss in one character's workplace that is mean on the outside, but sort of fatherly when no one else is looking. In Mafia, Mia's boss Clive is a terror to everyone at Mia's publishing firm, but he always gives Mia blunt advice when he's alone with her. On Lipstick Jungle, Nico's boss Hector is basically a ruthless corporate powerhouse all the time, but he is also a pragmatist. He realizes the same reasons he wanted to fire Nico were why he hired her to begin with: her ability to see the bigger picture, even if no one else does. If both characters were ever to cross paths, a lot of corporate blood would be shed. Let's hope that never happens.

Dip in the lesbian pond: Samantha tried it for a few episodes with a gallery owner towards the middle of Sex and the City's run. Mafia's perennially unhappy in love Caitlin (Bonnie Somerville) had a brief relationship with a female co-worker that ended up breaking her heart like the ones with her male lovers. This new trend in female characters attempting same sex relationship, and failing miserably, shows that love knows no gender distinction.

Passion for fashion: Both shows follow their HBO sibling's sense of style, especially since Cashmere Mafia's costume designer Patricia Field once clothed Carrie and company as well. The clothing choices for Lucy Liu's Mia are likely to spark some fashion trends, but at a more affordable price since not everyone has a limitless network budget.

Balancing career and family: Wendy has to endure with her constant fear that her hectic work life makes her a ghost in her children's lives, while her husband Shane feels he's more Mr. Mom than the man of the house. Zoe is a corporate svengali who can salvage a business deal at the simple turn of a phrase, but she cannot persuade her two children to eat their vegetables. Now that she's temporarily unemployed, she will be driving her family to distraction more than her former clients. Good luck to them.

Good old-fashioned drama: Mafia's Juliet has a strong rivalry with fellow society climber Cilla Gray based on the fact that Cilla had an affair with her soon-to-be ex-husband. Once the affair ended, Cilla blamed Juliet and has proceeded to undermine her friends through gossip rags. She even managed to reinsert herself back into her former lover's life once Juliet's marriage hit the skids. In recent episodes of Jungle, Wendy has to deal with a conniving publisher about to release a scandalous tell-all about her life, and failing to convince the woman not to smear her good name. The expression on Wendy's face when her sworn enemy laughed at her request indicated that she may have lost the battle, but she will win the war. Game on indeed.

A New York state of setting: Both Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle play in Carrie Bradshaw's old playground as the main characters live and love their way to the top of their professional and personal lives. The city is displayed prominently as a personal love letter to all locals who love their city and want it to be seen in the best possible light. Here's to you, New York, hope you love how these two shows portray you.

Love is always complicated: Mia is learning to get reacquainted with the singe life to some hilarious results. One episode she had two suitors: a brain surgeon and her friend Zoe's male nanny. In another, the brain surgeon fell asleep during a late night make out session with her. Kim Raver's Nico is learning to juggle her stale marriage and stealing moments with her much younger lover. In the first episode of Lipstick Jungle, her lover writes his phone number with a Sharpie on Nico's thigh and even flaunts it unnoticed to her usually ignorant husband. Inevitably, Nico will have to explain herself for her extra-curricular activities, but now she can have her cake and eat it too.

In the end, both shows are primarily cosmetic fluff meant to help women escape from their humdrum lives by focusing on the great clothing, and the extremely attractive men seducing television screens each week. These shows might not be for everyone, but there is something in them to talk about at the office water cooler the next day. That's a much better conversation starter than talking about what god-awful tie the boss wore today. Talk about a fashion no-no. Maybe the costume designers from Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle can teach him a thing or two about style. If not, it would simply be fodder for more office gossip.