Television series

Sex and the City

Name: Sex and the City
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 1998
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Four women, four cosmopolitans, one city that never stops talking about sex. Carrie's columns become the connective tissue for a show that treats dating disasters as high comedy and low tragedy in the same breath. It's frothy on the surface, surprisingly frank underneath, and its real romance was always the friendship — brunch as sacrament, heartbreak as material.

TVMaze rating

7.0

If you liked this

Girls2012

Lena Dunham's messier, less aspirational answer to Carrie and co — same four-friends-in-New-York bones, but the apartments are grim, the men are worse, and nobody looks good doing it.

But Deliberately unglamorous and often cringe-inducing by design; if you watched SATC for the fantasy, this pokes it with a stick.

Insecure2016

Issa Rae's L.A.-set comedy has the same DNA — a woman narrating her own dating chaos, a best friend as anchor — but funnier, warmer, and grounded in Black womanhood in a way TV rarely bothers to be.

But Slower-paced and more introspective than SATC's episodic rhythm; less plot, more feeling.

Younger2015

A single New York woman navigating publishing, dating, and a lie about her age, with the same breezy, wardrobe-conscious charm and a similar taste for cocktail-hour confessionals.

But Softer stakes and a sillier premise; it's comfort food where SATC occasionally had teeth.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show1970

Same premise stripped to its studs — single woman, city, work, friends filling in for family — proving the format is older than anyone thinks.

Decades before Carrie typed a word, Mary Richards threw her hat in the air as a single career woman building a life — and a found family — on her own terms in a big city.

But Network-sitcom pacing and a chastity the '90s blew wide open; nobody's discussing orgasms over brunch here.

Broad City2014

Trades brunch for weed and subway disasters, but it's the same love letter to a friendship surviving a chaotic city — just filthier, weirder, and gloriously unconcerned with looking chic.

But Absurdist and scrappy rather than aspirational; if you loved the fashion and the polish, this has neither.

Divorce2016no page yet

Sarah Jessica Parker again, a decade on, dismantling a marriage instead of dating one — sharper, sadder, and funnier about what happens after the fairy tale actually happens.

But Much bleaker tone; the jokes land harder because the stakes are real, which some viewers find exhausting rather than fun.

Grace and Frankie2015

Two women in their seventies rebuild their lives, dating included, with the same unembarrassed talk about sex and bodies that made Samantha a legend — just thirty years further down the road.

But Sitcom pacing and broader jokes; less stylish, more Netflix-comfortable than HBO-sharp.

The Bold Type2017

Three friends at a glossy magazine, sorting out careers and relationships in a candy-colored New York — the show's spiritual grandchildren, minus the cynicism.

But Aimed younger and sunnier; the conflicts resolve a little too neatly for anyone wanting SATC's bite.

Gossip Girl2007

Same obsession with Manhattan as a glittering stage set, same voiceover narrator watching it all unfold, same conviction that what you wear says who you are.

But Teen soap melodrama rather than adult comedy; the romance is breathless, not knowing.

Emily in Paris2020

If you want the fashion, the flirtation, and the fantasy of a city as a love interest without any of the messier adult reckonings, this delivers pure sugar.

But Thin by comparison — charming but weightless, more postcard than portrait.

The Golden Girls1985

Same four-friend architecture and the same bluntness about desire and disappointment, just proving the formula works at any age.

Four women, endless cheesecake, and franker talk about sex, dating and heartbreak than most shows twice its rating — just with the ages flipped from twenties to seventies.

But Broad multi-camera sitcom style, canned laughter and all; a completely different comic engine than SATC's.

Frances Ha2013

Strips the same city-and-singlehood story down to its bones — no fashion, no resolution, just the loneliness and hope underneath the cosmopolitans.

A single woman drifts through New York without money, romance, or a clear plan, shot in gorgeous black and white — the SATC premise with all the glamour sanded off.

But Meandering and melancholic rather than tidy or triumphant; there's no makeover, no perfect ending, just a person figuring it out.