Sex and the City

Sex and the City
Intertitle
Format	Romantic Dramedy
Created by	Darren Star
Starring	Sarah Jessica Parker Kim Cattrall Kristin Davis Cynthia Nixon
Narrated by	Sarah Jessica Parker
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	94 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Michael Patrick King Darren Star Sarah Jessica Parker
Location(s)	New York City
Camera setup	Single camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Darren Star Productions Rysher Entertainment HBO Original Programming
Broadcast
Original channel	HBO
Picture format	480i SDTV
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	June 6, 1998 (1998-06-06) – February 22, 2004 (2004-02-22)
Status	Ended
Chronology
Followed by	Sex and the City: The Movie
External links
Official website

Sex and the City is an American cable television and film series. The original run of the show was broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004, for a total of ninety-four episodes.

Set in New York City, the show focused on four white American women, three in their mid-thirties and one in her forties. The quirky series had multiple continuing story lines and tackled socially relevant issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex, and promiscuity. It specifically examined the lives of big-city professional women in the late 1990s/early 2000s and how changing roles and expectations for women affected the characters.

The show was primarily filmed at New York City's Silvercup Studios and on location in and around Manhattan. Since it ended, the show has been aired in syndication on networks such as TBS, WGN, and many other local stations. However, basic cable outlets at local stations excise certain explicit show content that was broadcast in the original version. In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."^[1]

Contents 1 Origins 2 Plot 2.1 SJP on SATC 3 Overview of characters 3.1 Main characters 3.2 Also starring 4 Episodes 5 Viewer response and impact 6 Reaction 7 Awards and recognition 8 Broadcast and distribution 9 DVD releases 10 Soundtrack releases 11 Films 11.1 Sex and the City (2008) 11.2 Sex and the City 2 (2010) 11.3 Future 12 Pop culture references 13 References 14 External links

Origins

The show was based in part on writer Candace Bushnell's book of the same name, compiled from her column with the New York Observer. Bushnell has stated in several interviews that the Carrie Bradshaw in her columns is her alter ego; when she wrote the "Sex and the City" essays, she used her own name initially; for privacy reasons, however, she created the character of Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. Carrie Bradshaw was a writer living in New York City. Carrie also has the same initials, a flourish emphasizing her connection with Bushnell.^[2]

Darren Star, the show's creator, paid $50,000 to Bushnell for "lock, stock, and barrel" rights to her columns, according to fellow author Toby Young.^[3] The show "bears only a passing resemblance to its source material";^[3] the columns were "darker and more cynical" than the "gentler" series that Star produced.^[3] According to Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell, by Amy Sohn,^[4] Star wanted to create a show that expressed true adult comedy and sex in an up-front way.

Plot

The narrative of the show focuses on Carrie Bradshaw and her three best friends, Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York and Samantha Jones. The women discuss their sexual desires and fantasies, and their travels in life and love. The show often depicts frank discussions about romance and sexuality, featuring a short montage of interviews of people living in New York City regarding topics discussed in that episode. These continue through season two but are eventually phased out.

Another feature that would eventually be scrapped is Carrie breaking the fourth wall (for example, looking into the camera and speaking to the audience directly in an aside). Bradshaw would question scenarios and ideas, asking the audience for an opinion or insight on different situations. The pilot also has the characters of Miranda and Charlotte as well as a few minor characters speaking directly to the camera/audience. The last such event by Carrie occurs in episode three of the second season, "The Freak Show".

The method of expressing inner monologues is shifted exclusively to voiceovers by Carrie in future episodes. Her main narration usually revolves around the premise of that week's "column," where she often sums up her thoughts with, "I couldn't help but wonder..." As she says that, her computer monitor is shown while she is typing the text of her voiceover.

SJP on SATC

When SJP was asked about how her relationships with the cast were perceived by viewers she said that she found it to be a huge discredit to the bonds that she had with the other three women, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis. The best experience that she ever had was when she went to Morocco to film for seven weeks. Her relationships became closer to the women and they became more necessary in her life. Parker said that while filming in New York was fantastic, they all went home to their real lives at the end of the day. SJP feels “particularly blessed” by the people in her life that have been supporting her since day one, as stated when she was giving her award winning Emmy speech. While playing Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO hit series Sex and the City, she fell in love with her character, because of her curiosity on sexual politics, intimate relationships and everlasting friendships. When filming SATC2, Parker was parted from her family and new twins for seven weeks. The twins were born on June 22, 2009. Tabitha Hodge (Babe) and Marion Loretta Elell (Kitty). SJP and husband Matthew Broderick tried to get pregnant several times after son, James Wilkie, without success. They turned to adoption and surrogacy. Shortly, they decided to choose a surrogate. The couple chose to expand their family not only so their son can have a sibling, but so he would not be burdened alone for having “older” parents. “ Meeting your children instead of giving birth to them,it’s- suspended animation”, SJP said of her experience. SJP is a firm believer in women talking with other women and that is why SATC felt so real to her, as well as the audience, hence the reason for its success. There is even talk of SATC3, which now is a rumour, but had not been ruled out. Chris Noth, who played Mr. Big comments on the subject “ We’re married now, even if we make another where we’re grandparents, we’d still have a good time”. It is evident that the lives of the cast and crew has changed because of this successful series, the audience loves it , it speaks to everyone.^[5]

Overview of characters

Main characters

Character	Actress
Carrie Bradshaw	Sarah Jessica Parker
“ I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love. ” —Carrie, in the series finale She is the narrator of each episode. Each episode is structured around her train of thought while writing her weekly column, "Sex and the City," for the fictitious newspaper the New York Star. A member of the New York glitterati, she is a club/bar/restaurant staple who is known for her unique fashion sense (particularly footwear: Manolo Blahniks to be exact). This is evident in the episode "The Real Me" in season four, when she is asked by Lynne Cameron (played by Margaret Cho) to be in a New York fashion show. She works on her PowerBook in her apartment, writing a newspaper column focusing on the different aspects of her relationships. In later seasons, her essays are collected as a book and she begins taking assignments from Vogue and New York Magazine. Carrie is not house-proud (her oven is used for storage); her one-room, rent-controlled apartment is in an Upper East Side brownstone. Carrie is a simple, open-minded girl looking for love, but also having fun in the process. She experiences moments of both happiness in her independence and loneliness, to which most young women can relate. Despite several long-term boyfriends, Carrie is entangled with "Mr. Big" (Chris Noth) in a complicated, multifaceted on-and-off-again kind of relationship. In the first movie she finally marries Mr. Big, whose actual name is revealed to be John. In the second movie she and Big have settled into their marriage but are having some problems as Carrie wants to go out and Big wants to spend most nights in front of the television.
Samantha Jones	Kim Cattrall
“ I do love you, Smith - but I love me more. ” —Samantha She is the oldest and most sexually confident of the foursome. Samantha is an independent businesswoman, with a career in public relations. She is confident, strong, outspoken, and calls herself a "try-sexual" (meaning she'll try anything once). One of Samantha's best qualities is her loyalty to her friends. She believes that she has had "hundreds" of soulmates and requires that her sexual partners leave "an hour after I climax." During the course of the show it is revealed that Samantha's glamorous, impenetrable facade and dismissive approach to love actually hide a sensitive, caring nature. Samantha has a number of extremely brief, sexual relationships in the show. In Season 6, Samantha's character further develops when she is suddenly diagnosed with cancer when visiting a plastic surgeon for a breast implant consultation. An operation and chemotherapy challenge Samantha, but she beats cancer and it becomes clear the experience has renewed her with a new perspective on life and love with her most permanent and fulfilling relationship yet, with a younger man, the handsome model/actor, Smith Jerrod. In the first movie, Samantha is still in love with Smith, they are living in California, where both of their careers are running fast. She begins to ask herself if a stable relationship is really for her. During the second film Samantha is taking all sorts of hormones and vitamins to keep her libido alive while dealing with menopause. When invited by an Arab sheikh to devise a PR campaign for his business, and he offers to fly her and her friends on an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation to Abu Dhabi which includes their own personal cars and butlers. However Samantha's openly sexual lifestyle gets the girls into trouble and cause them to cut their vacation short and return to New York.
Charlotte York	Kristin Davis
“ I'm not a fair-weather Jew! ” —Charlotte, in Lights, Camera, Relationship She works in an art gallery and has had a conventional Connecticut upbringing. She is the most optimistic of the group, the one who places the most emphasis on emotional love as opposed to lust, and is a true romantic; always searching for her "knight in shining armor." She scoffs at the lewder, more libertine antics of her friends (primarily Samantha), presenting a more traditional attitude about relationships, usually based on "the rules" of love and dating. Despite her traditional outlook, she has been known to make concessions (while married) that even surprise her more sexually liberated girlfriends. Charlotte was a "straight A" student who attended Smith College where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma (note that 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, and was active as a cheerleader and teen model. After a whirlwind romance Charlotte marries and later divorces. After a long struggle to get pregnant and one miscarriage, Charlotte and her second husband adopt a little girl from China and name her Lily, after Charlotte's favourite flower. In the 2008 movie, Charlotte is still in love with her husband and Lily is now four years old. Unexpectedly, Charlotte discovers that she is pregnant and gives birth to a girl at the end of the movie. The baby is named Rose. In the second movie Charlotte is under a lot of stress with Rose crying all the time as well as concerns that Harry is attracted to their nanny Erin (who is revealed to be a lesbian at the end of the film).
Miranda Hobbes	Cynthia Nixon
“ Sexy is the thing I try to get them to see me as after I win them over with my personality. ” —Miranda, in The Real Me She is a career-minded lawyer with extremely cynical views on relationships and men. A Harvard Law School graduate from Philadelphia with two siblings, she is Carrie's best friend, confidante, and voice of reason. In the early seasons, she is portrayed as masculine and borderline misandric, but this image softens over the years, particularly after she becomes pregnant by her on/off boyfriend, Steve Brady, whom she eventually marries. The birth of her son, Brady Hobbes, brings up new issues for her Type A, workaholic personality, but she soon finds a way to balance career, being single and motherhood. Of the four women, she is the first to purchase her own condo (across the park from Carrie, on the Upper West Side), and later a home in Brooklyn. In the 2008 movie, Miranda is dealing with the choice of either divorcing Steve or forgiving him after he admits that he has had sex with somebody else outside their marriage. In the second movie Miranda is feeling very unappreciated at work and has a new boss that is very rude to her specifically, at times stopping her mid-sentence by putting his hand up to silence her. After she quits her job she is enjoying the freedom that follows. Allowing her to attend her son Brady's science comeptition, and gives her more time to learn about Abu Dhabi customs. At the end of the film she is shown as having found a job at a new firm in which she feels more accepted.

Also starring

Character	Actor/Actress	Duration
Mr. Big/John Preston	Chris Noth	Seasons 1 - 6
"Mr. Big" (aka Big) is a pseudonym for the charming, attractive, sarcastic, and wealthy love interest for Carrie Bradshaw. He is the reason for many of Carrie's breakdowns as he never seemed ready to fully commit to Carrie. During the course of the series he marries Natasha, who is ten years younger than Carrie. An affair with Carrie destroys Big's marriage and Carrie's relationship with her other major love interest, furniture designer Aidan. In the final episode, Mr. Big realizes that life without Carrie is nothing. He is a big jazz fan and a heavy cigar smoker with plenty of money to burn. His first name, John, was not revealed until the end of the series finale, and his full name John James Preston not until the first movie.
Steve Brady	David Eigenberg	Seasons 2 - 6
He is Miranda's on and off boyfriend throughout the series since he was introduced in the second season. He eventually marries Miranda at the end of Season 6, after they had a child together at the end of Season 4. He is one of the few men on the show meant to counter-balance all the emotionally unstable men encountered throughout the series, as he is a constant and sensitive male character. His alcoholic mother, Mary Brady, played by Anne Meara, is also a prominent recurring character.
Harry Goldenblatt	Evan Handler	Seasons 5 - 6
He is Charlotte's Jewish divorce lawyer who is incredibly attracted to her from the beginning. She is not attracted to him initially but tries to pursue a sex-only relationship with him, which leads to an exclusive and loving relationship as opposed to her relationship with Trey, which was reversed in this aspect. After her conversion to Judaism and one big argument that sends them in separate directions for a few weeks, the two marry and begin trying to have/adopt a child. In the end, they are approved for a Chinese adoption and adopt a girl they name Lily. In the first film, Charlotte and Harry are expecting a baby whom they name Rose.
Smith Jerrod	Jason Lewis	Season 6
He is a young waiter Samantha seduces. She tries to maintain her usual sex-only relationship with him, but he slowly pushes for something more. He is a wannabe actor whose career Samantha jump starts using her PR connections (including changing his name to "Smith Jerrod" from "Jerry Jerrod") and getting him a modeling job that turns into a film role. Just when she thinks Smith's age and experience aren't enough for her, he gives her unconditional support during her fight with breast cancer. In the final episode, Smith flies back from a film set in Canada just to tell her that he loves her, which she counters with, "You have meant more to me than any man I've ever known," which for Samantha, is a far greater statement than it might be for anyone else. In the first movie, Samantha breaks up with him after feeling that she has lost herself in their relationship stating, "I love you, but I love me more." In the second film, it is shown that the two are still close friends and he invites her to accompany him on the red carpet at the premiere of his latest film, which she accepts on the condition that she can bring Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte.
Aidan Shaw	John Corbett	Seasons 3 - 4, 6
Manhattan furniture designer Aidan is Carrie's next serious boyfriend after a breakup with Mr. Big. Carrie met him when her friend Stanford Blatch noticed his photo in the newspaper, and insisted that they visit his store. Their first relationship ends when Carrie confesses, on Charlotte's first wedding day, that she had an affair with Mr. Big. Later in the series, Carrie and Aidan get back together and become engaged. However, Carrie breaks off the engagement when she realizes that she is not ready to get married, and he is unwilling to wait for her. He appears for the last time in Season 6, with a baby and a wife much to Carrie's surprise. In the second movie Carrie runs into Aidan in a market place in Abu Dhabi.
Trey MacDougal	Kyle MacLachlan	Seasons 3 - 4
He is an attractive Park Avenue cardiologist with a pedigree and country house; everything that Charlotte has dreamed of. She meets him after falling in the street in front of his taxi and following a quick romance, they marry. Charlotte is devastated when she discovers - the night before their wedding - that Trey is impotent, dashing her plans to have a family. However, after a brief breakup, she realizes that his issues are merely psychosomatic and their relationship resumes with fervor. Trey's family is headed by his mother "Bunny," a manipulative, overbearing sort, who refuses to let go of her son. After several attempts at having children, Trey arrives to the conclusion that he no longer wants to have children. In spite of this, Charlotte stays with Trey, giving up her plans to have a family. Trey comes home one night with a cardboard baby, sending Charlotte into a rage and Trey out of the apartment. He then returns, only to announce that he is moving in with his mother. In the end, Charlotte and Trey divorce, and Trey leaves Charlotte the apartment she had so lovingly redone.
Stanford Blatch	Willie Garson	Seasons 1 - 6
He is Carrie's best friend outside of the three women. A gay talent agent from an aristocratic family with a sense of style paralleled only by Carrie's, viewers receive the impression that they have a long-standing relationship built within their younger, wilder days in the New York City club and bar scene in the 1980s. He had said that they have been friends since Carrie was riding the subways and wearing Candie's. The only supporting character to receive his own storylines on occasion, Stanford represents the show's most constant gay point of view to sex on the show, generally based on the physical insecurities and inadequacies of someone who does not "have that gay look." In the last two seasons of the show, he is partnered with Broadway dancer Marcus Adente; however in the movie, he is single. He is sometimes associated with Anthony Marentino, a gay wedding planner and friend to Charlotte, whom he marries in the beginning of the second movie. The two have an agreement that Anthony can cheat in the states where their marriage is not legally recognised and Stanford can have everything he wants for their wedding day, which includes swans; an all-men's choir; and Liza Minnelli marrying them and later performing "Single Ladies" by Beyoncé.
Aleksandr Petrovsky	Mikhail Baryshnikov	Season 6
Referred to by Carrie occasionally as "The Russian," he is a famous artist who becomes Carrie's lover in the final season. He sweeps her off her feet with huge romantic gestures and shows her the foreign pockets of New York that she has never seen before. Her relationship with him brings up all sorts of questions in Carrie's mind about finding love past "a certain age" and whether or not she wants children. When he's preparing to return to Paris for a solo exhibit, he invites Carrie to come live with him, which after several deliberations (and one fight) with her friends, she does. After spending some time there, she realizes that he will never reciprocate the level of emotional involvement that she offers because his life and career will always come first.

Episodes

The series was divided up into six seasons altogether. The first season was twelve episodes (two discs of 6), the second season was eighteen episodes (three discs of 6), and the third season was eighteen episodes (three discs of 6). Then the fourth season was eighteen episodes (three discs of 6), the fifth season was eight episodes (two discs of four), and the final season was twenty episodes. In total, there were 94 episodes of Sex and the City.

Season	Episode #	First Airdate	Last Airdate
Season 1	12	June 6, 1998	August 23, 1998
Season 2	18	June 6, 1999	October 3, 1999
Season 3	18	June 4, 2000	October 15, 2000
Season 4	18	June 3, 2001	February 10, 2002
Season 5	8	July 21, 2002	September 8, 2002
Season 6	20	June 22, 2003	February 22, 2004

Sex and the City: The Movie was released nationwide in the USA on May 30, 2008 and, as of December 24, 2008, has made $413,129,126 worldwide. Sex and the City 2 was released in theaters on May 27, 2010, with a worldwide release in the weeks following.

The Sex and the City: The Movie DVD was released on September 23, 2008.

Viewer response and impact

Sex and the City premiered on HBO, June 6, 1998, and was one of the highest-rated sitcoms of the season, and the last original episode aired on February 22, 2004.

The show became well known and lauded for its frank dialogue about women and sex. An unlikely supporter of the show is author Orson Scott Card. Card stated that although the crudity of the series left him numb, the show contained some of the best writing on television.^[6]

However, the characters have been criticized for being shallow, superficial, and self-absorbed.^[7]

Reaction

Sex and the City has been analyzed by feminists both as an example of progress in women's rights and life options and as an example of the effects of corporate culture, marketing, and the more individualistic strands of feminism in presenting women's empowerment as mainly tied to achieving coupledom, beauty, and personal upward mobility, rather than collective organisation for progressive change.^[8]. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "The clothes from SATC raise your cosmos! A toast to the wonderful wardrobe from Sex and the City, which taught us that no flower is too big, no skirt too short, and no shoe too expensive."^[9]

It has been argued that the show represents a decline in moral values given that ostensibly the sole purpose of the series is for the characters to boast about their sexual exploits with as many men as possible.^[10]

Awards and recognition

Over its course of six seasons, "Sex and the City" was nominated for over 50 Emmy Awards, winning seven times. Among the Emmys the show won were two for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series (Jennifer McNamara), one for its Costumes, a trophy for Outstanding Comedy Series for its third season in 2001 (the first time ever a cable channel wins Outstanding Comedy Series), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series in 2002 for the episode "The Real Me", and for its final season in 2004, Emmys for Sarah Jessica Parker (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the episode "An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux"), and Cynthia Nixon (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the episodes "One and "Ick Factor"). It has also been nominated for 24 Golden Globe Awards, and won 8. Its wins included Best TV Series — Musical or Comedy, and Best Actress in a TV Series — Musical or Comedy, (Sarah Jessica Parker) for three consecutive years from 2000–2002, Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series, or Movie for Kim Cattrall, and another one for Parker. In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."^[1]

Broadcast and distribution

Season one of Sex and the City aired on HBO from June to August 1998. Season two was broadcast from June until October,1999. Season three aired from June until October 2000. Season four was broadcast in two parts: from June until August 2001, and then in January and February 2002. Season five, truncated due to Parker's pregnancy, aired on HBO during the summer of 2002. The twenty episodes of the final season, season six, aired in two parts: from June until September 2003 and during January and February 2004.

Sex and the City is currently syndicated in the US by HBO corporate sibling (under Time Warner) Warner Bros. Television Distribution. CBS Paramount Television (successors to Rysher Entertainment and Paramount Television) and their distribution arm own international rights.

The United States cable channel HBO was the original broadcaster. TBS and WGN began showing edited reruns of the series. The series then went into international syndication.

In Australia, the Nine Network aired the first run of the show Every Monday Between 9:30 pm and 11:00 pm. After 2004 the Cable Channel W. Channel aired it until summer 2008 when Arena TV started airing it in a block with Will & Grace with promos stating "all the good guys are gay".

In the Republic of Ireland, TV3 premiered Sex and the City in February in 1999. Since 2006 repeats of the series aired on 3e.

Channel 4 originally aired the series in the UK with the first episode shown in early 1999. As of August 2009 a double bill of the show airs each weeknight at 10:30pm on Comedy Central (UK) and a double bill airs on Wednesdays from 9pm on Fiver

Country	TV Network(s)	Date of Premiere
Albania	TV KLAN	2010 – present
Argentina	Canal 9	2009 – present
Austria	ORF 1
Australia	Nine Network Network Ten W Channel Arena	1999 – June 2004 2008–present 2005–2007 January 2008 – present
Belgium	VIJFtv	?
Brazil	Rede 21 Fox Life Multishow	2004–2006 2006 – present 2007 – present
Bulgaria	Nova Television Fox Life HBO Comedy	2002–2006 2009 – present 2010 – present
Canada	Bravo!	1999–2004
Czech Republic	ČT1	2006 – present
Finland	MTV3	June 1, 1999 – November 23, 2004
France	Téva M6	August 28, 1999–2004 October 18, 2000–2005
Georgia	Rustavi 2	2000–2004
Germany	ProSieben Comedy Central	2001–2006 2009 – present
Greece	Alter Alpha TV	2002–2008 2009 – present
Hungary	HBO Hungary Viasat 3 HBO Comedy	2003–2007 2006–present 2010–present
Ireland	TV3 3e	February 1999–2004 2006 – present
Israel	Channel 2 (Reshet) HOT V.O.D.	1999 – present 2007 – present
Lithuania	TV3 Lithuania Lietuvos ryto TV
Mexico	TV Azteca Cosmopolitan Fox Life HBO
Poland	TVP2 TVN TVN 7 Comedy Central	? 2008–2009 2009 2008 – present
Romania	HBO Romania PRO TV Acasă TV Prima TV HBO Comedy	1998 - 2004 1999 - 2000 (moved to sister channel, Acasă TV) 2000 - 2006 2007 (only the first seasons) 2009–present
Russia	НТВ MTV Russia	~2000–2004 March 8, 2010 – present
Serbia	B92 Fox Televizija	2004–2008, 2009 2010
Slovenia	POP TV TV Pika	2002–2008, 2009 – present
Slovakia	STV1 TV Markiza TV Doma	2001–2004, 2010
Spain	Cosmopolitan TV	1998–present
South Korea	OnStyle	2008 – present
The Middle East	Showtime Arabia Showseries	?
Turkey	Cine5 ComedyMax MyMax	2000–2004 2006–2008 2008 – present
Ukraine	1+1 TET	~2000–2004 2009 – present
United Kingdom	Channel 4 Comedy Central E4 Fiver	1999–2004 2004 – present 2004–2006, 2008 – present 2008 – present
United States	HBO TBS	June 6, 1998 – February 22, 2004 2004 – present
Cyprus	Sigma	2006–present

DVD releases

All six seasons of Sex and the City have been released commercially on DVD, with season six being split into two parts. They have been released officially on region 1 (Americas), region 2 (Europe & Middle East), region 3 (Korea) and region 4 (Oceania & South Pacific) formats, but illegal bootleg editions have also surfaced for region 3 (Thailand) as well as region 0 (Universal) and can even be found on eBay. In addition to their region encoding, releases vary depending on which region they were released in. Region 2 DVDs of Sex and the City have been criticized by some fans for having little or no special features, but region 1 editions have included director commentary, cast interviews and more.

In addition to standard single season DVD box sets of the show, limited edition collectors' editions have also been released that include all 6 seasons in one complete set. Even these vary between region 1, 2 and 4. While Europe got a complete set that came with special 'shoe box' packaging (a reference to Sarah Jessica Parker's character's love for shoes in the show), the USA and Canada version came packaged in a more traditional fold-out suede case and with an additional bonus DVD including many special features. Mexico's and Oceania's edition come packaged in a beauty case.

As well as missing out on some special features, many fans in Europe had trouble with the region 2 edition of the season 1 DVD. Unfortunately, the show was not converted into a PAL video signal, and remained in its original American NTSC format. This caused some compatibility problems with some European television sets and DVD players. All subsequent Region 2 DVD releases of the programme were appropriately transferred to PAL video using the original film prints, and season 1 has since been re-released in PAL format. Outside the US, Sex and the City boxed sets were released through Paramount Pictures (whose parent Viacom interestingly once owned HBO's rival Showtime, before the CBS Corporation split at the end of 2005) – who owned at once, certain rights to the programme's broadcast as well – it was probably because of Paramount's "no-extras" policy that the region 2 DVDs were criticized. American and Canadian DVDs were released through the programme's original broadcasters, HBO. In Australia, single editions have been released, where each disc is sold separately. In South Korea, due to the popularity of the show, a complete, six-season, special DVD shoebox set was released—600 limited edition sets in 2005; 850 limited edition sets in 2006—at suggested retail price of $300 (US). All of them sold out immediately. In Brazil, the first and fifth season were released on DVD Dual, but all other seasons were released the DVD box set, had its launch in the Brazilian market in 2006, and only with subtitles in Portuguese.

Selected episodes are also available as part of the Sex and the City Essentials DVD collection. These are four separately-packaged discs containing three selected episodes that fit a common theme.

• The Best of Lust: Contains the episodes "The Fuck Buddy", "Running with Scissors", and "The Turtle and the Hare".
• The Best of Mr. Big – Contains the episodes "Sex and the City", "Ex and the City", and "I Heart NY".
• The Best of Romance: Contains the episodes "Baby, Talk is Cheap", "Hop, Skip and a Week", and "An American Girl in Paris (Part Deux)".
• The Best of Breakups – Contains the episodes "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", "I Love a Charade", and "The Post-it Always Sticks Twice".
• The Best of Fashion: Contains the episodes "Secret Sex", "The Real Me", and "Luck Be An Old Lady" This dvd was only released to Target stores in the US and was the only dvd of the "Essentials" collection to have a colored cover instead of black and white like the other four.

Soundtrack releases

There have been several CDs released to accompany the series Sex and the City, two of which (the albums from Irma Records) contain tracks used in the show's actual soundtrack.

• Sex and the City – Soundtrack [Import]

2000/2001/2002

Sire Records

Includes the main theme from the show, written by Douglas J. Cuomo and features Mark Berman on keyboards

• Sex and the City – Official Soundtrack (two disc set)

March 1, 2004

Sony TV

36 Hits, including the likes of Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Cyndi Lauper, Jamiroquai and Aretha Franklin, among others.

• Irma at Sex and the City – Part 1 – Daylight Session (two disc set)

April 19, 2004

Irma Records

Ambient and chilled sounds from the show's soundtrack

• Irma at Sex and the City – Part 2 – Nightlife Session (two disc set)

April 19, 2004

Irma Records

House and electronica sounds from the show's soundtrack

• "Sex and the City: The Movie- Labels or Love by Fergie"

website for the song (http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20194808,00.html)

Movie's soundtrack

• "Sex and the City: The Movie Volume 2

Movie's soundtrack

Films

Sex and the City (2008)

A feature film based on Sex and the City, written produced and directed by Michael Patrick King, has been produced.^[11][12][13] The film originally was slated for production near the end of the broadcast series run in 2004, but the movie deal fell through at that time. Multiple press reports at the time indicated a personal dispute between Parker and Cattrall, as well as Cattrall's refusal to sign a contract for the film at a pay scale considerably less than Parker's.^[14]

Michael Patrick King wrote and directed, and the four lead actresses returned to reprise their roles, and Chris Noth signed to reprise his role as "Mr. Big." In addition, Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson appears in the film as Carrie's assistant. New Line Cinema distributed the film, and New Line president of production Toby Emmerich, Richard Brenner and Kathy Busby oversaw the project. Parker and John Melfi produced. Filming started on September 19, 2007 in New York City.^[13][15][16]

The plot of the film revolves around the lives of the four main characters, four years after the time frame of the finale of the HBO series.^[15]

Evan Handler, David Eigenberg, Jason Lewis, and Willie Garson reprise their roles.

Filming of the Sex and the City movie was completed early December 2007.^[17]

The film's world premiere was in London's Leicester Square in early May 2008. The film was released on May 28, 2008 in the UK and was released May 30, 2008 in the US with an unprecedented $55.7 million three-day gross. The debut made Sex and the City the top-opening R-rated romantic comedy of all time.^[18]

Sex and the City 2 (2010)

In November 2008, Cattrall confirmed that a second movie was in the works and is expected to begin filming in August 2009.^[19] It was confirmed in January 2009 that all four leading ladies had committed to a sequel and would be commanding higher salaries for the second film.^[20]

The second installment of the film had began filming on September 1, 2009, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth. On September 18, 2009, Kim Cattrall, who plays Samantha Jones, was pictured in a wedding dress leading to speculation that her character might be getting married in the film. The film was released on May 27, 2010 in the United States and May 28, 2010 in the United Kingdom. The world premiere of the movie held on 24 May 2010.

Again, the film stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Chris Noth, who reprised their roles from the previous film and TV series. It also features cameos from Liza Minnelli, Miley Cyrus and Penélope Cruz.

The film is set two years after the previous film.

Future

Michael Patrick King had confirmed in interviews that a third installment was in development as well as a possible fourth to end the series for good.

It was also being reported that the third film was intended to be a prequel and feature Carrie as a teenager. No actress had been confirmed to play the role of Carrie, however comments by the author of the column the series was based on have led to speculation that Miley Cyrus might be a strong contender for the role. [1] ^[21] There is no official word to a further sequel, but there are conflicting reports at present. Initially, word was that the plans for the third film was dropped.^[22] However, alternatively, some reports state that as the film has continued to sell well outside of the US market, climbing to in excess of $300 million box office as of August 2010, which is more than double the budget of the film, there is still commercial interest in the franchise.3

Pop culture references

• MADtv parodied the show as "Sluts and the City." The HBO slogan "It's not TV, it's HBO" became "It's not TV, it's porn (with Emmys)." MADtv's Michael McDonald appears as Carrie in drag with a visible crotch bulge. Nicole Sullivan, Mo Collins, and Alex Borstein also appeared in the sketch as Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.
• On The Simpsons episode "Half-Decent Proposal", the show was parodied as "Nookie in New York." Patty described it as "a show about four single women who act like gay men."
• On Family Guy episode "You May Now Kiss the... Uh... Guy Who Receives", Brian identifies the core content of the show as "three hookers and their mom".
• The TBS sitcom My Boys, episode "Douchebag in the City," parodied the four female lead characters of Sex and the City by having the former editor of female main character PJ Franklin coming to Chicago to visit. The friend/editor displays very overt characteristics of what one would presume would be an attempt by a New Yorker to emulate Carrie Bradshaw, down to having cultivated friendships with three caricatures of Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha, whom she brought along to Chicago. The point of the comparison is best nailed home when a passing bus splashes water on her and she turns around shocked, in slow motion, as in the opening credits of Sex and the City.
• The tagline of the Showtime series The L Word—"Same sex. Different city"—parodies the show's title.
• The magazine Time Out New York released a cover mocking the overmilking of Sex and the City and the lack of reasons for creating a movie, by showing the four main characters of the series being gagged, along with an accompanying article about why many New Yorkers are sick of the show.^[23]
• Entertainment Weekly has named the show #5 on its list of the best shows in the past 25 years.^[24] It also named Sarah Jessica Parker's outfit in the opening credits of the show #2 on its list of the top 50 Pop Culture Moments that rocked Fashion.^[25] It has also named the theme song #8 on its list of the top 25 TV show theme songs in the past 25 years.^[26]
• In Disaster Movie, Jason Boegh played Carrie Bradshaw as a drag queen who fights with "Juney" (Crista Flanagan) for her refuge in a city that is being destroyed.
• The FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, episode "Who Pooped the Bed?" Frank and Charlie find that someone has defecated in their bed and Mac and Dennis join them as they attempt to catch the culprit. Disgusted by this, Sweet Dee manipulates her crass sidekick Artemis and blackmails the alcoholic Waitress into a living a contrived "Sex and the City" lifestyle for a day.

References

External links

• Sex and the City at TBS.com
• Archive of the original Sex and the City columns in The New York Observer
• Sex and the City Timeline
• Sex and the City at the Internet Movie Database
• Sex and the City at TV.com
• Asked & Answered - Patricia Field
• Sex and the City Ultimate Trivia Game
• Sex and the City on Comedy Central UK

Sex and the City Episode list · Awards Characters Carrie Bradshaw · Samantha Jones · Charlotte York Goldenblatt · Miranda Hobbes · Mr. Big · Steve Brady Other media Sex and the City (book) · Sex and the City (film) (soundtrack) · Sex and the City 2 (soundtrack) Candace Bushnell · Darren Star · Michael Patrick King

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series Sex and the City (2001) · Friends (2002) · Everybody Loves Raymond (2003) · Arrested Development (2004) · Everybody Loves Raymond (2005) · The Office (2006) · 30 Rock (2007) · 30 Rock (2008) · 30 Rock (2009) · Modern Family (2010) (1952–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–present)

Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy Cheers (1990) · Brooklyn Bridge (1991) · Roseanne (1992) · Seinfeld (1993) · Frasier & Mad About You (1994) · Cybill (1995) · 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) · Ally McBeal (1997) · Ally McBeal (1998) · Sex and the City (1999) · Sex and the City (2000) · Sex and the City (2001) · Curb Your Enthusiasm (2002) · The Office (UK) (2003) · Desperate Housewives (2004) · Desperate Housewives (2005) · Ugly Betty (2006) · Extras (2007) · 30 Rock (2008) · Glee (2009)  · (1969-1989) · (1990-2009)

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Seinfeld (1994) · Friends (1995) · Seinfeld (1996) · Seinfeld (1997) · Ally McBeal (1998) · Frasier (1999) · Will & Grace (2000) · Sex and the City (2001) · Everybody Loves Raymond (2002) · Sex and the City (2003) · Desperate Housewives (2004) · Desperate Housewives (2005) · The Office (2006) · The Office (2007) · 30 Rock (2008) · Glee (2009)