'Lipstick' Days Are Over . . . 'In the Motherhood' in Jeopardy?

Sending tubes of lipstick to the NBC HQ may have temporarily staved off the cancellation of Brooke Shields' Lipstick Jungle. But no more. 'Tis the end of the road. The fat lady has sung. The end has arrived for the trio of Lipstick Jungle gals. The show has been canceled.

But then again, the news stories about the show's stars jumping ship and joining the casts of other TV programs should have given us viewers a clue that the Jungle would not be resurrected . . . yet one more TV show about powerful women to be tossed to the scrap-heap.

Meanwhile, news about ABC's brand new show, In the Motherhood -- a comedy about three mothers, including Will & Grace's Megan Mullaly and Curb Your Enthusiasm's Cheryl Hines -- is likewise grim. The Los Angeles Times reports that the original 13-episode order was cut to seven. Doesn't bode well, my friends.

I saw In the Motherhood's premiere last week. It was okay, nothing genius, but still, it had potential. I wish that ABC would give the show a longer leash and not be so trigger-happy to cancel and cut back. If all of comedies were cut off or put on notice so quickly, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy many years of Seinfeld, which wasn't exactly brilliant at the start. Just sayin'.

Image credit: NBC/TV Guide.

There May Be Life to 'Lipstick' Yet

Fans of Lipstick Jungle who've been anxiously waiting to find out if the NBC fortysomething career gal drama will return for a third season after the show was publicly put on life support at the end of 2008 may have reason to be gleeful. Key word: MAY.

Speaking at a conference in Las Vegas an NBC exec said that because "Lipstick Jungle is so strong and has such a passionate base among a coveted demographic" the network may seek to find a way to keep it on the air, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

One potential solution? Giving it what Broadcasting & Cable called "the Friday Night Lights treatment."

Friday Night Lights, in case you're just tuning in at home, is a critically acclaimed, incredibly poignant NBC drama set in a blue collar Texas town where high school football is king, although the show is about much more than football. The show was perpetually on the cusp of being canceled due to low ratings. But then someone at DirecTV or NBC or somewhere within the NBC family had a brilliant idea: They ran the entire third season on DirecTV first, and just started airing it on network television two weeks ago.

NBC Entertainment exec Ben Silverman has said that Lipstick Jungle could use a similar approach. "We have some incredible channels in our portfolio and we have sister networks that love the show as well," Silverman said. "We are analyzing what we need to do to keep that show on the air."

Maybe all those ladies sending all those tubes of lipstick to NBC are changing some minds. I certainly hope so. Jungle sure beats tacky reality shows on any day of the week.

Image credit: NBC.

Fans Rallying to Save 'Lipstick,' 'Mad Men's' Hamm to Guest on '30 Rock'

NBC has renewed the comedies The Office and 30 Rock, but still hasn't decided what to do with Lipstick Jungle, the embattled Brooke Shields drama about three fortysomething, successful gal pals in NYC, a show for which I've been cheerleading for a few weeks.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, an NBC honcho said of Lipstick, "We have to wait and see what our pilots are and what the mix of shows are." Whatever that means.

If you want to try to save the show, you could always join the rabid fans who, in addition to mailing tubes of lipstick to NBC, have started:

-- An online petition which says in part, "We are loyal fans that feel that Lipstick Jungle deserves a chance to stay on the air. It is a show based upon friendship, fashion, relationships and successful career driven women and it is what television needs nowadays. There are too many reality shows that people cannot relate to. Women can relate to Lipstick Jungle and relate to aspects of their lives. If you cancel the show you cancel a truly amazing show that deserves time to develop and progress the storylines."

-- Another petition says, "We, the undersigned, have greatly enjoyed NBC's Lipstick Jungle TV show. We are extremely disappointed that the series has been cancelled. We ask that you continue to produce more episodes so that it will have a chance at growing a larger audience."

-- A Facebook page which also attempts to rally supporters.

Meanwhile, images from Jon Hamm's (aka Don Draper) upcoming three-episode stint on 30 Rock as Tina Fey/Liz Lemon's love interest are cropping up on the internet. The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan reports that Hamm will play a doctor who lives in Lemon's building and that his first episode will air on Feb. 5.

Image credit: Contactmusic.com.