Let’s have a look at the similarities between Sex in the City and the ABC dramedy Cashmere Mafia, set to premiere January 6th.

1. The characters are, for all intents and purposes, the same in both shows: Professional women with glamorous jobs and enviable lifestyles. Lucy Liu stars (in the Sarah Jessica Parker type role ?). Miranda Otto, who wielded a sword so well in Lord of the Rings, Aussie star Francis O’Conner, and TV journeywoman Bonnie Somerville make up Cashmere’s fab four.

2. The creator of Sex in the City, Darren Star, is one of the producers of Cashmere Mafia. The series was not created by him, however. Writer Kevin Wade (Maid in Manhattan) created the characters and penned the pilot. The question is not whether Wade’s characters will resemble Star’s, rather, will Mafia’s wit and melodramatics match Sex’s. If the answer is yes, fans of Carrie Bradshaw et al will be ecstatic. If the answer is no, then the world has one more below average prime time soap opera.

3. At least according to the press releases, New York figures to play a major role in Mafia. The new show will surely attempt to make the high society haunts of NYC seem sexy and hip. Sex succeeded in doing that. Or was it simply that Parker and friends made these venues seem thus.

Will Cashmere Mafia be as good as Sex and the City? The answer will be in the writing. Darren Star set the bar pretty high.