Cashmere Mafia, the new NBC show, is finally set to premiere on January 6 at 10 pm on ABC. One of the four main characters will be a lesbian.

Does that date and time sound familiar? It should. It's also the date and time of the The L Word Season 5 premiere. Cashmere Mafia -- a prime time Sex in the City type show with a lesbian character -- is going up against THE lesbian show. So what about this lesbian character? Caitlin, one of the four main characters, will be played by Bonnie Somerville. Caitlin is not only going to find herself attracted to a woman for the first time, played by Lourdes Benedicto, but the character will be a lesbian, according to Somerville.

In a terrific interview with VelvetPark Magazine, Somerville has a lot of good things to say about her character, and how the show will handle the lesbian storyline:

• If you're writing a story about 4 successful women in corporate women, one of them would have to be gay.
• My love interest is a very sexy Latin lately named Lourdes Benedicto...We meet, and I'm completely shocked. I meet this person, I fall for them, and they happen to be a woman. It's just really cool.
• VelvetPark Magazine: This is prime time network television...will you be doing any kissing.
  BS: YES. We are really pushing it, I have to say.
  VP: And how to you feel about it. Are you cool with it?
  BS: I'm cool with it. I said if we're going to write this story, let's push it as far as we can go because I don't want to be half-assed about it, and I don't want to be letting anyone down. I don't want to be disrespectful to my gay and lesbian friends and have them go, "You guys are wimps, you don't even do anything." You know...why do the heteros get to make out all the time? We push it. We've gotten cat calls in the street (while filming). We've gotten people walking by going "Oh my God" and screaming at scenes (between Bonnie and Lourdes). But we are pushing it, and I'm really proud of it.

A video interview on abc.com that may have been filmed earlier than the Velvetpark video shows an optimistic Somerville, though not as strong as in the Velvetpark interview

"I definitely found it interesting and challenging, and I was scared of it. And most importantly, I wanted it to be real and true and not exploitive or sensational. This is a girl who is lonely and struggles with love, and her friends know that. She's had bad luck. And she meets a person--whether it is a guy or a girl. She meets a person and this person likes her. And she's lonely and they kiss. And there's a feeling, and it's not bad or good or wierd or what. This is a person. It doesn't matter. I don't care if you're gay or straight or bi. And that's what I liked about it. They didn't make a big deal about it. There's no drama. She's a little bit nervous to tell her friends...but I'm sure the friends that she has will be supportive of that.

 

All in all, lesbians should give this show a fair shake. While "only" 1 of 4 characters is lesbian, we have to remember that there are essentially no other lesbian characters on network television in primetime. ABC seems to have invested in the classy production of the show, and they're positioning it on their very strong Wednesday night lineup (Pushing Daisies 8 pm and Private Practice 9 pm). Now that one of the big 3 has finally given us something to look at, let's give it a fair shot and watch at least a few episodes before coming to conclusions.

We've got a fan site open, hoping for the best from the show. We've got a forum and a fan fiction library open. Please note--the fan fiction library is a powered by a newer version of the fan fiction software here on l-word.com. It truly has a books/chapters feature to allow authors the ability to keep all their chapters neatly organized in one book, with a handy drop down between chapters. We're hoping Cashmere Mafia does a fabulous job with the lesbian storyline. It's off to a good start!

© 2006 Jesse Grant/WireImage.com