6 June 1998: ‘Sex and the City’ struts onto the screen
ADVERTISEMENTExactly 25 years ago today, the first episode of ‘Sex and the City’ premiered on HBO. An instant success, ‘Sex and the City’ followed the life of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) as a lifestyle journalist who puts the relationship ups and downs of herself and her three best friends Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) into her weekly column.
‘Sex and the City’ was a revelation, bringing themes of sexuality to the screen in a way that had been previously scorned. Through the four friends’ exploits, a more unvarnished look at sexual politics were dissected, as well as highlighting the social lives of young professional women like never before.
Based on writer Candace Bushnell's actual column of the same name, the series was written and produced by Michael Patrick King and ran for six seasons, coming to an end in 2004. Two films followed as well as a sequel series ‘And Just Like That…’ in 2021 and 2021. We looked back on just how brilliant the return of Carrie Bradshaw was in our yearly culture review here.
Despite the success of the series, on and off-set feuds led Cattrall to distance herself from her co-stars, in particular Jessica Parker. The character of Samantha supposedly leaves New York after a fight with Carrie and only appears via text message and, on one occasion, a note with a bunch of funeral flowers; impressively one of the most tear jerking moments of the whole affair.
A surprise announcement last week came that Cattrall would reprise the role of Samantha for a cameo in the finale of season two, intended to air later this year.
To celebrate the 25 year anniversary ‘Sex and the City’, here are some of its most iconic quotes.
Said by Carrie. As a fellow journalist, it’s hard not to relate.
Carrie really was the Jane Austen for the 21st century.
Samantha was always a font of wisdom. Here she basically gives the ‘Sex and the City’ equivalent of a lesson in French existentialism.
Another slam-dunk from Samantha. This is the kind of self-love that stopped Cattrall appearing in the follow up series though.
Finally, a gem of wisdom from Carrie. The world has changed and it’s all the better for it as far as she’s aware.
