The chemistries of X and Y

On their way to work from their suburban homes, middle-management buddies on ABC's "Carpoolers" commiserate over "losing their place" as men.
Over on "Cashmere Mafia" (ABC, again) women -- ambitious "Sex and the City"-style Manhattanites -- understand. After all, says Juliet (Miranda Otto), the chief operating officer of a hotel whose husband is having an affair, consider what men have to "give up" to be with powerful women. "We make more money. We rise higher. We take up more space."
From "Big Shots," a show about powerful chief executive officers trying to maintain their alpha male status, to "Women's Murder Club," a series about girlfriends in police-medical-legal professions who band together to get ahead, the small screen is bursting with same-sex ensemble shows -- many set in New York -- this fall.

Judging by all the gender bonding, it appears the battle of the sexes has reached a new level of confusion requiring regular meetings just to obtain information about the opposite sex.

Interplay between the sexes is a staple of screwball romantic comedies such as "The Philadelphia Story" and "Some Like It Hot." The genre continued after the women's movement with movies such as "When Harry Met Sally" and "What Women Want." On the small screen, men and women tried to figure each other out on "Moonlighting" and are still trying on "Grey's Anatomy."

But only since the rise of "chick lit" and the spectacular success of "Sex and the City" have networks turned to same-sex ensembles in shows that revolve around relationships.

"For the most part, female ensembles have dominated," said "Big Shots" creator/ executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman, citing "Desperate Housewives" and "Sex and the City."

It's no mystery, said Tim Brooks, executive vice president of research for Lifetime, since women make up 55% of prime-time network audiences. "Most shows, not all, on the broadcast and many cable networks go after female audiences," he said.

Two of the new shows clearly want to pick up where "Sex and the City" left off. Darren Star Productions, which produced the HBO hit, is also producing "Cashmere Mafia," about a group of Ivy League college friends juggling work and family in New York. The show stars Otto, Lourdes Benedicto, Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor and Bonnie Somerville.