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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Cashmere’ good fit for Liu


From left, Francis O'Connor, Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville star in
Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn Associated Press

“It was never a goal to be out of television or in television,” Lucy Liu says of her return to TV in ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia.”

It’s her first role as a series regular since 2002, when her wicked turn as the fiery Ling Woo on “Ally McBeal” ignited a film career.

Liu has had her share of unforgettable big-screen moments, be it in the “Charlie’s Angels” movies or in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Vol. I,” where she showed herself to be a tough chick with mean kicks.

Still, Liu longed for something more.

“I love doing action movies, I love kung fu, but that doesn’t express who I am as an artist. What about the acting part of it?” the 39-year-old New York native says.

There’s plenty of that in “Cashmere Mafia,” in which Liu leads an ensemble that includes Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto and Bonnie Somerville.

Liu plays aggressive publishing executive Mia Mason, who, despite being head-to-polished-toe together, has a troubled personal life.

“I didn’t want her to be this confident person who had everything together,” she says. “It’s more interesting when somebody is flawed. You can find so many other gifts that they have to discover within themselves and overcome.”

You may notice something very “Sex and the City” about “Cashmere,” what with it being centered on the lives and loves of four successful women in Manhattan.

That, and its pedigree: Darren Star of “Sex and the City” executive-produces, and wardrobe designer Patricia Field outfits the cast.

However, Star says, “This show stands alone from ‘Sex and the City.’ This show is very much about the paradigm that has shifted in that balance of power between men and women in the workplace and how women are dealing with that.”

Which sounds similar to the upcoming NBC drama, “Lipstick Jungle,” produced by “Sex and the City” author Candace Bushnell about three New York businesswomen.

“This one is really about the lie of having it all,” offers Sharon Hall, senior vice president of development at Sony Pictures Television, which produces “Cashmere.”

“At the end of the day having it all, for these women, is that they have each other.”

Considering the notion of “having it all,” Liu shakes her head.

“It’s all very confusing because I think what you want changes,” she says.

These days she’s focused more on her humanitarian efforts with UNICEF and “contributing to society globally.”

And while she says she’s not as career-driven as she had once been, Liu has been doing more lately behind the scenes.

She served as executive producer of both a 2006 documentary, “Freedom’s Fury,” about the politically tense 1956 Olympic water polo match between Hungary and Russia, and last year’s action comedy “Code Name: The Cleaner.”

Next she’ll executive-produce and star in “Charlie Chan” for 20th Century Fox.

So it’s not surprising to learn that she’s collaborative on “Cashmere” as well.

“She challenges us to really keep it real, to keep it current and reflect real life,” says creator and executive producer Kevin Wade.

“Lucy’s brought a sense we don’t have – and I think this is really key,” Wade continues, “that she doesn’t ever want to play – nor should she be written – as hard-driving and tough-at-work and hard-driving and tough-with-men, or conversely as sort of a wallflower or subservient in her love life or social life.”

Still, not all of Liu’s suggestions are heeded. For instance, in the series pilot, Mia’s fiance was warned never to utter the “R-word” – meaning “relax” – to his ambitious bride-to-be.

“I was like, I don’t agree with that scene – that a woman would just flip out over somebody telling her to relax,” Liu says.

“But the men,” she says, referring to those who produce the show, “felt very strongly that ‘relax’ was something that really sparked people to get all incited about, like ‘Don’t use that word!’ “

Later she suggests that the battle of the sexes behind the scenes of “Cashmere” could be its own show.

“And maybe we will if the strike continues,” says Liu, who supports the Writers’ Guild of America walkout.

If the work stoppage continues, it could prove detrimental to the future of “Cashmere,” which completed just seven episodes by the time of the walkout. (The third episode airs tonight.)

Says Liu: “What’s happening now with the strike is incredibly important, and sometimes it leads to better things, even though there’s going to be a lot of sacrifices in the meantime.”