Set in New York City, the show focuses on four women, three in their mid-thirties, and one in her forties. The sitcom had serialized story lines, as well as dramatic elements and tackled socially relevant issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex, multiple partners, promiscuity and often specifically dealing with women in society in the late 1990s, and how changing roles and definitions 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 edit out certain explicit show content that was broadcast in the original version.
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[specify] 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, a woman who was also working as a writer and living in New York City. Carrie also has the same initials, which reiterates her connection with Bushnell.[1]
Darren Star, the show's creator, paid $50,000 to Bushnell for complete rights to her columns.[2] The show "bears only a passing resemblance to its source material";[2] the columns were "darker and more cynical" than the "gentler" series that Star produced.[2] According to Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell, by Amy Sohn,[3] Star wanted to create a show that expressed true adult comedy, sex, in an up-front way.
The narrative of the show focuses on Carrie and her three best friends. The women discuss their sexual desires and fantasies, and their travails in life and love. The show often depicts frank discussions about romance and sexuality, particularly in the context of being a single woman in her mid-thirties. Each episode in season one features a short montage of interviews of people living in New York City regarding topics discussed in that episode. These continue through season two but were then phased out.
Another feature that would eventually be scrapped was Carrie breaking the fourth wall (for example, looking into the camera and speaking to the audience directly, also known in older drama as an aside). Bradshaw would question scenarios and ideas, asking the audience for an opinion or insight on different situations. The pilot, however, also had 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 3 of the second season, "The Freak Show".
The method of expressing inner monologues was shifted exclusively to voiceovers by Carrie in future episodes. Her main narration usually revolves around the premise of that week's "article", where she 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, ending up with the theme of the episode expressed as a question such as, "Are we sluts?" or "Can you really have sex without politics?"
