Understand the importance of Sex and the City for the history of television

Based on the semi-autobiographical book of the same name by Candace Bushnell and created by Darren Star, Sex and the City was a six-season series on the former HBO that became a huge success and one of the most important and influential series of the early 2000s. 

This is a series that combines humor and drama by portraying the achievements, failures and possible loves of four (almost) inseparable women. The first and protagonist is Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), our narrator, journalist and writer whose main theme for her columns is issues that reflexively involve the relationships and sexual lives of single women. Her friends and also the main characters of Sex and the City include the realistic and obstinate Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), the idealistic, naive and (our) dear Charlotte York and, finally, the self-sufficient woman with free sexuality Samantha Jones ( Kim Cattrall). 

Despite being great friends, each one has their own peculiarities and differences, which makes everything more interesting, especially when the episodes bring up issues involving complexity and dilemmas. It is in them that we can see the clash between personalities. Love, betrayal, losses and unusual situations are the basis of the series. Furthermore, New York's role is much more than a setting for the story. The relationship of the four with the city and its importance to the plot is made very clear, often being a highlight. 

It's great to see that Sex and the City has maintained its popularity, as it was a series that revolutionized its time. It's strange to think of women's freedom as a taboo today, but at the time it was still a more controversial subject. So there is nothing more comforting than seeing single women on screen in search of great love, yes, but mainly with the right to have fun, meet different suitors, be with their friends and, finally, explore the meaning of being a single person without the pressure of a external standard. 

Of course, at the time this topic was already “big” enough that other important issues were not able to be given the same care when addressed and some details ended up aging poorly. Unfortunately, there are many stereotypes and little representation, but this is largely due to the context and perhaps the time. But that is a complex debate for another time.

Recapping Sex and the City 

How are we going to recap the timeline de Sex and the City, focused on Carrie as a base, This excerpt contains spoilers, so if you haven't seen the series and the spin-offs, I recommend reading it later. Remembering that the series’ timeline manages to follow the passage of time in real life.

If we count from the original series, we will follow the main moments of Sex and The City based on Carrie, from her single life at age 30 to being a widow at age 50. 

On the Serie Sex and the City (1998-2004), we follow the protagonist from 32 to 38 years old. At the beginning of the first season, there is a line in which she says she is 32 years old, in addition to the fact that in the story she was born in October. Another indication that Carrie ends the series at the age of 38 is the title of the episode “Catch-38”.

Em Sex and the City – The Movie (2008), Carrie is between 41 and 42 years old, taking into account that it takes place two years apart and was released four years after the end of the series. In the premise, four years after the various adventures of Carrie Bradshaw and her best friends, Carrie is in a serious relationship with her boyfriend, Big (Chris Noth). Samantha is a cancer survivor and is in a monogamous relationship with Smith Jerrod. Charlotte and her husband live on Park Avenue. And Miranda, in Brooklyn, feels the pressure of family life. At a certain point in the film, the editor of a magazine asks Carrie to be on the cover of the next issue with an article in which she is presented as a bride in her 40s, which proves the timeline theory. 

Already in Sex And The City 2 (2010), a sequel that premiered two years after the first film, Carrie is between 43 and 44 years old. Here, we can see the protagonist's married life with Big and how she is adapting to this new reality, while moving further and further away from her youth. In addition, we followed the four friends' vacations in Abu Dhabi and some unexpected events. 

No novo spin off …And Just Like That (2021-present), which takes place 11 years later, Carrie appears at 55 years old. Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbs and Charlotte York face typical midlife issues: the loss of youth, the aesthetic pressure of getting older, marriages that turn into divorces, growing children and new career aspirations.

In this new phase, Carrie appears to be somewhat conservative in comparison to the new generation – which may be ironic, after all the main topic in her column was about sex. Meanwhile, Miranda reviews her sexuality and discovers new paths, Charlotte deals with the challenges of being a mother and Samantha, unfortunately, does not return due to behind-the-scenes issues. 

This is actually a bonus. We had a spin-off there in 2013 called The Carrie Diaries. Even though it only has two seasons, it managed to give a glimpse of what Carrie's adolescence would be like. In the series, we follow her 16-year-old version, played by actress AnnaSophia Robb, who is in high school, torn between her passion for fashion, family ideals, romance and new friendships. Because it was an origin series, so to speak, it didn't really need anything extensive, but it was so fun that it would be worth another season. 

Character profile 

Carrie Bradshaw 

In her screen version, Carrie still carries some characteristics of the character from the book, but everything is much more enhanced and somewhat exaggerated. Luxury reigns in your life as Sarah Jessica Parker, with an obsession with shoes, designer clothes and a good cosmopolitan with her friends. It doesn't matter which day of the week.

The main moments of Sex and the City involve Carrie's passion for New York and also this incessant search for true love. Not just her, of course, her friends too. Through the series, we get to know trendy restaurants, nightclubs and emblematic streets of the city, making us want to buy a ticket there and live that dream, even if just for a few days. Furthermore, like author Candace Bushnell, Bradshaw also managed to get her column turned into a book. 

She is the protagonist of the series, but that shouldn't mean that everything is centered around her, but it ends up being so. So much so that many fans criticize her and consider her one of the most boring characters on Sex and the City. On the other hand, the uncomfortable characteristics are also those that portray her as a woman prone to failure, just like everyone who watches her. Who has never made the same wrong choices over and over again? Or have you decided to follow selfish paths that benefit no one but yourself? You may have already been in her shoes, as well as in her friends' shoes.

However, it's really difficult to defend Carrie a lot of the time. This is because her focus is on the city, her loves and luxuries, showing no interest in her friends' lives. Even when one of her three friends opens up, in the end she always finds a way for the subject to return to her life, causing the others to three main ones to become unpaid therapists. Carrie rarely reciprocates the emotional support she should, but at a certain point we end up understanding that it's part of her personality, love it or hate it. 

Samantha jones 

In the book, a film producer. On screen, Public Relations. In any version, a legend. Samantha Jones is the most interesting and iconic character of all, making her self-love and non-negotiable commitment to her well-being very clear. 

Even though she has some (almost) solid relationships throughout the series, they remain less conventional than those of her friends. And it rarely stays with the person for long. The lucky guy this time was Smith, a younger but mature man. Another important point is that they could have explored Samantha's bisexuality more, without the biphobic touches during this arc of the series.

Unfortunately she doesn't have as much screen time as we would like, it varies a lot from season to season, but this is also the case with Miranda and Charlotte, since the focus is on Carrie. In any case, Samantha's character is one of the best written, as we can follow her very clear development, becoming a more emotionally mature person and open to experiences that she previously wouldn't even consider living (especially in conventional models). She is really missed …And Just Like That and that says a lot.

Charlotte York 

While in the book Charlotte York is sex-crazed and a distant acquaintance of Carrie, in the series she is portrayed inside out. In Sex and the City, Charlotte works in the art world and has her privileges there. Although she still enjoys sex a lot, she is the most conservative woman among the four friends. And in general too. In an extremely methodical way, she believes that all relationships go through stages and must follow some rules, so to speak. Even with this appearance, which is irritating at first, the character develops well and it becomes comical how opposite she is to Samantha.

For a long time she was a symbol of tradition and conservatism, going against the movement of her friends who were behind female sexual freedom. But she manages to develop throughout the plot and leaves some aspects (even immature) aside. Furthermore, the emergence of her relationship with Harry (Evan Handler) makes everything much lighter and more fun for the character, making her realize that she doesn't need to sacrifice her desires and ambitions for a man to be happy.

Miranda Hobbes 

In the literary world, Miranda works as a workaholic television executive who uses drugs in her spare time. For the screen, the addiction completely migrated to work, which now changes scenery and makes her a lawyer. But his passion for television continues and so does his difficult genius. Furthermore, she is Carrie's best friend and appears to always be between slaps and kisses with her, resulting in many difficult but interesting dialogues.

They may not like her that much, but the truth is that she represents a large part of the audience that watches Sex and the City. I learned to like her, precisely because we are used to criticizing characters with characteristics that we don't like about ourselves. 

She's the sensible type who always has an ironic comment or sincere advice to guide her friends, who are looking for a movie-worthy romance. I confess that I don't see the point in her relationship with Steve (David Eigenberg), since he is the opposite and symbol of everything the character despises, but the script managed to find a way to make her more human after meeting him.

Unfortunately, she is a character who would have much more potential if they had followed more coherent paths at the time. Right at the beginning of the series, there was a lot of lesbophobia in episodes that presumed Miranda's sexuality and, from that point on, she herself made her interest in men clear and agreed with this terrible speech.

Some love interests were shown throughout the series and even the relationship with Steve, the main love interest, seemed to be very off tone. This was proven with the spin-off And Just Like That… in which they tried to remedy the situation by reevaluating the character's sexuality. But at that point, everything became very confusing and they drew up a terrible script for her. 

The social impact of Sex and the City

All about Sex and the City brings at least one valuable lesson to our lives, regardless of age. Specifically, at the time it was released, the notion of submission and restrictions were still strong for women. Just imagine, being a woman in the 1990s and finding a new series with four women in their 30s and 40s gaining professional independence and free will to relate to each other whenever and however they want. On a scale that goes from Charlotte York to Samantha Jones, you end up admiring their personalities and creating the courage to revolutionize your own life. 

Another social impact that reinforces all of this is Sex and the City bringing messages about you not needing to settle in relationships and thinking you are in a race against time to form a family before the other women around you. In these cases, many people get into trouble. And if you find someone perfect, they may not always be ideal for you and that's okay. I believe that many women feel bad when they meet a nice man but are unable to fall in love on healthy terms. Carrie and Aidan came to explore this situation and show that no experience is unique. 

Love and personal achievements can come in unexpected ways and in many ways. Whether in career (as all four show in their own way); whether it’s with friends or a place you see as home. 

There would be no Girls ou The Bold Type PULL Sex and the City, that's the truth. And we hope that more stories with a female lead are created and explored appropriately. The series addresses more than relationships, it addresses issues such as cancer, which Samantha had an impact on her health and self-esteem; Miranda's postpartum depression; Carrie's impasse for not wanting to follow a traditional life and Charlotte's saga of getting pregnant. Extremely important guidelines. 

The valuable lessons from Sex and the City

Throughout the series franchise we have come into contact with golden teachings to take as reflection and even a mantra for life. Not to mention some conclusions that can be considered controversial, depending on each person's beliefs regarding love, life conduct and relationships.

Just because the person is perfect doesn't mean the relationship will work. There are several factors that make up a relationship and each person's personality is just one detail. In Charlotte's case, for example, she saw her ideal match in Trey, a thoughtful and successful man. But the interests didn't match. We have Carrie's case with Aidan and Big, in which she gives up her monotonous and healthy relationship for something more troubled. And that's okay, because it's what makes sense to her, despite the regrets. And there's also Samantha with Smith, who, despite being the love of her life, realized that she didn't fit into monogamy, and to stifle that would be synonymous with canceling herself. 

Having bad dates isn't the end of the world. Single life is tiring, that's a fact. But Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda show that despite being exhausting, it can be fun to collect stories to tell in the future and on dates with friends. Who has never had a good laugh at a clueless person on a totally random date? 

It's great to have someone to call “my love”, but self-love is also essential. The most meaningful, challenging and sometimes emotional relationship is with ourselves. Throughout the six seasons and the franchise as a whole, we have several examples of how we need to prioritize our happiness and love ourselves first, because no one will do that for us. 

We don't always get an ending to a story. And everything is fine. We often can't understand the reasons why a relationship didn't work out or why the other person doesn't want to stay. Berger, for example, broke up with Carrie through a post-it note. Of course we will spend time thinking about this, but eventually we need to create our endings ourselves internally to move forward. 

We won't always want the same things as the other person in a relationship. And that's okay, because it's in differences that we usually find love. Being completely the same as someone else isn't very fun. Despite all the controversies and private opinions, Miranda and Steve illustrate this point well. Furthermore, in general, it could be that your friends' dream is to find someone to marry and start a family, while you, in Samantha style, want to enjoy life and meet different people. There is no right or wrong here, only what makes sense and fits into our lives.

Friends are the true loves of our lives. Above anything, Sex and the City is a love letter between the four friends. Friendships between women are extremely important, as are close friendships in general. Aside from Carrie's egocentric outbursts, we have several examples throughout the franchise in which they supported each other in moments of grief, dilemmas, difficulties in relationships, health problems and existential crises. Life was meant to be shared, without our friends, it becomes much more difficult. 

There are different types of pleasure and sex will not always be good. Sex and the City was one of the first series to talk openly about the various possibilities in sex in a realistic way, moving away from those romanticized movie scenes. And the best of all is that most of the time it has a comical tone and is related to Samantha's experiences. The series came to show that sex can be messy, weird, good with some fetishes or even just bad – like pretending to have an orgasm as soon as possible to end it quickly. They are natural things, therefore they should be treated as such. 

Female sexual freedom should be celebrated and explored. It's okay if you prefer casual sex, talk about fetishes, and explore your sexuality. Samantha Jones came to validate female independence and show that women also feel desires and can satisfy them in the same way that men feel free to express theirs. Female pleasure exists and should be celebrated. Many judge Samantha, but her attitude and self-love speak much louder. 

There are several types of happy endings. Each of the four main characters wants different things in life. As long as your choices respect your conduct, self-love and your desires – not those of partners or third parties –, invest in your happy ending, even if it follows a completely different path to those around you.  

seasons 

Remember the main moments of Sex and the City by season. If you haven't seen the series yet, I recommend saving this topic to read after the marathon, as contains spoilers. 

First season (1998)

Here we met our new best friends Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte and immersed ourselves in a world of ideas, behaviors and lifestyles that are very different from what is currently happening.

We learned that four different women can indeed have a strong bond – this is probably what unites them, in fact. While Carrie is divided between her magazine column and filling out the dictionary from A to Z with all the red flags possible in her relationship with Big, Miranda is guided by her extremely rational personality, which over time shows that the more she tries to find herself, the more she ends up losing herself. To complete the team, at one end we have the beloved (but very conservative) Charlotte, and at the other end, the best character of all, Samantha, independent, spontaneous and the life of every party.

One of the best points of the first season is the fact that Sex and the City presents many interesting supporting characters who have great power to enhance the main dramas or alleviate a little the stories that could become boring. 

Second season (1999)

Between back and forth, lots of talk and drama worthy of movie screens, the second season manages to have a greater focus on Carrie and Big's relationship and the journey to find a healthy space in that relationship. In parallel, Miranda ends up meeting Steve, her main love interest in the franchise; Samantha tries to fit into normative relationship standards and Charlotte continues to daydream about the prince charming who will save her from her monotonous life.

This season in particular is one of the public's favorites. The first served as an introduction to the characters, a little shy to test the ground on which it was treading, but now the series finally gets into the swing of things and shows what it came for. We have many more issues linked to taboos, especially when it comes to sex, intimacy and relationships in general, in addition to the use of more comical situations to balance the plot and not become a big Mexican soap opera with New York as the setting.

Third season (2000)

One of the main moments of Sex and the City that made the audience imagine that everything would be different from the third season onwards is linked to the fact that Carrie begins her new year on the path of self-love. Big leaves the scene and Aidan Shaw, her potential second love in life, enters. 

Meanwhile, Miranda makes her relationship with Steve even more solid, going against everything she believed in, as the man is practically her opposite. Charlotte seizes the first opportunity and organizes an express wedding with Trey McDougal (our eternal Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks). Anyone who lived knows. Those who haven't seen it yet can imagine the direction of this fanfic. Finally, Samantha continues to bring different entertainment to each episode, always related to her sex life and the peculiar people she finds interesting. 

You know that cool point in the first season that involved bringing in supporting characters with interesting stories in parallel and everything? You can forget it. This season focuses entirely on the four protagonists and focuses on addressing the strong support network that exists between them, the importance of solid friendships amid the chaos of a woman's adult life and, above all, highlighting that no one is safe from failure.

Furthermore, that whole arc of Carrie's internal redemption and self-love goes down the drain, after all, she decides to make totally dubious decisions. But realistic. Between ups and downs, the third season makes it clear that Sex and the City aims to tell stories that are closer to reality (apart from privileges, of course). If we are prone to mistakes, stupidity and incoherent attitudes, so is the quartet. 

Fourth season (2001 – 2002)

Despite everything, Aidan returns for the fourth season and the warrior that he is, he remains firm in trying to build a mature relationship with Carrie. But as they say, love alone cannot sustain everything. After being betrayed by her, he lives paranoid. While Carrie herself discovers in the routine that his little quirks irritate her deeply. Logically with all this, they break up, right? No. The great solution was to get engaged, to create a setting for one of the most dramatic endings of the series. 

In the meantime, we follow Charlotte and Trey's peculiar relationship, while Miranda supports Steve at a vulnerable moment in his life (and becomes pregnant) and Samantha becomes hooked by Richard Wright – a very important chapter for the deeper development of our PR favorite, which until then had only shown the most superficial side, so to speak.

In the fourth season, the role and importance of New York in the story of the protagonists becomes even clearer, the whole story could not have been anywhere else. Furthermore, the performances are wonderful and at this point, we already have at least one favorite. 

Fifth season (2002)

In the fifth season, some things change places. Carrie publishes a book and begins a romance with writer Jack Berger. In parallel, Charlotte begins a relationship with Harry, her own divorce lawyer from her previous relationship, Miranda tries to come to terms with motherhood and Steve and, finally, Samantha returns with Richard but remains on the back foot. 

This season was reduced to eight episodes, probably due to Sarah Jessica Parker's pregnancy. With so many new stories to be explored, it ended up that this moment in the series only served as a prelude to what would come later. Overall, it was one of the weakest seasons. 

Sixth season (2003 – 2004)

So, Sex and the City reaches its sixth and final season. This phase is the final hammer blow for the maturation of the four friends. Or at least the majority. Carrie's relationship with Berger doesn't work out and she ends up getting involved with Aleksandr Petrovsky, a much older artist. 

On the other hand, Miranda decides to get back together with Steve, gets married and moves to Brooklyn. Charlotte follows the same path and marries Harry for the second time, continuing the battle of having a child. And finally, Samantha enters into a serious relationship with the younger actor Smith Jerrod. 

This season clearly shows the evolution and development of the characters. Even though it makes you want to know much more about the lives of these four women, the series manages to end in a fair and simple way. To everyone's happiness, more films and series followed to satisfy our nostalgia. 

Where to watch Sex and the City and spin-offs

• Sex And The City (1998 – 2004): available on Netflix, Max e Prime Video (premium subscription)
• Sex And The City – The Movie (2008): Max, Prime Video (premium subscription), Google Play Movies e Apple TV
• Sex And The City 2 (2010): Max, Prime Video (premium subscription), Youtube, Google Play Movies e Apple TV
• The Carrie Diaries (2013 – 2014): Unavailable at the moment.
• …And Just Like That (2021–present): Max e Prime Video (premium subscription).

See also other features

The best films to make you feel good about life

The best films to make you feel good about life

The 107 best miniseries to binge on the weekend

The 107 best miniseries to binge on the weekend

Sources: Harper's Bazaar, Glamor UK e ELLE

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim