Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (Sept. 14, 2007)

As faithful BLWE readers are well aware, it's usually a struggle to find enough lesbian/bi entertainment news to write about in this column each week. But this week there's almost too much to cover: Cashmere Mafia scoop! Leisha Hailey goodness! Sarah Paulson news! Tila Tequila's bisexual train wreck dating show! Plus Ellen's talk show gets gayer, there's L Word casting news, Iyari Limon resurfaces, HBO features a cute lesbian couple, Sarah Bettens speaks out, and the AfterElton.com guys do a funny riff on Jodie Foster. There are even fun new lesbian books!

It's an embarrassment of riches, so please forgive the length of this week's column as I revel in it. Rest assured, we'll no doubt return to our regularly scheduled dearth of lesbian entertainment news next week.

CASHMERE MAFIA INFILTRATED BY THE LESBIAN MAFIA
There are still two months to go until ABC's Cashmere Mafia debuts on Nov. 27th ... and I've got some news that will make the wait seem even longer! An AfterEllen.com. reader connected to the show sent me a rundown of the retooled pilot, which recently finished filming, and the good news is **spoiler alert** not only does the lesbian story line remain, it's actually getting fleshed out even more to provide some back story.

Creator Kevin Wade told us he was going to do this when we spoke with him at the TCA Summer Press Tour in August, but I'll admit, I was skeptical. It's just so unlike broadcast network television to upsize a lesbian character's role — we're usually lucky just to escape without getting killed off. But so far, Kevin appears to be a man of his word.

Here are a few screencaps of the first kiss between Caitlin (Bonnie Somerville) and Alicia (Lourdes Benedicto) in the pilot:

Cashmere Insider (as I have now nicknamed our in-the-know AE reader) sent us even more good news **spoiler alert again**: The second episode, which is being filmed now, is chock full of "Calicia" (as I am now nicknaming the Caitlin-Alicia pairing — you heard it here first!), including dirty dancing, more kissing and the requisite coming-out angst when Caitlin runs into an old boyfriend while she's out on a date with Alicia.

Plus, Caitlin comes out to her three friends (played by Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto and Lucy Liu), and two of the three admit to having had same-sex dalliances of their own. I won't tell you which ones, but I will quote what one of the women says when confessing to a previous lesbian experience (note: this may get cut or changed when they're shooting): "I went to Wellesley; it's practically part of the curriculum." As a Wellesley grad myself, I should protest that overgeneralization — but I won't. It's too funny. And a tiny, little bit true.

Think you know which character said that? Leave your guesses in the comments, and I'll put the answer in the comments on Monday. And stay tuned for more Cashmere info as we get it.