Based on the bestselling book by Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City tells the story of four best friends, all single and in their late thirties, as they pursue their careers and talk about their sex lives, all while trying to survive the New York social scene.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.3/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Metacritic: 64
TMDB: 7.4/10
Production
Darren Star Productions, HBO
Cast
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis
Where to watch
Netflix, Spectrum On Demand, Netflix Standard with Ads, Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A defining late-90s/early-2000s HBO dramedy: sharp, glossy, and culturally influential, with a strong hook built around friendship, dating, and urban aspiration. It’s best when it balances frank sex talk with emotional honesty and fashion-forward comedy; later seasons and the ending are more uneven, but the core quartet remains highly watchable.
Best for
Viewers who want a witty, relationship-driven ensemble
Fans of glossy New York-set dramedies
People interested in a landmark pop-culture series with iconic style
Binge-watchers who like short, self-contained episodes with recurring character arcs
Skip if
You dislike dated gender politics or early-2000s attitudes
You want subtle, naturalistic realism over heightened banter and fantasy
You’re put off by episodic dating-story repetition
You prefer tightly serialized plotting without occasional tonal inconsistency
Overview
Sex and the City is one of the signature HBO shows of its era, turning dating, friendship, and consumer culture into a fast-talking social comedy with real emotional bite. Its greatest strength is the chemistry among the four leads, who make even the most exaggerated situations feel rooted in recognizable friendship dynamics.
Worth noting
The series is at its best when it treats romance as a moving target and lets the characters’ ambitions, insecurities, and loyalties collide. It can be uneven, and some of its attitudes now feel very much of its time, but that also makes it a useful cultural artifact as well as an entertaining watch.
Bottom line
If you like polished ensemble dramedies with a strong sense of place and a lot of conversational momentum, it still plays well. The later seasons are worth sticking with for the character payoffs, though the show’s peak is generally its middle run rather than its final stretch.
2021 · Curator 0.5/10 (537 ratings) · Where to watch: Max
The direct continuation for viewers who want to see where the characters go next, despite a more uneven tone.
Topics
ensemble dramedy, New York City, relationship comedy, female friendship, fashion-forward, late-90s, early-2000s, adult themes, breezy pacing, cultural phenomenon