The premiere of NBC’s new women-in-New York dramedy “Lipstick Jungle” was neither a resounding hit nor a miss last night, drawing so-so ratings though performing much better than ABC’s similarly themed clunker “Cashmere Mafia.”

“Lipstick” averaged a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49 in the 10 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen overnights, finishing second in the slot behind ABC’s “Lost”-fueled “Eli Stone.”

On the plus side, “Lipstick” held 91 percent of its 9 p.m. “Celebrity Apprentice” lead-in and saw very minimal dropoff in its second half, slipping a mere 3 percent from a 2.9 at 10 to a 2.8 at 10:30 p.m. By comparison, “Stone” slid 23 percent.

But “Lipstick” still didn’t win the timeslot among any of the major female demographics, finishing behind “Stone” in women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, though it was tight in the first two.
And in 18-49s, “Lipstick” was just 0.2 ahead of a repeat of “Without a Trace” on CBS. “Lipstick” averaged 7.6 million total viewers, third in the timeslot.

It was still well ahead of the average for another show in the “Sex and the City” mold, Darren Star’s “Mafia.” That show debuted last month and on Wednesday tied a series low with a 2.0 rating, 45 percent behind “Lipstick’s” debut.

ABC finished first for the night among 18-49s with a 4.1 average overnight rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 3.5/9, NBC and Fox tied for third at 2.9/8, Univision fifth at 1.8/5 and CW sixth at 1.4/4.
 
At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 4.7 for its “Survivor” season premiere, tying last fall’s “Survivor: China” for the lowest ever in franchise history. Fox was second with a 2.7 for “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” and NBC was third with a 2.6 for “Deal or No Deal.” Univision and ABC tied for fourth at 2.2, Univision for “Al Diablo con los Guapos” and ABC for a repeat of “Lost,” while CW was sixth with a 1.8 for “Smallville.”
 
ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 6.4 for “Lost,” off 4 percent from last week’s premiere, followed by NBC with a 3.2 for “Apprentice.” CBS and Fox tied for third at 3.1, CBS for a repeat of “CSI” and Fox for “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” with Univision fifth with a 1.8 for “Pasion” and CW sixth with a 1.1 for “Supernatural.”
 
ABC led again at 10 p.m. with a 3.6 for “Stone,” while NBC held onto second with a 2.9 for “Lipstick.” CBS was third with a 2.7 for a repeat of “Without a Trace” and Univision fourth with a 1.4 for “Amas de Casa Desperadas.”
 
Among households, CBS led the night with a 7.6 average overnight rating and a 12 share. ABC was second at 6.4/10, NBC third at 5.7/9, Fox fourth at 5.5/9, CW fifth at 2.3/4 and Univision sixth at 2.1/3.