A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Sex and the City | |
|---|---|
 Title card for Seasons 4–6, without the Twin Towers | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Darren Star |
| Based on | Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Sarah Jessica Parker |
| Theme music composer |
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| Opening theme | "Sex and the City Theme" |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 94 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production location | New York City |
| Editors |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time |
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| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | June 6, 1998 – February 22, 2004 |
| Related | |
Sex and the City is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United States on June 6, 1998. They concluded on February 22, 2004, with 94 episodes broadcast over six seasons. Throughout its development, the series received contributions from various producers, screenwriters, and directors, principally Michael Patrick King.
Sex and the City has received both acclaim and criticism for its subjects, characters, and themes, and is credited with helping to increase HBO's popularity as a network.[1] The series has won several accolades, including seven of its 54 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, eight of its 24 Golden Globe Award nominations, and three of its 11 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. The series was ranked fifth on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list,[2] and has been listed as one of the best television series of all time by Time in 2007 and TV Guide in 2013.[3][4] The series still airs in syndication worldwide. It spawned two feature films, Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), and a prequel television series commissioned by The CW, The Carrie Diaries (2013–14).
A sequel series titled And Just Like That... premiered on HBO Max on December 9, 2021.[5] The series features Parker, Davis and Nixon reprising their roles, with Cattrall choosing not to return partly due to her long-standing and ongoing feud with Parker, except for a cameo in the Season 2 finale in honor of the series' 25th anniversary.[5][6][7]
Overview
Set in New York City, the series follows the lives of four women—three in their mid-thirties and one in her forties—who, despite their different natures and ever-changing sex lives, remain inseparable and confide in each other. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker (as Carrie Bradshaw), Kim Cattrall (as Samantha Jones), Kristin Davis (as Charlotte York), and Cynthia Nixon (as Miranda Hobbes), the series had multiple continuing storylines that tackled relevant and modern social issues such as sexuality, safe sex, promiscuity, friendship, and femininity, while exploring the difference between friendships and romantic relationships. The show's protagonist Carrie Bradshaw narrates the series, which follows the better portion of the four women's early lives. It was the writers' way of analyzing social life—from sex to relationships—through each of their four very diverse, individual views.
Development
The show is based on writer Candace Bushnell's column "Sex and the City" published in The New York Observer, which was later compiled into a book of the same name. Bushnell has said in several interviews that the Carrie Bradshaw in her columns is her alter ego; when she started the column she wrote from her first-person perspective, but later invented Carrie, who was introduced as Bushnell's friend, so her parents would not be aware that they were reading about her sex life. Bushnell and the television version of Carrie (who had no last name in the column) have the same initials, a flourish emphasizing their connection. Moreover, like Bushnell, Carrie writes columns for the fictional New York Star which are also compiled into a book later in the series, and later becomes a writer for Vogue.[8]
Bushnell worked with television producer Darren Star, whom she had met while profiling him for Vogue, to adapt the columns for television. HBO and ABC were interested in the series, but Star decided to offer it to HBO for more creative freedom.[9] Star wrote the pilot with Parker in mind as Carrie. According to Parker, "I was flattered but didn't want to do it. He convinced me, begged me to do it, and I signed a contract."[10] The pilot episode was subsequently shot in June 1997, a year before the series premiered.[11][12] However, Parker disliked the pilot, saying "I hated the look, the clothes ... I didn't think it worked" and feared it would end her career.[10] She wanted to get out of the contract, offering to work in three HBO movies unpaid. Though Star would not release her, he listened to her concerns and implemented major changes before shooting the first season. Parker said: "The funny thing, after the first episode of season one, I never looked back and the rest is history. I never thought, though, that the show would become what it has become."[10]
Cast and characters
 | This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (May 2023) |
Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the narrator and main protagonist, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, with each episode structured around her train of thought while writing her weekly column "Sex and the City" for the fictitious paper, the New York Star. A member of the New York glitterati, she is a club/bar/restaurant staple known for her unique fashion sense and lives in a studio apartment in an Upper East Side brownstone. Stanford Blatch, a gay talent agent from an aristocratic family (played by Willie Garson), is Carrie's best friend outside of the other three women.
Carrie is entangled with Mr. Big (Chris Noth), a prominent businessman, an aficionado of jazz and cigars, and a smooth-talking philanderer. Carrie and Big engage in a tumultuous, on-again, off-again relationship, and he is the reason for many of Carrie's breakdowns because he never seems ready to fully commit to her. He is once-divorced by the time the series opens. (In a running joke, whenever Carrie is about to introduce Mr. Big on-camera to another character, she is interrupted before she can say his name, which is John James Preston, revealed in the final episode (Season 6, Episode 20)).
Carrie and Big break up a second time in Season 2 when he leaves New York for a work trip to Paris for the summer and does not show willingness for Carrie to accompany him nor to continue a long-distance relationship, citing commitment issues. Carrie is heartbroken and some months later runs into Big at a party in The Hamptons. He is accompanied by his 20-something year-old girlfriend, Natasha, whom he met in Paris. Despite this, Carrie attempts to be friends with Big. However, this goes awry when he tells her that he and Natasha are getting married, something he'd never considered with Carrie.
In season 3, Carrie meets and is instantly attracted to up-and-coming Manhattan furniture designer Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) who becomes her boyfriend. Aidan is more traditional and patient about relationships than many of Carrie's other love interests, and for a while they are happy together. At a furniture show, the pair run into Natasha and Big, who confides to Carrie that he made a mistake marrying Natasha and wants out. Soon afterward, Big and Carrie begin an affair, which ends only when Natasha catches Carrie at Big's apartment and falls down the stairs while chasing after Carrie. Carrie ends up taking her to the hospital and breaks up with Big.
Wracked with guilt, Carrie tells Aidan of the affair on the day of Charlotte's wedding to Trey, and Aidan breaks up with her. Aidan and Carrie reunite in Season 4, when Aidan opens a bar with Miranda's ex, Steve. Carrie realizes she is still in love with Aidan and wins him back. He struggles to trust her, particularly as Mr. Big has gotten divorced from Natasha, and he and Carrie maintain a platonic friendship. Carrie stands firm on her friendship with Big, even inviting him up to Aidan's cabin after a girl had broken up with him. Though it's clear she and Aidan are very different people, they keep trying to meld their lives.
When Carrie's building goes co-op, Aidan offers to buy her apartment (and the one next door) so they can move in together. She agrees and later finds an engagement ring in his gym bag. Aidan later proposes, and Carrie accepts, though she's not sure it's the right thing.
Aidan is initially patient with Carrie's reluctance to set a wedding date but soon begins to push her, suggesting they get married in Hawaii. Carrie has a panic attack while trying on wedding dresses with Miranda, and again when Aidan is knocking down the wall between her apartment and the one next door. She confesses to Aidan that she's not ready and needs more time. He agrees to slow things down but, at a Black and White ball not long afterward, he pressures her to commit, making it clear that he still doesn't trust that she's over Big. Carrie cannot commit, and they break up soon afterward.
After their affair, over seasons four, five and six, Carrie and Big become real friends, and she thinks she's put her feelings for him in the past. But when Big comes to town in the final season to get "a little heart thing" done, she realizes she still has feelings for him. When Big has a medical hiccup, Carrie takes care of him, and suddenly Big's heart opens to her. It's short-lived however and Carrie decides she's finished with his inability to commit and finished with him.
The famous artist Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov) becomes Carrie's lover in the final season. Despite their age difference, he sweeps her off her feet with huge romantic gestures and shows her foreign pockets of New York she has never seen before.
Aleksandr invites Carrie to move to Paris with him for his work, which is doubly meaningful for Carrie, since it's a reminder of something Big wouldn't do. The rest of the women are not keen on Aleksandr, particularly Miranda, who feels that he is controlling, and that Carrie is different around him.
On the night before Carrie leaves, Mr. Big turns up at her home, apologizing for how he acted after his heart surgery, and clearly wanting to get closer. The two argue in the street with Carrie accusing him of turning up whenever she's happy to ruin things for her. She tells him she's moving to Paris and to leave her alone.
When Carrie arrives in Paris, she finds Aleksandr frequently absent with work on his art show. She is left to wander the streets of Paris alone day after day and begins to regret her decision. She calls Miranda and tells her that she's lonely because Alek is neglecting her, and that she's been thinking about Big.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Charlotte hears a message Mr. Big leaves Carrie on her answering machine admitting that he loves her. Charlotte invites Big to the coffee shop where he enlists the help of Carrie's friends, asking if they think he has a chance. Miranda, armed with the information from Carrie's call, simply says, "Go get our girl", and Big goes to Paris to win her back.
Carrie, having once again been abandoned by Aleksandr (having given up the opportunity to go to a party with some new friends to accompany him to a preview of his show), has it out with him in their hotel room. Aleksandr accidentally smacks Carrie in the face and breaks her diamond necklace.
As Carrie is in the lobby, trying to obtain a room for the night, Big walks in. They see each other, he tells her she's "the one" (something she's been waiting for their entire relationship), and he takes her home to New York.
Charlotte York
Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) has had a conventional, privileged Episcopalian Connecticut upbringing and works in an art gallery. Charlotte is a classic over-achiever and perfectionist: a "straight A" student who attended Smith College, was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma (there are no sororities at the real Smith College) majoring in art history with a minor in finance. During the series, it is also revealed that Charlotte was voted homecoming queen, prom queen, "most popular", student body president, and track team captain, in addition to being an active cheerleader and teen model.
She is the antithesis of Samantha: optimistic, hopelessly romantic, and a believer in true love and soul mates. She places the most emphasis on emotional love as opposed to lust. From the beginning, Charlotte is searching for her "knight in shining armor", and nothing shakes her belief of finding "the one", getting married, and starting a family. All her dating activity during the show is in pursuit of a long-term, monogamous boyfriend with a view to marriage. As such, she typically dates men of "pedigree", status and money (bankers, doctors, lawyers, etc.).
Charlotte can be a dark horse, and it is learnt that she once had a dalliance with an Orthodox Jewish artist, she dressed in drag for a portrait, and she allowed an artist to paint a picture of her vulva. She can be an "East Side Princess" sometimes, and she and Samantha occasionally come to blows over their differing opinions about love and sex.
In season 3, Charlotte decides she will be married that year and sets about canvassing her married friends to set her up on dates. One married friend usurps her blind date to try and start an affair with her. Horrified, she dashes into the street and trips in front of a taxi, carrying Trey MacDougal (Kyle MacLachlan), an attractive, old-money, Scottish-American cardiologist with pedigree, a Park Avenue apartment and country estate in Connecticut. They fall in love at first sight, and he appears to be everything she has always wanted. Things move quickly and Charlotte, convinced he is the one, suggests they marry. He agrees, and they are married very shortly afterward (with the help of wedding planner Anthony Marentino; a gay Sicilian who is as forceful as Charlotte is timid).
Wishing to "do things the right way," Charlotte has withheld having sex with Trey, hoping for a romantic and traditional wedding night. On the evening before the big day, she gets drunk with the other women and goes to Trey for sex. Unfortunately, it does not go well; Trey reveals he suffers from impotence (though he won't say the word).
While concerned, Charlotte presses ahead with the wedding. Minutes before walking down the aisle, she confides in Carrie about what happened the night before and nearly does not go through with the marriage. As the marriage begins things do not get any better in their intimate relationship, and Trey refuses to address matters either physically or psychologically, resisting their marriage counselor's advice. Matters are not helped by Trey's overbearing mother Bunny (Frances Sternhagen), a manipulative sort who intrudes on Trey and Charlotte's relationship and apartment on a regular basis. Not long into the marriage, on a weekend trip to the MacDougal country estate, Charlotte, frustrated by Trey's lack of sexual attention, kisses the hunky gardener, and is caught by a relative. Though Trey suggests they can stay together and have separate lives, Charlotte won't accept this. She and Trey separate, and she moves back into her old apartment.
While separated, Trey suddenly gets his mojo back and they mend their sexual relationship. But it takes Charlotte getting fed up with being a slave to "the penis" that convinces Trey to grow up and invite Charlotte to move back in, which she does. All seems to be well, and soon Trey tells Charlotte he's ready to try for a baby. Having no luck with natural method of conception, Charlotte seeks fertility treatment and is told she has a very low chance of becoming pregnant. Seeking other options, she begins hormone injections and looks into adopting a Chinese baby girl, which Bunny does not approve of.
A combination of these factors once again ignites old tensions with Trey and Bunny, culminating in Trey's deciding he no longer wants a family. Charlotte tries to adjust to this change, but is clearly upset, since having a husband and family were her dream. Trey finally tells Charlotte that she shouldn't have to give up her dream for him. Trey lets Charlotte keep their apartment after he moves out. However, Bunny is not content to let Charlotte keep the apartment and the apartment becomes a contentious aspect of the divorce proceedings.
When Charlotte's marriage ends, she meets Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler), her Jewish divorce lawyer, at the beginning of season 5. She is not attracted to him initially but, spurred on by Anthony, she starts a purely physical relationship with Harry. Harry is the opposite of Trey: short, bald, hairy, uncouth but funny, passionate, and attentive. Their sexual relationship is fulfilling, and eventually they begin dating properly. However, Harry says he cannot be serious with Charlotte because she isn't a Jew.
Believing Harry to be her future, Charlotte converts to Judaism and this sees her struggle with losing her Christian faith and ideologies including Christmas and Easter. After her conversion, Charlotte celebrates her first Shabbat with Harry but loses her temper when he appears to not appreciate all her efforts. The argument quickly devolves into Charlotte's badgering Harry to propose and, feeling pressured, he storms out, and they break up, but not before revealing that Charlotte's dream was in reach after all, that he'd bought a ring.
Charlotte is heartbroken but tries to move on with her life. Sometime later, at a singles event at the synagogue, she bumps into Harry. She tells him she loves him and doesn't care if he never marries her as long as they can be together. Having missed her, too, Harry proposes, and they marry in a traditional Jewish ceremony.
Charlotte, against all the odds, becomes pregnant after acupuncture therapy but loses the baby very early on. Charlotte is crushed, but they later go on to adopt a baby girl, Lily, from China, and it is revealed during Sex and the City that Charlotte later naturally conceives and gives birth to the couple's second daughter, Rose.
Miranda Hobbes
Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) is a career-minded lawyer with cynical views on relationships and men, something she struggles with throughout the show. A 1990 Harvard Law School graduate from the Philadelphia area, she is Carrie's confidante and voice of reason.
Carrie sets up Miranda on a blind date with her geeky friend Skipper, but he is too sweet and passive for Miranda.
Miranda's main relationship is with bartender Steve Brady (David Eigenberg), whom she meets by chance one night. They have a one-night stand, but Steve pursues Miranda, eventually becoming her boyfriend.
Steve and Miranda have a great relationship, but Steve feels uncomfortable with Miranda's success and money given that he makes a low wage. Things come to a head when Miranda attempts to buy Steve a suit to wear to an event at her law firm. He refuses, maxes out his credit cards to buy it, but then returns it and breaks up with her, saying that she deserves someone who is more on her level. Miranda is crushed and wonders if she is being punished for being a financially successful career woman.
Later, in season 2, Miranda runs from Steve when she sees him on the street, but he goes to her house to confront her. They start hanging out as friends but eventually end up getting back together, and Steve moves into Miranda's apartment. Steve is keen to move things forward in their relationship by having a baby, but Miranda cites her career as a barrier to this as she is on partner track at her law firm. Instead, they agree to get a puppy, which proves to be a disaster as she feels she is doing all the work, and Steve behaves like an overgrown child. They break up.
Steve takes Miranda's criticisms to heart and later opens his own bar with Carrie's ex Aidan Shaw. Miranda runs into Steve, who tells her about the bar and thanks her for spurring him on. They begin a friendship of sorts.
In season 4, we discover that Steve has testicular cancer, and Miranda sets out to "help" Steve, realizing he doesn't have healthcare. She helps him through his operation and subsequent treatment, and they become close.
Steve confides that he is depressed about losing a testicle. Feeling sorry for him, Miranda has sex with him. Soon afterward, Miranda discovers she is pregnant (something she thought was impossible, as she had been diagnosed with a "lazy ovary").
At the same time, Charlotte is struggling to get pregnant with Trey's baby and is furious when she discovers that Miranda is not only pregnant but is planning to have an abortion. At the clinic with Carrie, Miranda decides she cannot go through with the procedure and decides to keep the baby. She later gives birth to a son whom she names Brady (Steve's last name).
She and Steve share custody and raise him with the help of Miranda's hired housekeeper/nanny Magda, an older Ukrainian/Eastern European woman who remains a constant in Miranda's life. The show charts Miranda's struggle as a single, working professional mother and her feelings at losing her old single life.
Miranda later realizes she is still in love with Steve. Unfortunately, before she can confess this to Steve, he announces he has a new girlfriend, Debbie—a much younger girl from his native Queens area of New York. Not wishing to rock the boat, Miranda decides not to tell Steve, and things remain platonic between them.
Soon afterward, a new man moves into Miranda's building: Robert Leeds, an attractive African American doctor who works for the New York Knicks basketball team. He is divorced, handsome, and makes it clear that he is interested in Miranda. They start a relationship that becomes serious when Robert tells Miranda he loves her (albeit by giving her a giant cookie with the words, "I Love You", written on it in chocolate chips).
Miranda feels unable to say it back to him, though, and in a moment of epiphany at Brady's first birthday party, she blurts out to Steve that she loves him and is sorry for losing him. Steve reassures her that he loves her too, and soon afterward they break up with their respective partners and get back together.
Miranda and Steve decide to marry in a low-key ceremony in a community garden. Living together in Miranda's one-bedroom apartment (in the same building as her now-hostile ex, Robert) proves to be cramped, and they decide to buy a bigger place and eventually move to a house in Brooklyn (much to Miranda's initial dismay).
In the final episodes of season 6, Miranda and Steve care for Steve's mother Mary, who is suffering from dementia/Alzheimer's. Miranda tells Steve that his mother can come stay with them in the Brooklyn house and even bathes her when Mary has a bad episode. Magda comments to Miranda that the things she does for Mary are what's called love.
Samantha Jones
The oldest and most sexually confident of the foursome, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) is an independent businesswoman with a career in public relations (PR). She is confident, strong, and extremely outspoken, and calls herself a "try-sexual" (meaning she'll try anything once). Early on in the show, Samantha declares she has given up on relationships and has decided to just have sex "like a man", that is: without emotions or feelings, and purely for physical gratification.
Samantha has numerous, extremely brief sexual relationships throughout the show, including a lesbian relationship with an artist named Maria (Sônia Braga). This is her first stab at monogamy, but she soon gets bored and goes back to her old ways. Later, she wins the PR business for hotel magnate Richard Wright (James Remar), who is her male equivalent: good-looking, sexually carefree, and not interested in long-term relationships. She and Richard soon end up together and Samantha feels herself falling for him and is no longer attracted to other men.
Frightened by this, she attempts to hide her feelings, but Richard is also falling for her. He pursues her with expensive gifts and romantic gestures, and despite her reluctance, they begin a monogamous relationship. Not long afterward, Samantha becomes suspicious of Richard and catches him cheating on her, which breaks her heart. They reunite not long afterward when Richard apologizes and showers her with expensive gifts. Samantha initially resists and trashes his reputation all over town but soon she gives in and takes him back. Soon after, Samantha develops jealousy and is unable to trust Richard around other women. She decides to end the relationship before he breaks her heart again.
In the final season, Samantha seduces young waiter Jerry/Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis), a much younger struggling actor. Samantha and Smith have intense sexual chemistry, but she treats him as just another casual fling, although she gives him PR help to bolster his acting career. He mentions being a recovering alcoholic who attends AA. Samantha isn't looking for anything serious, but she is bothered that Smith seems too immature for her. Just when she starts being jealous of Carrie's relationship with the worldly Aleksandr, she runs into Richard Wright at a party she attends with Smith. She and Richard have a brief sexual encounter, but it's clear she's upset it wasn't what she thought she wanted. Samantha cries in the elevator, both for the meaningless sex with Richard and for hurting Smith, but she's surprised to find Smith waiting for her in the lobby.
Smith manages to win Samantha's heart thanks to the strength of their physical connection, and the fact that he just won't put up with her attitude. When Samantha is diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoes chemotherapy treatments, she tries to push him away, but Smith won't be budged. He's there for her, no matter what. When she loses her hair, Smith shaves his head to support her. When she loses her sex drive due to chemo, she is willing to give him his sexual freedom when he's shooting a movie on location. Smith is patient, however, and refuses. When Smith flies back to surprise Samantha in the middle of the night and tell her he loves her, she doesn't respond in kind, she tells him he's meant more to her than any man she's ever known.
They remain together and, in the first film, it is revealed that Samantha has moved to Los Angeles with Smith to further his career and become his manager/agent. However, she breaks up with him in the end because as much as she loves him, she feels she's made their relationship and his career first priority ahead of herself. And she loves herself too much to do that. Plus, she misses having a smorgasbord of men, and she misses her life in New York. She and Smith stay friends.
It has been claimed by Louise Perry that Samantha's character was based on a stereotypical portrayal of the life of a promiscuous gay man.[13][14]
Recurring roles
- List of notables recurring roles during series
| Portrayed by | Character | Notes | Recurring seasons | Episodes | Episode count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Noth | John James "Mr. Big" Preston | Carrie's on-again-off-again boyfriend, later husband. | 1–6 | 1.01–6.20 | 41 |
| David Eigenberg | Steven "Steve" Brady | Miranda's boyfriend, later husband | 2–6 | 2.08–6.20 | 41 |
| Willie Garson | Stanford Blatch | Carrie's friend | 1–6 | 1.01–6.18 | 27 |
| Kyle MacLachlan | Trey MacDougal | Charlotte's first husband | 3–4 | 3.07–4.18 | 23 |
| John Corbett | Aidan Shaw | Carrie's boyfriend, briefly fiancé | 3–4, 6 | 3.05–4.16, 6.01 | 22 |
| Evan Handler | Harrison "Harry" Goldenblatt | Charlotte's lawyer and second husband | 5–6 | 5.06–6.20 | 18 |
| Jason Lewis | Jerry "Smith" Jerrod | Samantha's boyfriend | 6 | 6.02–6.20 | 18 |
| Lynn Cohen | Magda | Miranda's housekeeper | 3–6 | 3.03–6.20 | 13 |
| James Remar | Richard Wright | Samantha's boyfriend | 4–5, 6 | 4.10–5.03, 6.13 | 12 |
| Mario Cantone | Anthony Marentino | Charlotte's wedding planner and friend | 3–6 | 3.11–6.20 | 12 |
| Frances Sternhagen | Bunny MacDougal | Trey's mother | 3–5 | 3.09–5.06 | 10 |
| Mikhail Baryshnikov | Aleksandr Petrovsky | Carrie's boyfriend | 6 | 6.12–6.20 | 9 |
| Ron Livingston | Jack Berger | Carrie's boyfriend | 5–6 | 5.05–6.06 | 8 |
| Sean Palmer | Marcus Adant | Stanford's boyfriend | 5–6 | 5.04–6.18 | 8 |
| Bridget Moynahan | Natasha Naginsky | Mr. Big's second wife | 2–3 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Sex_And_The_City