Executive producer and writer Darren Star (Beverly Hills, 90210, and Melrose Place) adapted the series from a book of the same title written by Candace Bushnell that was based on her New York Observer newspaper column. Bushnell serves as the model for the character of Carrie Bradshaw, the actual "sexual anthropologist" who writes stories about sex and socializing in New York. The series reduces a much larger collection of inhabitants in Bushnell's book to Car­rie's three female friends: Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha. Despite an offer from the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Star chose to produce the series for HBO, recognizing that the premium cable channel could provide the opportunity for "elite" qualities in writing and production as well as provide a budget ($900,000 per episode) with which he could employ independent directors and writers. HBO also allows considerable freedom regarding content, allowing the series to derive humor from the sexual adventures of the four characters rather than from the double entendres and veiled discussion about sex typical of broadcast network sitcoms. Airing on commercial-free HBO also freed the show from a narrative structure dictated by commercial breaks and restricted to 23- minute episodes.

     As the title suggests, issues of sex and dating provide the primary plots in Sex and the City. The series' quartet of main characters-all single, white women in their 30s-experience and discuss, quite explicitly, the singles' dating scene in New York City. Although the women are similar in many ways, each brings a distinct perspective to the series. Carrie, a newspaper columnist who writes about sex and dating, serves as the series narrator. In early episodes, this narration occurred as Carrie directly addressed the camera. In later episodes, her narration is provided through voice-over. Her friends often become subjects of her "research," and their dilemmas and situations inspire column topics. Samantha owns a public relations firm and is the most sexually carefree of the group. Often depicted as content to participate in endless one-night stands, she has no aspirations to marry or have children. Charlotte managed an art gallery until she married (then divorced, then remarried) and maintained a desire for a more conventional life of marriage and motherhood. Miranda, a corporate attorney, plays the realist and cynic to Samantha's excessively sexual identity and Charlotte's idealist fantasies. After an unexpected pregnancy, she embarks on single motherhood at the end of the series' fourth season, only to marry her child's father, Steve, in the sixth and final season.

     With  the exception  of Carrie,  the series  rarely fo­cuses on the characters' careers. The primary action takes place in the bars, restaurants, and clubs where the women meet for breakfast or lunch. have drinks, or spend their evenings . Although episodes often begin with the four meeting together, they commonly appear separately yet in stories with parallel themes, throughout the episode, with Carrie narrating transitions. The characters often walk and talk along the streets of Manhattan, enabling episodes to develop through dialogue more than action. The specific topics of Carrie's columns usually structure the episode. Each begins with a question: Can you be friends with an ex­ boyfriend? How do you know if you are good in bed? Have New Yorkers evolved past relationships? Can you change a man? Why is there tension between married and single people? Why do men like to date models? Throughout the episode. Each woman "answers" the question according to her personality and characterization.

     The four remain the primary characters throughout the series, although a few boyfriends make repeat appearances, particularly in the later seasons in which the women explore long-term relationships. Charlotte meets, marries. and separates from Trey MacDougal during the third season; they later rekindle their relationship but ultimately divorce the next season. She falls in love with her divorce attorney. Harry Golden­ blatt-a man who deviates significantly from her ideal beau-and converts to Judaism before marrying him in the final season. Her desire to have a family led to the divorce from Trey. and reproductive problems continue to fail her after marrying Harry. Miranda's balance of career and motherhood as a single parent becomes a primary storyline for her character as she and Steve Brady negotiate their relationship with each other and their roles as parents. Samantha eventually experiences a string of longer relationships, first with a woman. then with a male hotel tycoon, and finally with a much younger male model and actor. Throughout the relationships, she struggles with her desire to remain independent despite a simultaneous and contradictory desire for companionship. Carrie becomes engaged to Aidan Shaw, who briefly moves into her apartment. An affair with a recurring character, Mr. Big, leads to the end of the relationship with Aidan. but she and Big establish a friendship that survives his relocation to California. In the series in the final season, Carrie meets Aleksandr Petrovsky. a significantly older Russian artist.

     The first season of Sex and the City consisted of only 12 episodes, followed by 18 in each of the subsequent seasons. Once established, the series regularly drew an audience of approximately 6.4 million  house­holds. a strong performance for a cable network but significantly  smaller  than  broadcast  networks  at the time. The series garnered Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. writing. acting. directing. casting, and costumes and won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2001.